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Fabregas golazo secures comeback win for Chelsea


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A magnificent late strike from Cesc Fabregas settled a gruelling pre-season encounter with Hungarian side Ferencváros.

After falling behind to a goal from former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Zoltan Gera, José Mourinho's men rallied after half-time through Ramires' stunning strike and Fabregas' wonderful late solo effort.

Played in front of a capacity crowd of over 23,000 at the state-of-the-art Groupama Arena, this was a tough test for the Blues and represents an excellent work-out played out in humid conditions.

The Blues enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges, with Andre Schurrle and Didier Drogba both forcing half-decent saves out of the Ferencváros goalkeeper, but the Ivorian was later involved in a hefty collision and worryingly limped off the pitch for further treatment.

Gera, known for his blockbuster shots from distance, was left with a relatively straightforward chance to open the scoring when a cross from deep caught the Chelsea defence sleeping, and the Hungarian's finish was deft enough to beat Petr Cech with the interval looming.

But the Blues wasted little time after the break in restoring parity, as Ramires expertly thrashed an arcing shot into the top corner after 53 minutes.

Gary Cahill was then frustrated by the post as his glanced header from Fabregas' dinked delivery came back off the woodwork, and Branislav Ivanovic was unable to convert the rebound.

Oscar was then a stud's length away from converting a devilish cross from substitute Eden Hazard, but the Blues - much improved after their lethargy prior to the interval - would not be denied the late winner their second-half rally warranted.

And it was Fabregas, so composed and calm in midfield, that supplied the killing blow. Receiving the ball in a seemingly innocuous position, the Spaniard demonstrated incredible guile and fleet-footedness to jink inside two tackles and sublimely slide the ball beyond the advancing goalkeeper.

It was a goal reminiscent of Diego Costa's wonder-strike against Fenerbahce last Friday, and Costa himself might have added a layer of gloss to proceedings, only for his clever dinked effort to glide just the wrong side of the post.

In what was a stern examination of the Blues' pre-season preparations thus far, José Mourinho will be happy with the resilience his side demonstrated, and he will particularly have taken note of his side's inventiveness and ingenuity going forward as part of a 3-4-3 formation.

Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening completes a hectic schedule ahead of next Monday's late kick-off in Burnley, and the Blues will face their Spanish opposition in good form after this much-improved team display.

Elements of the performance were disjointed and there is much work to be done in improving the side's defensive discipline, but with glimmers of brilliance from the side's at times explosive attack, the potential for a promising season ahead is clear for all to see.

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