Saturday marked three weeks until our 2026/27 opener at Brentford (22 August, 5.30pm UK) – and we continued preparations by beating Chelsea 2-1 with 10 men in the Sydney Super Cup.
Sandro scored his first goal in Lilywhite at the Accor Stadium, capping an impressive display that saw us defend stoutly after going down to 10 men on 49 minutes before Richarlison tapped home the winner with the last kick of the game.
Asked if he was happy with preparations so far, Sandro told us: “Yes, of course. We keep building our team every day to play in the best shape, to play our best football, not just in the game, but every single day at the training ground.
“Every day we put 110% of our concentration on the pitch to do our best, to do my best, and my team-mates as well.
“I saw a top player in this team every pass, every tackle, every minute in training. We want to keep going every single day until the first game in the Premier League, because it's not just for our fans, but for all these players last season and two seasons ago, it was tough for them, and I think we have to understand that we have to put everything on the pitch to win every game, and I think this is the right way.”
Asked about the win against Chelsea, he added: “After the first contact with Joao Pedro, Lucas Bergvall and Conor Gallagher, we changed everything on the pitch, because we started like a friendly game, but after five minutes, it was like a battle, every tackle, every pass, every shot.
“After five minutes, I spoke with Ben Davies. He was really aggressive when he spoke with me, and I understood, after one second, how important it was today.
“Then, after the red card, I think we put 10% more on the pitch to win this game. I think we played very well, we played with 100% concentration on the pitch. It was a little bit tough to play today, it was not perfect, but if you put all the passion on the pitch, you don't have excuses. I think we played very well. We are happy.”