Chelsea lose to Charlotte FC in preseason friendly

Chelsea lost 5-3 on penalties to Charlotte FC in a preseason friendly played in the early hours of Thursday.

The game saw Raheem Sterling make his debut for the Blues in their second game of the US tour.

Sterling, who arrived from Manchester City in a £47.5m deal, converted his spot-kick, but Conor Gallagher saw his tame effort stopped by Pablo Sisniega.

There was nothing to separate the two sides at full time, after Christian Pulisic’s goal was cancelled out by Mexican Daniel Rios’s last-minute penalty

Chelsea will now return to their Orlando training camp, in a city where they face Premier League rivals, Arsenal in the final game of their tour on Saturday night.