Joao Pedro took his pre-season tally to seven goals by scoring twice during the second half as new head coach Xabi Alonso won his first match at Stamford Bridge by overseeing victory against Real Sociedad.
Morgan Rogers, who became the most expensive British player ever when the 24-year-old joined Chelsea from Aston Villa for £117 million in July, tapped in the 11th-minute opener after goalkeeper Alex Remiro saved Joao Pedro’s header from Pedro Neto’s delivery.
Sociedad were the more threatening side before half-time and equalised through Jon Aramburu’s long-range strike in the 45th minute, but Joao Pedro headed in Reece James’ cross two minutes after the restart and broke clear to fire in from Malo Gusto’s pass with 13 minutes remaining.
“It’s about sticking the ball in the back of the net,” former Chelsea defender Scott Minto told CFC Plus.
“We’ve done it more often than Real Sociedad but the Premier League is going to be tougher, for sure. We were much more in control in the second half.”
Chelsea vs Sociedad: Premier League side ‘developing’
Minto pointed out that Chelsea’s globe-trotting pre-season schedule may have had an effect on their performance.
“Not everyone’s 100% fit,” Minto observed. “I read that we’ve done the most travelling of any Premier League side in pre-season.
“I love the fact there are nine days before our first game of the season – not just in terms of training and double sessions, but also rest and recuperation, which is important.
“We’re still a team in development.”
The Blues play their first competitive match under new head coach Alonso by travelling to Fulham in the Premier League on August 24 (20:00 BST).
Alonso is hoping to revive Chelsea’s fortunes following their 10th-placed finish in 2025/26, losing as many games as they won in the top flight.
Sociedad start their La Liga campaign at Real Betis on August 21, having finished 10th last season and won the Copa del Rey.
Chelsea team vs Real Sociedad
For the first match at Stamford Bridge of his tenure, Alonso made 11 changes from the 3-3 draw with Johor Darul Ta’zim in Gelang Patah the previous Sunday.
New signings Rogers, Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra were among the starters, while Aaron Anselmino, Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha had been injury doubts and were not involved.
Chelsea starting XI: Robert Sanchez; Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Marco Palestra, Reece James, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro
Chelsea substitutes: Mike Penders, Gabriel Slonina, Josh Acheampong, Pep Chavarria, Malo Gusto, Jorrel Hato, Valentino Barco, Dario Essugo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Geovany Quenda, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens
Sociedad full line up vs Chelsea
Sociedad made three alterations from their 2-1 defeat at Koln last Saturday, bringing in Take Kubo, Luka Sucic and Luken Beitia for Igor Zubeldia, Benat Turrientes and Alex Marchal.
Alvaro Odriozola had a long-term knee injury and 2025/26 top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal returned on the bench following his glorious World Cup campaign with Spain.
Orri Oskarsson has three goals in five pre-season appearances, while Carlos Soler has scored twice.
Real Sociedad starting XI: Alex Remiro, Jon Aramburu, Ander Barrenetxea, Orri Steinn Oskarsson, Yangel Herrera, Take Kubo, Sergio Gomez, Carlos Soler, Luka Sucic, Jon Martin, Luken Beitia
Sociedad substitutes: Unai Marrero, Theo Folgado, Aihen Munoz, Igor Zubeldia, Benat Turrientes, Mikel Oyarzabal, Pablo Marin, Arsen Zakharyan, Inaki Ruperez, Mikel Goti, Alex Marchal, Alex Lebarbier, Job Ochieng
Chelsea vs Real Sociedad stats
- These teams previously met at Stamford Bridge in a friendly in 2014, when new signings Thibaut Courtois, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa made their first Chelsea appearances
- Costa scored both goals in Chelsea’s 2-0 win – the first after 58 seconds – while Blues striker Fernando Torres made his final appearance for the club in the game
- Jose Mourinho, who will meet Sociedad this season in his second spell as Real Madrid manager, was in his second tenure as Chelsea boss at the time of that match
- Mourinho guided Chelsea to the Premier League title by eight points ahead of Manchester City that season, as well as EFL Cup glory
- Chelsea’s competitive record against Spanish clubs is W22 D18 L13, including their current two-match winning run in such fixtures, comprising a 3-0 home win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November 2025 and a 4-1 victory over Betis to win the Conference League in Wroclaw the previous May
- One of the managers Chelsea are set to face in this season’s Premier League, David Moyes, took charge of Sociedad three months after that friendly at Stamford Bridge, succeeding Jagoba Arrasate
- Sociedad finished 12th in La Liga that season, helped by new Manchester City goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli
- They visited England in pre-season in 2025/26 to play two friendlies on August 9 against Bournemouth, drawing 1-1 in the first of those games through Ander Barrenetxea’s 89th-minute equaliser
- The second game at the Vitality Stadium finished 0-0, preceding a season in which Sociedad finished 10th in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey
- They faced English opposition in the 2024/25 Europa League, drawing 1-1 at home to Manchester United before losing 4-1 at Old Trafford. Mikel Oyarzabal scored both of their goals
- Against English clubs, Sociedad’s competitive record is W1 D3 L6. The last eight of those games have been against United, with the victory a 1-0 win at Old Trafford during the Europa League group stage in September 2022
