Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the pre-season friendly meeting between Rapid Vienna and Chelsea at a sold-out Allianz Stadion. This is of course Antonio Conte's first game in charge of the Blues, less than a week on from officially taking over at Stamford Bridge.

The former Italy boss had just seven days off following his side's exit from Euro 2016 - a tournament that, if anything, helped increase Conte's worth in West London as supporters once more begin to get excited about the season ahead. Little needs to be said about the 2015-16 campaign, in which Chelsea put up the worst Premier League title defence of all time, but things do appear to be slightly different now that their new man has arrived.

Conte has moved fast in the transfer market, too, bringing in Michy Batshuayi to supplement - or perhaps replace - Diego Costa up top, while N'Golo Kante has also now officially been signed from champions Leicester City. That really is a mammoth coup, for a reasonable enough price at just over £30m, which will strengthen a position that the Blues so badly struggled in last season under both Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink.

It might seem like a lifetime ago now but Chelsea's last outing came at home to Leicester City back in early May, with a 1-1 draw in that one seeing the Foxes end their campaign on the biggest of highs. The Blues went four games without a victory to see out the campaign, in fact, but in truth things had been petering out well before the turn of the new year. FA Cup success was the best hope of ending the season with something to cheer about, only for defeat to Everton to see those dreams end early.

Things are slightly different around Stamford Bridge now, though, thanks to the arrival of the much-heralded Conte. He is a manager who won it all during his time at Juventus - domestically speaking, at least - while also doing well during a two-year stint in charge of the Italian national team. The Azzurri performed brilliantly at the Euros when beating two of the favourites in Belgium and Spain, but they failed to overcome Germany in a match that will be best remembered for its at times comical penalty shootout.

CHELSEA TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Begovic; Ivanovic, Djilobodji, Terry, Baba Rahman; Mikel, Matic; Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Willian; Costa

SUBS: Blackman, Delac, Hector, Miazga, Aina, Chalobah, Kenedy, Cuevas, Oscar, Atsu, Traore, Remy

Conte has had less than a week - and just a couple of training sessions - to get his players into shape, so not a great deal can be read into the starting lineup fielded today. Even less so up top, where Diego Costa is named as the lone striker in the absence of Batshuayi who is still on his extended holiday following Belgium's Euro 2016 exploits. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is given a chance to impress in midfield, meanwhile, alongside Willian - fresh on the back of signing a new contract - and Victor Moses.

John Obi Mikel and Nemanja Matic are selected to shield the back four, but Conte will no doubt look to change that pairing once N'Golo Kante is integrated into the team following his signing earlier today. In the heart of defence is skipper John Terry, who has been told by his new boss that he will remain captain this season regardless of whether he plays regularly or not. The Englishman will certainly hope that will be the case, particularly after rejecting a more lucrative move aboard this summer in order to prolong his stay in West London.

Well Conte was unveiled to the press just a few days ago, where he was given the chance to emphasise the one quality he seeks from his players - the ability to fight all the way. The Italian even described his team as "underrated", which is a little off the mark considering many have backed the Blues to completely turn around their fortunes this coming season and win the title they last lifted two years ago.

Conte also mentioned that he expects as many as seven teams to challenge for the title next term, and you feel that is exactly the target for the Blues under this new Italian regime. This fixture is the first of five summer friendlies, with games against RZ Pellets, Liverpool, Real Madrid and AC Milan to follow over the coming weeks. Plenty of talk about which formation Conte will opt to go for, but for today at least it appears as though Chelsea will go with a 4-2-3-1 - the modern-day classic!

In terms of the home side, they will run out at a packed Allianz Stadion this evening knowing that this is their final chance to impress boss Mike Buskens before next week's Austrian Bundesliga opener against Ried. The Green-Whites have already played six pre-season friendlies, winning each of those to head into this match boasting a perfect record. Whether or not that makes them favourites I don't know, but in terms of fitness they will surely be a level above their opponents.

