Arif Aiman struck early, Liam Delap scored twice from the spot and Bergson produced a moment of magic, as JDT and Chelsea traded blows in an entertaining draw at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.

There was something fitting about the sea of blue that began gathering around Sultan Ibrahim Stadium long before kick-off. By around 4.30pm, with more than three hours still to go before the 8pm start, supporters were already outside soaking up the atmosphere. Blue shirts were everywhere, a familiar colour for Chelsea, and one just as synonymous with Johor Darul Ta’zim.

But when the two sides finally walked out, it was JDT who were dressed in pink. Chelsea, meanwhile, arrived in Johor carrying the burden, and perhaps the confidence, of a gruelling schedule. They had only played the previous evening, thrashing AC Milan 3-0 at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium before making the journey to Malaysia.

JDT, on the other hand, had a significant boost of their own. Their No. 10 was back. Arif Aiman’s return immediately gave the home side another dimension, and it took him only 14 minutes to remind everyone why his presence matters.

After a bright opening from Chelsea, JDT broke forward and Arif Aiman found the decisive touch to put the hosts 1-0 ahead. It was the kind of moment the home crowd had been waiting for. Chelsea’s response, however, was patient rather than frantic.

The heat and humidity were noticeable enough for a cooling break to be introduced in the 23rd minute, and the match gradually settled into a slower rhythm. Chelsea’s demanding travel schedule was evident, while JDT were increasingly comfortable sitting in their shape and waiting for opportunities to counter.

For long stretches, the match threatened to lose its spark. Then, just before half-time, Chelsea found their opening. A long ball forward was chased down by Liam Delap, who showed considerable strength to shield the ball inside the penalty area before being brought down by JDT’s No. 81. Penalty. Delap took responsibility and made no mistake, driving the ball low to the goalkeeper’s right.

1-1 after 41 minutes.

Chelsea almost went ahead before the break when Delap was played through on goal in added time, but the forward could not finish the opportunity. The teams went into the interval level.

If the first half had been about patience, the second began with both sides threatening to raise the tempo. JDT produced some neat attacking combinations early on, including one move that put Shahab Zahedi through on goal, only for Sharman-Lowe to deny him.

But Chelsea soon found themselves back in front, helped by another moment of indiscipline from JDT. A second penalty was awarded, and once again Delap stepped up. Once again, he went the same way. Once again, he scored.

Chelsea led 2-1 in the 60th minute. Yet JDT refused to let the game slip away. They then earned a free kick in a dangerous position, Oscar Arribas stepped up and whipped a delicious right footed shot that took a wicked deflection off Delap to end up in the back of the net. 2-2 now.

Suddenly, the game had found its rhythm. And then came Bergson. Introduced in the 77th minute, JDT’s talisman needed little time to make his presence felt.

Eight minutes later, he produced the moment of the night. Receiving the ball with Chelsea’s defence in front of him, Bergson drove forward, taking on the backline before finishing low beyond the goalkeeper.

It was a goal built on determination, strength and instinct. JDT were 3-2 up. The stadium erupted.

But Chelsea had one more surprise up their sleeves. Mykhailo Mudryk who just came on to the roar of the crowd, making an immediate impact from the right, delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty area. And Antonio Cristian couldn’t react fast enough and could only touch it into his own net. 3-3 now.

With four minutes of added time remaining, the match suddenly had everything it had lacked earlier: urgency, space, noise and the possibility of a winner. Neither side could find it.

The final whistle confirmed a 3-3 draw. There had originally been an expectation that the friendly would proceed to a penalty shootout to determine a winner. After discussions following full time, however, it was decided that the match would end as a draw, with no shootout. As tempers started to flare, both teams and the match commissioner decided that it was best to just end the contest.

For JDT head coach Xisco Muñoz, the result was less important than the manner in which his players competed. Chelsea had changed their defensive shape in their previous match, and Muñoz said JDT had prepared for the possibility of facing either a back four or a back three. But the Spanish coach stressed that the biggest test was not tactical. “Today was not only about tactics,” Muñoz said. “The most important thing was how all the players competed in the duels.”

