Chelsea trio all play 90 minutes vs. Argentina

What happens when you build a beautiful stadium for the Olympics but don't have anyone fun to play football in it? You invite Brazil and Argentina to play a friendly! And so some of the world's elite players traipsed halfway across the planet to play a match in smoggy Beijing, including the Chelsea trio of Filipe Luis, Oscar and Willian (Ramires, remember, is injured).

And so it was that we got a superclasico with a gaggle of jetlagged players playing at half speed. Argentina were the better side in the first half, but went 1-0 down to a Diego Tardelli volley following Pablo Zabaleta's error, and despite being awarded a phantom penalty never got back into the match, and were sunk once and for all by an improved Selecao in the second half, again via a Tardelli goal.

As for the Chelsea boys, they did fine. Ish. They were hardly setting the world on fire, but they're not alone there. Oscar was probably the furthest off his peak, but he did contribute to both goals with crosses and generally did the defensive work he was supposed to. Filipe Luis arguably should have scored his first international goal after Neymar slid him in (but didn't, obviously), and Willian was very Willian*. Happily, the match was navigated without any injuries.

*i.e. better at attacking than Marcos Rojo is at defending.

Unfortunately, the Blues trio don't get to come home just yet -- a trip to Japan is on the cards for next week. Thanks, Brazil!