Mike Buskens was brought in this summer to take over a Rapid side that largely disappointed last season. It was a campaign best remembered for a record 10-0 aggregate defeat to Gary Neville's Valencia in the Europa League, while also finishing second to Red Bull Salzburg in the league and exiting the Austrian cup early on. A vast improvement in therefore needed; Buskens clearly going the right way about sorting things if his early days are anything to go by.

Both sets of players will shortly be making their way into the tunnel area before heading into the impressive Allianz Stadion - the biggest stadium in Austria. Rapid are well supported, as the 51,000-odd spectators in attendance here this evening highlights, but will they have enough in the tank to overcome one of the 2016-16 Premier League favourites? A long road ahead awaits Conte, with this his first taste of life as Chelsea boss.

PREDICTION! These two sides have never actually met in competitive competition, incidentally, having avoided paths in Europe. The result in pre-season friendlies is never important, of course, but both sides have an incentive to go the extra mile this evening. Chelsea's stars know that they must impress their new boss, while Rapid are in a similar position with their new campaign just a week away. The hosts' fitness will tell in the end with a 2-1 win.

Antonio Conte enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Juventus before taking on the job as Italy manager. The Azzurri ultimately fell at the quarter-final stage in France, but Conte won even more admirers with his tactical flexibility which many Blues supporters will be hoping to see at Stamford Bridge over the coming months and years.

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KICKOFF! Slightly later than planned, but we are now officially underway in the Austrian capital. A strong lineup named by Conte this evening, so can his side respond with a victory in their first outing of this pre-season campaign?

Rapid earn themselves a free kick inside the opening couple of minutes which is crossed into the box for Ivanovic to head well clear. No denying that the hosts have been on top so far, working the ball well down the left but unable to make too many inroads.

Conte down on the touchline urging his players to step up the field. Rapid dominating possession so far, which is largely to be expected when taking into consideration that these players are near enough at full fitness at this stage of their summer schedule.

A chance of Victor Moses to impress Conte this evening. The winger stood out for Chelsea in pre-season last year, but could not carry that former over and spent time at West Ham United on loan. Not seen a great deal of him so far with the ball exclusively in the opposite half.

What a start to the match this has been for Rapid, who have taken complete control and now have a goal to show for it. A well-worked strike, too, which came about following some nice work on the edge of the box; a quick give-and-go later and Joelinton was through and rounding Begovic to tap into an empty net

Two in two now for Joelinton, who is making a fine impression in the early days of his loan spell from Hoffenheim. Not a lot has changed since that breakthrough goal - Rapid still dominating and Chelsea struggling to get a foot on the ball.

Chelsea finally given a chance to just knock the ball around in defence and build some confidence. This was always going to be a tough evening in what is their first pre-season outing, but they may now be able to grow into the contest following the early setback.

Fifteen minutes into pre-season and Costa is already fuming. The Spain international was pulled back on the break and was quick to vent his fury to both the guilty party and also the referee - no need. Moses uses his pace to get forward down the left but it is well cleared behind for a corner.

Moses takes the corner that he won, sending it into a good position for Costa to flick well wide of goal. Much, much better from Chelsea over the past five minutes or so - a well-balanced game all of a sudden following a dominant Rapid start.

CLOSE! Almost a leveller from Chelsea following some good work from Willian, who got a cross into the box and forced Srdjan Grahovac to swing a boot at the ball which ended just inches wide of the goal. Chelsea have well and truly found their groove now!

Rapid were on top for the opening 10 minutes; Chelsea on top for the next ten - now it is the hosts' turn once more as their opponents perhaps look to get their breath back. Limited chances overall, with that Joelinton opener the only standout play witnessed so far.

Rapid win themselves another corner which is sent in too deep and straight out for a goal-kick. The slow tempo of the game over the past few minutes will suit Chelsea more than their opponents, though Conte is urging his side to get the ball moving.

A sloppy free kick conceded by Djilobodji, but the Green-Whites fail to capitalise and Begovic is all of a sudden back in possession. Rapid struggling to find the same passing groove we saw in the opening 10 minutes or so of the match.

