Battling Victory over Roma Confirms Chelsea's Premier League Credentials

Chelsea came from behind to defeat Roma 2-1 at Washington's RFK Stadium on Saturday, bringing to a close their preseason campaign in dramatic style.

Erik Lamela had put the Italians ahead after 20 minutes following a Mark Schwarzer error, but second-half strikes from Frank Lampard and Romelu Lukaku—whose effort came with just two minutes remaining—ensured the Blues secured a well-earned victory.

It was the perfect response from Jose Mourinho's team who, just three days earlier, had lost to Real Madrid in the Guinness International Champions Cup final.

And if anyone doubted the wisdom in Mourinho returning to Chelsea for a second spell as manager, this victory went some way to proving the naysayers wrong.

Of course, it was merely a friendly in Washington on Saturday evening. There were no points gained and no trophies up for grabs. Bragging rights would have been hard to come by even if there were, but what Saturday's victory brings is confidence and belief that this Chelsea team is on the right path. At this stage of the year, that's more important than anything.

The hard work for Mourinho and his players starts next Sunday (Aug. 18) against Hull Tigers at Stamford Bridge. Facing promoted opposition on the opening weekend of the new Premier League campaign comes with the expectation Chelsea will take all three points. If they're serious about challenging Manchester United and Manchester City for the title, they cannot settle for anything less either.

Traveling to Asia and then the U.S. for preseason, as they have done this year, has brought many commercial benefits for the Blues. Ahead of their grueling schedule that started in July, the impact it would have on the players was rightly questioned, but four weeks on after their opening fixture against Singha All-Stars, however, those fears have been allayed.

The players look well-drilled, fit and ready for the new campaign. Mourinho's influence on this team has steadily grown, and it was never more evident than in the RFK Stadium this weekend.

Trailing to Roma, the Blues put in a dogged display to bring themselves back into contention. They rode their luck at times, yet they displayed the determination to come away victorious, sealing their sixth win in seven preseason games.

In many ways, this victory not only ended Chelsea's preseason, it pretty much rounded things off.

We've seen it all from the Blues in Asia and the U.S. They have dominated matches, bulldozed their way through the opposition and also displayed the grace and flamboyance their owner, Roman Abramovich, craves so much.

Now they've displayed that much-lauded quality of any Mourinho team—the determination to never lose. It was perhaps the one quality missing against Real Madrid last Wednesday as the game petered out into an exercise in match fitness, but seeming to take this game with an air of more importance, Chelsea's character was visibly clear.

The team spirit was too, with Lukaku's winner ending in a team celebration as Eden Hazard was congratulated for his silky ball work that helped set up his Belgian compatriot.

It's a view Chelsea's assistant first-team coach Rui Faria was eager to emphasize at the final whistle in Washington, as he explained to the official Chelsea website:

"

We're really happy with the performance of our players. All the players out on the pitch gave their best and fought in a difficult match. There were some difficult moments, like when we went behind, but there were a lot of positives for the team.

In the end, winning is not the most important thing in these matches but it's always good to win because of the identity and personality we want to create in the team. The most important thing was the way we secured the result.

"

The Blues have ended their preseason in perfect style. Now for that assault on the Premier League trophy.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here: @garryhayes.