Chelsea hold friendly at Stamford Bridge as Ruben Loftus-Cheek returns after 13 months out – and scores against pals

CHELSEA boss Frank Lampard watched his squad back in action at Stamford Bridge for the first time since March. The Blues boss pitted his players against each other in an intra-squad game ahead of their Premier League return. Lampard and his coaching staff took the whistle and officiated the game as his players attempt to […]

CHELSEA boss Frank Lampard watched his squad back in action at Stamford Bridge for the first time since March.

The Blues boss pitted his players against each other in an intra-squad game ahead of their Premier League return.

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Chelsea players played in an intra-squad friendly match at Stamford Bridge ahead of the Premier Leagues return[/caption]

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Frank Lampard, alongside teenage prodigal Billy Gilmour, officiated the match with his coaching staff[/caption]

Lampard and his coaching staff took the whistle and officiated the game as his players attempt to shake off ring-rust before travelling to Aston Villa on June 21.

It is not clear exactly how the teams were split, but Blues stars who had been sidelined before lockdown also had a run out.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has not played since last May after a horror Achilles injury, had a run out – and even managed to bag a goal for the blue team.

Christian Pulisic was on the opposite side, with youth players also making up the numbers.

Pedro and Willian – two players whose futures are still to be resolved – also played.

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek played a match for Chelsea for the first time since May 2019 – and scored[/caption]

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Willian’s future continues to be the subject of much speculation[/caption]

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Pedro – who is also linked with an exit – collects the ball from Tammy Abraham as Antonio Rudiger looks on[/caption]

German superstar Timo Werner, who is expected to officially join the Blues next week grabbed an assist on Saturday afternoon as RB Leipzig drew 1-1 with Paderborn.

And Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf, who won four major trophies at Stamford Bridge, is delighted with the signing.

Leboeuf told ESPN: “[Werner’s] a fantastic player.

“We’ve seen him for the past two years and it’s a very good catch for Chelsea because he almost signed for Bayern Munich last year.

“We talked about Liverpool a couple of months ago and now he’s fortunately going to go to Chelsea and I’m very happy about that.

“He’s going to give versatility in the attack in a frontline as a striker.

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“Tammy Abraham is more somebody who is going to hold the ball but when Werner’s going to play he’s going to give something else to the midfielders and to the defence as well.

“So it’s a very good catch, I’m very happy.

“I want to see it with [Hakim] Ziyech on the right side, maybe Pulisic on the left side.

“That’s going to be very, very interesting. I think it’s a very, very good signing yeah.”