Jose Mourinho's Premier League champions commenced their pre-season tour of North America yesterday, Chelsea took on the hosts New York Red Bulls. The result wasn't what most fans would have been looking for with the English side coming up short 4-2, however the special one managed to find several positives from the fixture, while also admitting there are areas that require work.  

Player Opportunities 

Both Eden Hazard and Loic Remy managed to get on the score sheet, but a second half defensive meltdown saw the 'happy one's' mood sour as Mourinho watched his side concede four goals. It certainly wasn't a dream debut for new signing Asmir Begovic, the goalkeeper made his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt in the second half but was forced to pick the ball out the back of the net on four separate occasions.  

Mourinho was quick to defend the Bosnia international however during his interview with the club website, stating that both the new signing and Courtois were 'very tired'.

Opportunities were also handed out to wingers Victor Moses and Bertrand Traore, both of whom spent last season away on loan to gain first team experience. Mourinho made it clear that there is no loan deals in Traore's immediate future stating, "He's not going on loan.We want to keep him and improve him."  

When asked about the future of Moses, who impressed last season at Stoke City, Mourinho was less adamant, but remained hopefully the Nigerian can prove his worth. Moses is yet to feature in a competitive fixture under Mourinho, but with an impressive start to his pre-season, the winger will hope to resurrect his career at the blues.  

Necessary Competition  

When summing up the game, the charismatic manager claimed it to be, "A good training session." Mourinho did give credit to the American side for the performance that they brought during his interview with the club's website saying, "The kids that played for Red Bulls were very good opponents for us... They gave us a good match, maybe better than they should."  

Chelsea's next pre-season game comes in the form of Paris Saint Germain, the side who successfully knocked the blues out of the Champions League last season. The defending Premier League champions will be looking to bounce back from the loss and register the first victory of the tour, the only confirmed team news is of goalkeeper Begovic, who will be starting the game.  

Mourinho stated that he is "happy" to have the Bosnian at Chelsea, and revealed that he is set to start in against PSG.