Chelsea stars evacuated and fire brigade called hours before Sunderland match

Chelsea players had to be evacuated from their training ground just hours before facing Sunderland in the Premier League. The west Londoners were scheduled to train on Friday afternoon but saw their preparations disrupted by safety concerns at their Cobham facility. There were fears of a chlorine leak after an alarm went off in the swimming pool part of the complex.

Players and staff were ordered to evacuate the building as the fire brigade rushed to the scene to investigate. A number of Chelsea stars were already believed to have been in their training kit when the incident occurred. Firefighters later confirmed that it was a false alarm and everybody was allowed back into the building to collect their belongings.

Chelsea players were still able to take part in their planned 3pm training session in spite of the interruption, according to The Sun.

A statement from the Blues read: "Fire services responded to an automatically triggered alarm at Chelsea FC's Cobham training faciliity. As a precaution, all staff were safely evacuated.

"Emergency services confirmed a false alarm, and staff and players were able to return to the building."

Chelsea's training facility boasts a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pool, spanning 56 feet in length. It is fitted with an underwater treadmill and cameras to aid players recovering from serious injuries, ensuring their progress can be monitored by staff.

The Blues will be hoping that Friday's incident will not impact their performance against Sunderland, who have only lost two of their eight league games since they were promoted at the end of last season.

Enzo Maresca was quizzed on the Black Cats in his press conference and said: "I think they show since the season starts that they are a very good team, they play together, they work together, they play as a team.

"Also in terms of results, they have the same points as us so they are showing how good they are doing since they started and the game, it's a Premier League game, I don't think there is any game that can be easy, they are all difficult games.

"I spent one season with Leicester in the Championship and I love the Championship, so even if we play Premier League or Champions League, I always watch the Championship, so I watch Sunderland since last season when the new manager arrived.

"They are doing very good not just from this season but from last season. They play good football, they are quite strong, physically strong, so I really like the way they are doing things."