A fine first-half goal from Loic Remy was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Chelsea in their postseason friendly against Sydney FC in Australia on Tuesday.
Kicking off in chilly conditions in Sydney, it took just six minutes for Diego Costa to make an impact. The Spain international embarked on a run down the left, skipping past several defenders, and looked to have nutmegged Vedran Janjetovic, only for the goalkeeper to keep his effort out.
The ensuing 20 minutes failed to live up to the lively start, with both sides only carving out half-chances as Remy and Robert Stambolziev were guilty of spurning their team's best opportunities.
That pattern was broken on the half-hour mark, though, as Remy made amends for his earlier misses. Receiving the ball on the corner of the box following some impressive build-up play from Eden Hazard, the striker cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed an excellent strike into the top corner.
The goal provided the spark the match needed as both sides traded blows in a frantic five-minute period which saw Petr Cech make a great save from Kiki Naumoff, before Branislav Ivanovic cleared the follow-up shot off the line.
More impressive play from Hazard led to Jeremie Boga firing high and wide only moments later, while a second Chelsea counter-attack in as many minutes saw Janjetovic make another vital save to deny Costa, who was substituted on 41 minutes.
The second half failed to deliver any goals, but there was still plenty of entertainment for the 83,598 fans packed into Stadium Australia.
Hazard played his part as he continued to twist and turn past the Sydney defence, and was unfortunate not to cap his performance with a goal.
A late rally from Sydney forced Cech into some fine reflex saves, but Chelsea managed to hold on for the victory.