Cesc Fabregas was shown a straight red card as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea bared their teeth to beat Liverpool in their opening International Champions Cup match.
The Blues were 1-0 winners over Jurgen Klopp’s Reds at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in a fiery encounter that was anything but friendly.
England defender Gary Cahill got the only goal of the game after just 10 minutes when the centre-half got on the end of a Fabregas corner in front of a crowd of 53,117.
However, the Spaniard Fabregas' game would later be cut short after his lunge on Liverpool debutant Ragnar Klavan midway through the second half.
Tempers were at boiling point for most of the game in the Californian heat as Cahill picked up a booking for Chelsea and five Reds players were carded.
Watch: Chelsea manager Antonio Conte apologises for Cesc Fabregas tackle
Ola Aina will have been pleased to get another 90 minutes under his belt as part of a solid back-four which Conte kept on the field for the entirety of the game.
Victor Moses also caught the eye in Chelsea’s 4-2-4 formation against one of his former loan clubs as he continues to stake his claim for a place in the Italian’s plan.
Chelsea face Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid next in the International Champions Cup on Saturday.
Chelsea: Begovic; Aina, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Willian (Pedro 67), Traore (Batshuayi 67), Loftus-Cheek (Chalobah 72), Moses (Cuadrado 67).