Loftus-Cheek works his way into the box from a right-sided position, but he never looked likely to beat his man and would probably have been happy to win the corner - which he did. Nothing comes of that and the hosts break through Joelinton, which Chelsea do well to defend against.

Not a great deal to shout about at the moment in Vienna. Joelinton scored a fine goal to open the scoring, coming at the end of a string of passes before rounding the keeper, but other than that we have seen very little of the ball in either attacking third.

Costa has barely had a touch of the ball in the opening 30 minutes. Loftus-Cheek, Moses and Willian will have to do more to get the lone striker on the ball, but Conte will be happy enough with the way his side has recovered since going behind.

Buskens will surely be asking his side to show a little more energy in the second period and really get at Chelsea, much like we saw early on. A very quiet first half, which has got progressively tamer as it has progressed.

SAVE! Begovic looks rather uncomfortable when pushing aside Joelinton's latest attempt. The Brazilian really put his boot through the ball, but Begovic did rather parry it for Terry to clear away.

CLOSE! Moments after that scare at one end, Chelsea are up the other and flashing the ball just inches wide of the target through Costa's shot. The Spain international had three men to beat, but opted to skip past one and fire away from a tight angle on the break.

SAVE! This game has come to life all of a sudden! Chelsea were caught out a little at the back, as Steffen Hofmann got in behind and volleyed a shot on goal which Begovic pushed aside to redeem himself for that early error.

So chances for both sides over the past six minutes or so, but no denying that Rapid are looking to more likely to bag a second. Conte will likely make a raft of changes at the break, so just a few minutes for many of these Chelsea players to make an impression.

Willian has to ride three separate challenged, emphasising that Rapid are desperate to put in a strong showing this evening. Just a couple of minutes to go until the interval - not a great deal to separate the sides over the past few moments.

Not sure how much Antonio Conte would have learned from the opening 45 minutes of his Chelsea tenure, but his side go into the break in this pre-season opener 1-0 down to Rapid Vienna. The hosts have been the better side overall, creating a couple of decent chances and scoring one to ensure that the Blues have work to do in the second half.

The Green-Whites made a very impressive start in Vienna, taking complete control of the ball by simply knocking the ball around their opponents. The positive start told eight minutes in when, following some intricate link-up play, Joelinton was slipped through where he kept his cool to round Begovic and tap into the net.

The closest Chelsea came to a leveller was just a few minutes later when Willian's cross was turned just wide of his own goal by Srdjan Grahovac. Costa also worked a yard of space for a shot later in the half, but left himself with too much to do and could only blast wide of the far post.

It was Rapid who looked the more likely to score a second, though - Steffen Hofmann seeing his volleyed attempt pushed aside by Begovic, while Joelinton's well-struck attempt was parried by the Chelsea stopper before being cleared to safety. Conte has been belting out plenty of instructions in the first half, yet his side trail by a goal to nil at the break.

A very frustrating first half in Austria for Diego Costa, who was starved of service from Chelsea's three attacking midfield players. Will the Spain international return for the second half, or will Conte make a few changes?

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RESTART! We are back up and running at the Allianz Stadion, where there is news of a couple of Chelsea changes to bring you. Rahman and Loftus-Cheek make way for Oscar and Ola Aina, though the 4-2-3-1 formation is likely to remain.

Bright start to the half for Chelsea, who are clearly looking to feed Costa more often in this second half. The striker wins his side a corner, but little comes of it and Rapid can look to get forward themselves on the counter.

Moses goes down in the box under a sliding challenge, but the referee - right on top of the ball - waves the appeals away. It was a tight one, but probably the correct call having looked at the slow-mo replay.

I expected just a tad more from Rapid in the opening stages of this half, in truth, but they cannot quite get a grip on proceedings in their opening match at this impressive new venue. More changes likely to come from both managers shortly.

A superb ball into the box from the left just about evades Joelinton. Chelsea need to be careful to stop those crosses coming in - a near let-off on this occasion but the opening goalscorer certainly seems up for it.