Against a Chelsea side full of pace and physicality, despite playing only a day earlier, that was a significant challenge. “It’s not easy sometimes against players of this level, with their intensity and speed, to win those duels,” he said.

Muñoz was also pleased with the way JDT adapted throughout the game, moving between a low block, middle block and high press. That flexibility became increasingly important as the match opened up. For Muñoz, however, the foundation remained simple. “We can say a lot of tactics, but at the end of the day, who is working, who is running and who is fighting is the players.”

And on this night, JDT’s players certainly did their share of all three.

For Chelsea, the 3-3 draw brought their pre-season tour to a close, and for several of the club’s younger players, the experience was about far more than the result. Tayo Subuloye, who spent around two and a half weeks with the first team, described the tour as an important opportunity to prove himself under new manager Xabi Alonso. “It’s been an amazing experience for me. It’s my first kind of experience with the first team,” he said.

The young defender also highlighted the influence of Chelsea’s senior players, particularly Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana, who offered advice during the tour. “Watching Levi, Wes in my position, just giving me pointers off the pitch, on the pitch, just helping me with everything I do,” Subuloye said.

Playing in front of enormous crowds across the tour was another new experience. Chelsea had already played in front of around 80,000 supporters during their time in Jakarta, before facing another passionate crowd in Johor. “Playing in front of 80,000 fans the other day, that was mental,” Subuloye said.

Yet when it comes to performing in front of a crowd, the youngster said he prefers to shut everything out. “On the pitch, I’ve got tunnel focus. I don’t see any of the crowd. I don’t hear any of the noise. I’m just playing.”

He also reserved praise for Alonso, whose reputation as one of the game’s finest midfielders has been followed by an equally intriguing start to his managerial career. “His knowledge is just something that everyone can learn from,” Subuloye said.

For Dario Essugo, meanwhile, the tour came with an unexpected honour. The young midfielder captained Chelsea in Johor, something he admitted he had never anticipated at this stage of his career. “It was a surprise, but of course for me it’s a pleasure,” Essugo said. “I didn’t expect to be captain at this age, at this big club.”

For Essugo, the armband represented something bigger than age. “I think it’s a message for me and for all the players that it’s not about the age, but maybe about your maturity.”

He also spoke about the reception Chelsea received throughout their tour, including the extraordinary sight of supporters waiting for the team despite a 3am arrival. “This is huge for us,” he said. “We are very happy and of course they deserve everything as well.”

And while Chelsea’s young players return to London with another pre-season match still ahead, the experience of the tour, the crowds, the travel, the pressure and the opportunity to work under Alonso, will remain valuable long after the final whistle in Johor.

For much of the night, JDT and Chelsea seemed destined for a respectable but relatively uneventful friendly. Instead, the final 15 minutes transformed the contest, with Bergson’s introduction injecting fresh energy into JDT’s attack and the match suddenly opening up. Arif Aiman had already marked his return with the opening goal, while Delap had twice converted from the penalty spot and Arribas had brought JDT level through a deflection. Bergson then produced the night’s most memorable individual moment, taking on the Chelsea defence and firing JDT ahead, only for Mudryk to create the danger that eventually led to Chelsea’s equaliser.

In the end, neither side could find a winner, and perhaps that was fitting. This was never simply about the scoreline, but about JDT testing themselves against one of Europe’s biggest clubs and Chelsea bringing a demanding international pre-season tour to a close. For JDT, the 3-3 draw offered evidence that they could compete with elite opposition physically, tactically and emotionally. For Chelsea, it provided another valuable test for a squad balancing established first-team players with a generation of young talents looking to make their mark.

And for 28741 fans who filled Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on a humid Sunday night, what had threatened to become a slow-burning friendly eventually turned into a memorable occasion — six goals, late drama, the return of Arif Aiman, a talismanic intervention from Bergson and a 3-3 draw that gave both sides plenty to take away from Johor.

Photo Credit: TEG Sports