Nkunku scores again as Chelsea win Summer Series

Chelsea won the Premier League Summer Series pre-season tournament as they beat Fulham 2-0 at FedEx Field in Maryland, Washington.

A tap-in from Christopher Nkunku just before half-time after good work from Carney Chukwuemeka sealed the win.

It was Nkunku’s third goal of pre-season following the French striker’s £52m move from RB Leipzig.

Fulham did not provide much of an attacking threat although Calvin Bassey, playing for Fulham for the first time since his £19m move from Ajax, headed over from a corner in the second half.

One negative for Chelsea was when defender Trevoh Chalobah had to be substituted after receiving treatment for a knock on the pitch.

That potential injury will be a worry for new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, with fellow centre-back Benoit Badiashile not set be fit for the start of the Premier League season.

Chelsea have, however, reached an agreement to sign defender Axel Disasi from AS Monaco for 45m euros (£38.57m).

Victory means Chelsea have won the first Premier League Summer Series – the pre-season tournament also featuring Aston Villa, Brighton, Brentford, and Newcastle – without losing a game.

Aston Villa 3-3 Brentford

Earlier in the day, Aston Villa and Brentford played out an entertaining 3-3 draw in the same stadium.

Brentford took the lead after Ezri Konsa brought down Kevin Schade in the box and Bryan Mbuemo scored the penalty.

Josh Da Silva then made it 2-0 an excellent curling effort from the edge of the box into the top corner past Emiliano Martinez.

But Villa surged back with three goals in a frantic 10-minute period.

Konsa got the first after he picked the ball up inside his own half and dribbled into the Brentford box before slamming the ball high into the net past Mark Flekken.

French winger Moussa Diaby, who scored on his debut against Fulham three days ago after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported £51.9m, cut inside the box and shot to make it 2-2.

Matty Cash completed the turnaround in the first half when he cut back inside fired low into the net.

Brentford midfielder Shandon Baptiste scored the game’s sixth goal in the 67th minute after Keane Lewis-Potter smashed a curling shot against the bar and Baptiste was on hand to follow up.