The Blues were torn apart by Brendan Rodgers' vibrant team in Notre Dame, due in large part to an abysmal defensive display.
The Enzo Maresca era is continuing and so far, it looks more and more confusing as to why Chelsea decided to dispense with Mauricio Pochettino. A draw with Wrexham and now a truly terrible 4-1 defeat to Celtic will only lead to more questions from fans, and rightly so after a strong end to last season.
In the hazy heat of the United States, the Scottish champions were simply so much better than their Premier League opponents. Just 18 minutes in, Celtic had the lead and one they richly deserved, as Matt O'Riley finished smartly in the box after some clever interplay, beating Robert Sanchez, who had made more than one excellent save beforehand.
Before the half-hour mark, Celtic should have been 2-0 up, but Kyogo Furuhashi was denied by Sanchez at close-range in superb fashion. But he made no mistake two minutes later, finishing a cross into the box to hint towards something approaching humiliation for the Blues.
Maresca made expected changes at half-time and Raheem Sterling, on as a sub, hit the bar within a minute. But Chelsea faded badly, and Celtic scored a third and fourth in quick succession, twice taking advantage of some absolutely dreadful defending, particularly from Benoit Badiashile, in what quickly became a nightmare.
Christopher Nkunku pulled one back from the penalty spot late on, but ultimately, this proved to be a humiliation for the Blues.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Notre Dame Stadium…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer was not involved in this game, and it really, really showed. He is still on holiday after playing a key role in England's run to the Euro 2024 final, even scoring in the ill-fated showpiece against Spain.
The Three Lions attacker is a ray of light for this Chelsea team, capable of opening up defences with superbly incisive passes, and also possessing the ability to score from pretty much anywhere.
Without him, there is precious little fluency to Chelsea's attack. They can create chances – and they did at times, particularly when Marc Guiu and Sterling combined in the second half – but they lacked a potent finisher here.
Palmer may not have helped keep the ball out of the net because of just how disastrous Chelsea were defensively, but he may well have played a role in making a game of it.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Chelsea's defence
Throughout the game, Chelsea were repeatedly cut open by simple, quick passing from Celtic. They started with a back three, made up of Wesley Fofana, Badiashile and Levi Colwill, but none of that trio played well.
Brendan Rodgers' side seemed to clock the deficiencies in the Blues' system early in the game, and were very quick to move the ball up the pitch, sometimes going from defence to attack with one through ball. On more than one occasion, Celtic worked an opening in which they produced an overload and isolated a Chelsea defender, and they opened the scoring with a similar move, as multiple quick passes around the box opened up space for O'Riley to pass into the back of the net.
The second goal was probably more troubling from a Chelsea point of view, as Celtic came down the right-hand side, played the ball in behind the backline, and Kyogo finished a simple cross. It was all too easy.
Add the third goal – Badiashile merely passing the ball to Luis Palma on the edge of his own box in a truly moronic piece of play – and a fourth in which barely anyone made any moves to stop the Celtic attack and it adds up to a defensive disaster.
Maresca has accepted that Chelsea will concede goals playing his style of football, but this was truly disastrous.
WINNER: Raheem Sterling
Sterling won the penalty from which Nkunku scored his late consolation and was a handful down the left after his introduction at half-time. He dovetailed well with teenage striker Guiu and created multiple openings.
Sterling was, at times, guilty of a poor final pass, but he was willing to take the ball and run at the Celtic backline, which was a marked change from the man he replaced, Mykhailo Mudryk. Chelsea were better with him in the team and he is one of few Blues players who can walk away with their head held high.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Enzo Maresca
Could Maresca be sacked on the basis of pre-season?! It feels very unlikely, of course, because that would be truly unheard of. However, a 2-2 draw with Wrexham pointed to severe problems, and a 4-1 thumping here will only ratchet up the pressure on the former Leicester City boss.
He is going to have to find a way to adapt because, as it stands, Chelsea look at sixes and sevens. The high-pressing, high-line approach demonstrably works for the best teams in the world, but this was something else; Chelsea didn't know when to press, when to sit, or how to track back. Those are the three basic tenets and they failed at every single one.
There were a couple of very good chances manufactured in both halves, but it matters little if you constantly leave the door open at the back.
Chelsea are known for being consistently trigger-happy when it comes to changing managers and Maresca has to find a way to get this bloated squad into shape before their first Premier League game, which comes against defending champions Manchester City. On this evidence, that could be another thrashing.