Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte has said that he was "pleased" with his side's performance in their 1-0 win over Liverpool.
Defeating an old rival
Despite it been an International Champions Cup tie, the intense rivalry between the two English sides continued at the Rose Bowl.
Gary Cahill's strike proved to be the only difference, with the Blues being reduced to ten men after Cesc Fabregas had been sent off.
The game also contained five yellow cards, and Conte believes that is why they saw a such a high level of passion and intensity.
Conte told chelseafc.com: "When two great teams face each other in a game nobody wants to lose." He added, "For this reason I saw a competitive game."
He explained: "I'm pleased with my team because I saw the right spirit and a lot of positive things." However, admitted: "I know and my players know that we can improve a lot."
Conte concluded: "I am pleased with the attitude today and also that when we played with 10 men we didn't suffer." He reiterated to not "forget we are working very hard with two training sessions every day and it is a good attitude", and that the "most important thing today was to see the right spirit in my team".
He concluded, be describing the team's "will to fight to win a friendly game" was the "right way" to go about things.
Good sportsmanship
The only downside was the dismissal of Fabregas, for his flying challenge on Ragner Klavan.
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp revealed that the Spaniard had been in the Liverpool changing room to apologise, and the Italian coach sent his own apologies.
He said: "In this period, the fatigue can sometimes bring a bit of going too late."
Conte concluded: "I know Fabregas is a good man and it is not his habit to have this sort of situation."
Chelsea will take on Real Madrid at the Michigan Stadium, Michigan on Saturday, July 30 with kick-off at 8:05pm BST.