As a packed summer schedule of international football draws to an end with the Paris Olympics, focus is beginning to turn back to club matters, with the majority of elite sides starting their warm-up itineraries recently all across the globe.
Pre-season games are often awkward and lethargic affairs, but do the results during these games really matter?
Supporters of Manchester City and Chelsea in particular will be hoping not.
Both the Citizens and the Blues have failed to win any of their opening two contests in pre-season, with the latter recently hammered 4-1 by Scottish champions Celtic, a result that already has some fans questioning new head coach Enzo Maresca on social media.
Admittedly, Man City and Chelsea have both fielded XIs littered with youth prospects as a raft of first-team stars enjoy extended breaks following international exploits over the summer, however such mitigating circumstances are never likely to prevent supporters from jumping to conclusions about the fate of their beloved clubs.
Here, Sports Mole looks at how each of the last 10 Premier League champions fared during the pre-season of their triumphant campaigns in an attempt to determine whether friendly results really matter.
2014-15: CHELSEA (7-1-2)
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
Jose Mourinho must have been extremely keen to put his side through their paces during the summer of 2014, as Chelsea played a grand total of 10 warm-up games before their Premier League-winning term, with a 5-0 thrashing of lower league Wycombe Wanderers kicking things off in the middle of July.
A tour of Europe included defeats to German outfit Werder Bremen and Turkish giants Besiktas, before the Blues returned to London for the final game of their pre-season plans on August 12, when they beat Real Sociedad 2-0.
2015-16: LEICESTER CITY (4-1-0)
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
With most of the Premier League heavyweights taking their summer fixtures abroad, Leicester's pre-season schedule of 2015 offered humble beginnings ahead of a historic campaign, with the Foxes only venturing outside of the Midlands on one occasion, in order to pit their wits against Rotherham United.
Trips to Lincoln City, Burton Albion and Birmingham City all ended in success, whilst Mansfield Town were able to hold the eventual English champions to a 1-1 draw at the end of July.
2016-17: CHELSEA (5-0-2)
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
After finishing 10th in the Premier League during the previous campaign, incoming manager Antonio Conte had plenty of work to do in pre-season as he attempted to transform Chelsea into contenders for major honours, and the Italian saw his side navigate their summer plans in good shape.
A 2-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna to commence the schedule would have worried a section of the fanbase, however the Blues would only lose to European powerhouses Real Madrid during the next six contests, defeating Premier League rivals Liverpool and AC Milan in the International Champions Cup.
2017-18: MANCHESTER CITY (3-0-2)
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
Following a challenging first campaign at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola won the Premier League and EFL Cup with Manchester City during the 2017-18 term, however the pre-season games of 2017 were very mixed in terms of results and performances for the soon-to-be English champions.
The Citizens lost 2-0 to local rivals Manchester United in front of an American crowd to start their summer on a negative note, however heavy wins over Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United suggested that Man City had the tools required for a successful term.
2018-19: MANCHESTER CITY (1-0-2)
- L
- L
- W
Manchester City went on to win a domestic treble by the end of the 2018-19 season, however the summer of 2018 was a poor one in terms of results for Guardiola's talented group of players, who lost 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund and 2-1 to Liverpool in the International Champions Cup.
A pulsating 3-2 win over Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich eased the concerns of the Citizens supporters at Miami Gardens, who were treated to a clash between two of the best club sides at the time.
2019-20: LIVERPOOL (3-1-3)
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
Following the Champions League-winning campaign of 2018-19, Liverpool endured a patchy run of form in pre-season of the next term, losing to Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Napoli as Jurgen Klopp took his troops on trips to the United States and Scotland in late July.
Unlike most top Premier League sides, the Reds played a pair of domestic friendlies early in their schedule, winning contests at Tranmere Rovers and Bradford City at the very start of the summer.
2020-21: MANCHESTER CITY (NO PRE-SEASON)
Ahead of a year in which Manchester City equalled a club record for 28 games unbeaten on the way to Premier League and EFL Cup glory, Guardiola's side did not have the luxury of a pre-season due to the impact of the global pandemic on the 2019-20 football calendar.
The previous term only ended in August for the Citizens as they lost in a one-legged quarter-final to French side Lyon in the Champions League, with the fresh domestic campaign starting during the middle of September.
2021-22: MANCHESTER CITY (3-0-0)
- W
- W
- W
The first of two 100% records on this list, Manchester City eased past the challenges of Preston North End, Barnsley and Blackpool during the summer of 2021, winning the matches by an aggregate scoreline of 10-1, with the trio of Football League clubs proving too weak for the English champions.
Guardiola's men were scheduled to play Troyes in France and Barcelona in Spain, although both games were cancelled as the global pandemic continued to impact football.
2022-23: MANCHESTER CITY (2-0-0)
- W
- W
Manchester City were back on the road in the pre-season of 2022, with summer arrival Erling Haaland taking centre stage during a pair of contests in the United States against Mexican outfit America and German champions Bayern Munich, with the Citizens winning 2-1 and 1-0 respectively.
Although not included on the record above, the Citizens also played a mid-season friendly against Girona in December, featuring players who did not participate at the World Cup in Qatar.
2023-24: MANCHESTER CITY (2-0-1)
- W
- W
- L
Ahead of their record-breaking fourth straight Premier League title, the Citizens took their pre-season business to Asia last year, beating Yokohama F Marinos 5-3 before getting the better of Bayern Munich.
After two matches in Japan, Manchester City faced Atletico Madrid in South Korea, where Diego Simeone's side came out as narrow 2-1 winners.
OVERALL RECORD (30-3-12)
From 45 pre-season matches for eventual Premier League champions over the course of the last decade, there have been a total of 30 victories, giving our Manchester City-dominated crop a win percentage of 66%.
An interesting point from the friendly archives is that each of the sides analysed won at least once during their summer schedule before going on to lift the English title.
Chelsea have four more opportunities to pick up their maiden victory of pre-season, whilst Man City only have two chances remaining ahead of the Community Shield final at Wembley in August against Manchester United.
To conclude, supporters of the Citizens and the Blues should not be pulling their hair out just yet, although the history books would advise fans to celebrate a little bit harder if their side secure a friendly win over the next fortnight.
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