Wesley Fofana was thrilled to make his first appearance in over a year for Chelsea after featuring in their pre-season friendly against Inter at Stamford Bridge.
The defender played 69 minutes in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with the Serie A champions, in which a late goal from Lesley Ugochukwu cancelled out Marco Thuram's 26th-minute strike.
Fofana has made only 20 appearances for Chelsea since signing from Leicester City in 2022.
He suffered a cruciate ligament tear last summer which ruled him out of last season, but feels he is now fully recovered.
"I'm feeling very good, I'm very happy after a long time. I felt a bit stressed but I enjoyed the moment. It is good to be back at home," Fofana told Chelsea's media channels.
"It is hard [waiting for this moment] because football is my life. When you're not playing for a long time for sure it is hard.
"I stayed concentrated on the work to get back quickly and now I'm back I feel good."
The Frenchman impressed on his return, contributing to Chelsea's attacking play with the second-most final third entries on the field for the Blues with six, only second to Enzo Fernandez (14).
Such numbers were indicative of Fofana's higher position on the pitch compared to centre-back partner Levi Colwill, who sat slightly deeper in defence.
And boss Enzo Maresca was happy with his side's improved attacking output, despite a failure to fully capitalise on an accumulative expected goals total of 2.27.
"The team is improving on the ball and off the ball. We created six or seven clear chances. It's important to create chances and then we want to score more," he said.
Fofana also played his part in Chelsea's defence off the ball. Despite not making any tackles, he made the most clearances (two) and interceptions (two) for the Blues.
"Off the ball the team was very aggressive recovering most of the time on the ball. I'm very happy because we are improving," Maresca added.
Chelsea open their Premier League campaign against Manchester City on Sunday.
Slot hoping to find balance between chaos and possession against Ipswich
Arne Slot is hoping to strike the right balance between "chaos and possession" ahead of his first Premier League encounter against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Slot arrived as Jurgen Klopp's successor in June, and a seemingly improbable task has proved to be a seamless transition given their pre-season results.
The Reds won four of their five fixtures ahead of the new campaign, but Slot is still aiming to find the perfect blend just two months into his Anfield tenure.
"Style of play has been with my teams where I worked, I think, always the same," Slot said. "There are a lot of similarities with Jurgen Klopp, with the way they played in the past, and I'm hoping we will see these similarities in the upcoming weeks and months.
"We like to have the ball, we don't like the other team to have the ball, but the Premier League is a league where many good clubs are and many clubs want to have the ball.
"And if we have it, we want to score, we want to be intense in everything we do. If we have the ball, we want to score – that's quite simple, of course!
"But it sometimes also depends on the players you have. I think we're trying to find the balance between trying to create chaos at certain moments and trying to keep possession of the ball."
Meanwhile, Ipswich arrive back in the Premier League 22 years after their relegation was confirmed against the same opponents they will face upon their return.
The Tractor Boys confirmed back-to-back promotions last season, pipped to the Championship title by Leicester City in Kieran McKenna's second season at the helm.
Ipswich scored 19 goals from set-pieces last campaign, a total only bettered by Cardiff (21), something McKenna believes will be crucial in remaining in the division.
"I've spoken lots about how we're going to have to try and keep our identity but adapt, and we're not going to be able to open up the game as much every minute of every game pretty much like we did last season," McKenna said.
"We're going to have to find times to do that and find time to keep the game a little bit more closed, and also we're going to get fewer set pieces.
“So it's going to be of the utmost importance to be even more efficient with them, and we're going to defend more, so we're going to have to be even more resilient against our set plays."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich - Omari Hutchinson
After starring on loan for Ipswich last season, Omari Hutchinson secured a permanent move to Portman Road from Chelsea at the beginning of the transfer window.
Hutchinson registered 16 goal involvements in 44 Championship appearances last season (10 goals and six assists), a total only bettered by Leif Davies (20) and Conor Chaplin (21) in the Ipswich squad.
He has previously played three times against Liverpool's Under-21 side and remains winless against them (D1 L2), but has the opportunity to upset the odds this time around.
Liverpool - Mohamed Salah
As Mohamed Salah embarks on his eighth season with the Reds, he will be hopeful of adding the Tractor Boys to the list of Premier League outfits he has scored against.
No player in Premier League history has scored more goals on matchday one than Salah (eight, level with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney).