Rapid actually replaced their keeper at half time, with Strebinger coming on for Novota - neither stopper having to make a serious save with nearly an hour of the match played. Pre-season is all about building up fitness, of course, so Conte will not be all that concerned.

Traore, Kenedy and Chalobah could all be joining us soon. The trio are going through what appears to be their final warm-ups on the touchline, so Conte perhaps ready to shuffle the pack slightly heading into the final third of this friendly match.

CHELSEA SUB! Nathaniel Chalobah replaces John Obi Mikel as we hit the hour mark at the Allianz Arena. It has been a very poor second half so far in terms of entertainment - zero chances; zero shots.

Chelsea have four more pre-season fixtures to get through after today, incidentally, starting with a meeting against RZ Pellets on Wednesday evening before a trip to the United States and games against Liverpool, Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Just absolutely nothing happening at the moment - a classic pre-season friendly in many ways. Conte will just be happy to see his players on the field at this stage, but Buskens will surely be asking his players to get at the Blues in the remainder of this match with their season set to start in seven days.

CHANCE! First chance of any note for either side in this second half, provided by Djilobodji with a fine cross into the middle. Costa could not quite make the desired contact with his head, though, and instead sent the ball sailing over the crossbar.

Chelsea have suddenly woken up; Moses the man at the centre of this latest attacking move as he bursts down the left and sends in a cross which has slightly too much on it for Costa to slide in and convert. Rapid having to defend a fair bit at the moment.

SAVE! Rapid send a shot wide of Begovic's post, giving Chelsea's players a chance to just catch their breath again. The Blues come forward and force a save - at long last! - out of Richard Strebinger through a belting Chalobah strike from range.

CHELSEA SUB! Remy and Kenedy are on for Costa and Willian as we head into the final quarter of this match. Remy will play through the middle, taking over from Costa who has put in a decent enough shift without getting the rewards.

Five changes made by Conte now, but it just has not worked for Chelsea so far. Still a little over 15 minutes for Chelsea to give their supporters something to cheer inside the Allianz Arena - Rapid's sparkling new stadium.

Plenty of noise being created all evening by the Rapid fans, but things have stepped up a notch now with a number of flares being set off behind Begovic's goal. Chelsea looking more positive over the past few minutes, while the hosts just sit back a bit.

CHELSEA SUB! Nemanja Matic makes way for Bertrand Traore at the Allianz Arena. No surprise to see Conte check out all of his players ahead of what will be a gruelling pre-season campaign over the coming weeks.

OFF THE POST! Almost a Willian-esque goal from Aina, who sends a cross in from deep that goes right the way through and back off the post. Strebinger was beaten but thankfully for him the woodwork came to his, and his side's, rescue.

CHELSEA SUB! Christian Atsu is on for Moses, who has probably been Chelsea's best player this evening. Traore and Remy now playing as a striking duo, as the Blues alter their formation for the closing stages of the match.

Ivanovic's error is pounced on by Rapid, who are able to quickly break and add a second goal. The initial shot was blocked away on the line, but substitute Correa was on hand to tap the ball over the line from a yard out.

Rapid now going through the motions to see this one through. They have looked underwhelming in this second half, in truth, but have done enough to get a second goal and earn what is now a comfortable victory on home soil.

The hosts make another late change to eat up more seconds, and that will likely be that with no stoppage time expected at the Allianz Stadium. Defeat for Conte in his first game in charge of Chelsea!

So defeat for Antonio Conte in his first game in charge of Chelsea, albeit in a friendly match that will have little baring on how the real stuff will pan out this time next month. I'm sure the Italian will take plenty of lessons away from the 90 minutes in Vienna, but his side were certainly second best for large parts this evening.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the Allianz Stadion, but be sure to stick around as we bring you plenty of reaction from the Chelsea camp over the coming hours. In the meantime, check out this on-the-whistle report from this evening's clash in Austria. Thanks for joining!