Liam Delap Scored His First Goals Since January, And Chelsea’s Defense Still Has No Answer

Liam Delap finally broke his scoring drought, bagging his first Chelsea goals since way back in January, but even his two penalties couldn’t secure a win as Xabi Alonso’s squad stumbled to a messy 3-3 draw against Johor Darul Ta’zim in their last pre-season tour match. Talk about a rollercoaster to wrap up their tour.

Delap’s Double Dip: A Small Step Forward?

For a player who joined Chelsea from Ipswich in 2025 for a hefty £30 million, Delap’s previous season was rough. He only managed two goals across 41 appearances in all competitions. So, seeing him match that entire tally in one game, against a Malaysian side no less, is definitely… something. Both goals came from the penalty spot, which is a fact you just can’t ignore, putting Chelsea ahead after an early opener from Arif Aiman. It’s a start for the 23-year-old, but you gotta wonder if this is the spark they need or just a blip.

Defense Looking Like a Sieve

The real headache for Alonso has to be the defense. After Delap’s two spot-kicks gave Chelsea the lead, that advantage evaporated in just three minutes! Robert Sanchez got beaten by Oscar Arribas’ deflected free-kick in the 65th minute. Then, just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, Bergson found the bottom corner four minutes from time, making the Malaysian champions think they had snatched the win. It took an 89th-minute equalizer through an Antonio Glauder own goal, off a Mikhailo Mudryk cross, to even things up. Alonso had thrown out an entirely different XI from the one that beat AC Milan 3-0 the day before, and it showed. The expected penalty shootout never even happened, with players not re-emerging.

Chelsea will head back to London now, with one final pre-season match against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, August 15th. They need to figure out these defensive issues ASAP, because the real games are right around the corner!

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Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.