Graham Potter’s side were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline to an experienced Aston Villa as John McGinn’s early goal proved the difference between the two sides.

The selection

Jorginho, Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were among the starters for the Blues at Al Nahyan Stadium, with the latter joined in attack by Armando Broja and Hutchinson.

There were a number of new faces in a youthful starting 11 including Josh Brooking, Bashir Humphreys and Alfie Gilchrist at the back, while Lewis Hall and Charlie Webster joined captain Jorginho in midfield.

Villa strike first

After featuring in the matchday squad for our final two fixtures before the World Cup, Hutchinson made a bright start on his first appearance for the senior Chelsea side.

It took him just three minutes to exchange a neat one-two with Aubameyang before firing low and directly at Villa’s Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen with the game’s first opportunity.

However, it was the Villans who made the early breakthrough when Lucas Digne and Ollie Watkins linked up down the left and teed up an easy chance for McGinn, who slotted the ball past Marcus Bettinelli from just inside the 18-yard box.

Hungry Hutchinson

Hutchinson continued to cause problems down the other end and almost produced a swift response for Potter’s men. Collecting an incisive crossfield pass from Jorginho, the teenager advanced infield and beat two defenders before curling a wonderful effort against the upright.

Broja and Webster then had strikes blocked from just outside the box before the Albanian international was forced off after 17 minutes with a knee injury sustained as he contested for a ball in the box.

Both goalkeepers were worked in the latter stages of the first half but not enough to cause serious problems as Bettinelli palmed away an effort from Watkins before Aubameyang fired straight at Olsen from 20 yards out.

Arjan Raikhy almost doubled Villa’s lead in added time but the midfielder’s attempt clipped the outside of the post and bounced away from danger.

Hall goes close

As day turned to night in Abu Dhabi and the air cooled, it was Chelsea who restarted with more purpose in the second half. A slick move with Hutchinson at its heart conjured an opening for Hall following a clever layoff from substitute Dion Rankine, and the 18-year-old would have equalised but for an impressive fingertip save from Olsen.

In the opposite box, Bettinelli was having a busy evening and his latest action was a smart stop to thwart Leon Bailey before he then denied Ludwig Augustinsson.

Sharing minutes

A number of changes were made by both managers in the second half, with Potter introducing Cesare Casadei, Ben Elliott and Malik Mothersille for their first taste of senior football.

While the match was a useful exercise for the Blues and an ideal way to end our week-long stay in the Middle East, breaking through an experienced Villa side proved difficult.

Danny Ings spurned a good opportunity to double Villa’s lead when he rolled a shot wide under pressure from the onrushing Bettinelli before Elliott went closest in the dying stages but was denied by a well-timed defensive block.

Chelsea will now return to England to continue our preparation for the Premier League resumption after Christmas and Bournemouth’s visit to Stamford Bridge on 27 December.

Chelsea Bettinelli; Brooking (Elliott 73), Humphreys, Gilchrist (Mothersille 64), Cucurella, Webster, Jorginho (c), Hall, Hutchinson, Broja (Rankine 25) (Burstow 88), Aubameyang (Casadei 64)
Unused sub Beach
Booked Brooking 66

Aston Villa Olsen; A. Young, Konsa (Chambers 64), Mings, Digne (Augustinsson 64); Kamara, Luiz (O’Reilly 83), McGinn (Nakamba 83), Raikhy (K. Young h/t), Bailey (Ings 64), Watkins (Archer 64)
Unused subs Marschall, Zych, Feeney, Bogarde, Revan
Scorer McGinn 7