Chelsea won 4-1 against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly match on 10 August 2025
Liam Delap and Joao Pedro scored for the Blues in the friendly at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has backed Joao Pedro and Delap to have a big impact on their debut campaigns for the Blues
Enzo Maresca reaffirmed his belief that summer signings Liam Delap and Joao Pedro will have a huge part to play in their first campaign at Chelsea.
Maresca was speaking following Chelsea's 4-1 win over AC Milan in a pre-season friendly on Sunday, a game that saw both Delap and Joao Pedro find the back of the net.
Andrei Coubis' fifth-minute own-goal handed the Blues the lead before Joao Pedro continued his fine start to life at Chelsea with a headed finish past Mike Maignan.
Milan were reduced to 10 men in the 18th minute when Coubis was shown a straight red card, with Delap scoring a second-half brace after being introduced on the hour.
Chelsea ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.66 from their 19 attempts compared to the Serie A giants' 0.92 from their 11 attempts at Robert Sanchez's net.
But Maresca showered particular praise on his striking additions, with the pair joining in big-money moves totalling around £90m from Brighton and Ipswich Town, respectively.
And ahead of their Premier League opener against Community Shield winners Crystal Palace, the Chelsea boss is confident the pair can continue their pre-season impact.
"They are both our strikers, we need them scoring goals during the season, and we are very happy with both of them," Maresca said.
"Liam played some games in the USA [at the Club World Cup] and he scored here today.
"They have to be without pressure or stress, and they will score goals for sure and miss goals for sure. But at the end, they are going to help us."
Delap has experienced a whirlwind start to his Chelsea career, having joined the Blues ahead of their triumphant Club World Cup campaign in the United States.
The 22-year-old opened his account for his new team in their 3-0 win over ES Tunis in the Blues' final group game in the competition, and played 23 minutes of the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Delap finished the game against Milan with a joint-team-high total of shots (two, level with Pedro Neto) with his two goals representing his first at Stamford Bridge.
And Delap is ready to continue that form into the new season, saying: "It was really good to score my first few goals at Stamford Bridge.
"It's another game like we had on Friday preparing for Palace at home at the weekend.
"We did everything right, and we can go into Palace looking forward to it. Of course, as a striker, when I am on the pitch [scoring goals] is all I am thinking about.
"To come off the pitch with any goals is always a good feeling. I've been thrown straight into it, it's been fast, but it's been an incredible two months."