Only Rooney's total of 13 goal involvements (eight goals and five assists) is more than the Egyptian's tally on the opening day of the season (eight goals and four assists).
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Slot will be hoping for a winning start in Suffolk, with the omens in his favour as Liverpool have never lost at Portman Road (P5 W3 D2), playing more games there without losing than any other ground in the Premier League.
Ipswich will also be the fifth newly promoted side the Reds have faced in the last six seasons (W3 D1), with the last time Liverpool lost on the opening day coming in a 3-0 defeat to West Brom in 2012-13 in Brendan Rodgers' first game in charge.
However, only one of the eight managers to take charge of the Reds in the Premier League has won their first such game (D4 L3), with Gerard Houllier the last to do so against Southampton while jointly in charge with Roy Evans in August 1998.
The Tractor Boys boast an impressive matchday one record of their own, going unbeaten in their last 10 (W6 D4) since a 2-1 defeat to Reading in 2013-14.
Last season, only Stockport County (96) and Manchester City (96) scored more league goals than Ipswich in England's top four tiers last year, and since McKenna's arrival at Portman Road in December 2021, only City (239) have scored more league goals than the Tractor Boys (222).
And while Ipswich finally ended their 22-year wait for a return to the Premier League, they will want to get one over their opponents. Their most recent top-flight fixture was against Liverpool in May 2002, losing 5-0 to confirm their relegation to the second tier.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich - 15%
Draw - 17.9%
Liverpool - 67.1%
Frank confident Toney will be a Brentford player after deadline day
Thomas Frank remains confident that Ivan Toney will remain a Brentford player when the transfer window shuts next month.
Toney, who has scored 72 goals in 141 appearances for the Bees, has been linked with a move away from the club as he enters the final year of his contract.
The England international has made it clear that he wants to play for one of the top clubs in the Premier League, but a move thus far has failed to materialise.
Toney was linked with a move to Tottenham, who have since signed Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth, while Arsenal have also registered their interest.
But Frank, who is preparing for his sixth season in charge of Brentford, expects to have the club's all-time top scorer within his ranks for the 2024-25 campaign.
"There has been a lot of talk about Ivan for many years, but let's just say over the last six months about whether he will leave this summer," Frank told Sky Sports.
"So far, he is still a Brentford player, so I think we are getting closer and closer to him remaining a Brentford player.
"I am getting more and more excited because he is a top player and I love working with Ivan - we have a fantastic relationship.
"That is what I think, he will be a Brentford player after the first of September."
Should Toney remain at the Gtech Community Stadium, it provides Frank with a solid foundation to build on their 16th placed finish last season.
Despite Toney missing much of the season after serving an eight-month ban for breaking the FA's betting rules, the Bees scored 56 league goals, ranking 11th in the league.
With the addition of Liverpool's Fabio Carvalho alongside Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, Frank will be confident of improving that tally with Toney in his side.
Vinicius rumours 'just speculation', says Ancelotti amid Saudi interest
Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that rumours linking Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior with a move to Saudi Arabia are nothing more than "just speculation".
Vinicius, who scored 24 goals in all competitions for Real last season, has received interest from the Saudi Pro League, reportedly considering the proposal.
The Brazilian is currently preparing for Los Blancos' UEFA Super Cup clash against Atalanta on Wednesday, with Ancelotti quick to dismiss reports of a departure.
"There isn't anything at all," Ancelotti said on Tuesday. "There's just speculation, at this time in the market. There's just speculation, nothing else."
Vinicius helped Real claim a domestic double last year, winning his third La Liga title and scoring in their Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund.
The 24-year-old has the chance to win a 13th major honour in his sixth year as a Madrid player on Wednesday, with Ancelotti expecting him to be on top form in Warsaw.
"Of course speculation doesn't affect [Vinicius]," Ancelotti continued. "He's here, he wants to be here. He wants to do his best and help Real Madrid."
Ancelotti also shrugged off suggestions that Madrid's sporting project was under threat from Saudi Arabia's growing investment in the sport.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar have all made the move to the Middle East over the past two years, with many other high-profile names following suit.
"No, absolutely not," Ancelotti said. "We have our project and we continue in that. We have a squad of great quality.
"We've lost important players and we've brought in others who have to adapt.
"We have to work to maintain the atmosphere, and the commitment, which was the key last year."
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