Antonio Conte loses first game as Chelsea manager as Blues are downed by Rapid Vienna

The Blues handed the Austrians two goals through sloppy mistakes, with the Italian boss left with plenty to work on as he begins his Stamford Bridge reign

Chelsea lost 2-0 to Rapid Vienna in Antonio Conte's debut on the Blues bench with a string of errors handing the hosts victory.

Conte will be furious with the poor defending that gifted Die Grün-Weißen the 2-0 win after coaching an outstanding Italy defence at Euro 2016 this summer.

Chelsea were guests of honour for the inaugural match at the new Allianz Stadion and there was a sensational atmosphere with 28,000 fans packed into the ground.

It did not take long for confusion at the back to gift Rapid the lead when a botched offside trap let in Brazilian striker Joelinton, who neatly rounded Asmir Begovic to break the deadlock.

Joelinton scores the opener for Rapid

Diego Costa appears to have turned up for pre-season in better condition than last summer and the Spain international twisted and turned before firing just wide of the post moments before half time.

Rapid were a constant threat and their high tempo, combined with an intimidating atmosphere and clouds of green smoke, made it difficult for the Blues to settle on the ball.

Ivanovic looked shaky and will be under pressure coming off the back of a poor season

The Chelsea players applauded the fans after the game

In a nod to the future, Conte introduced Ola Aina and Nathaniel Chalobah in the second half, with the latter - fresh from a loan spell to Napoli - forcing Richard Strebinger to save well from a long-range shot.

Aina, who signed a new long-term deal this summer, then swung in a fine cross that clattered the post, which was as close as the Blues came before the hosts doubled their lead with eight minutes remaining.

Chelsea had pushed on in search of a late equaliser and Rapid smartly picked them off with Begovic fumbling a fierce strike into the path of Tomi, who duly converted to seal the victory.

Conte, who will now turn his attention to next Wednesday's game against RZ pellets, revealed how tough today's game was after a gruelling training schedule.

Tomi celebrates scoring the second goal for Rapid

Aina impressed and could be handed a chance in the first team

"Today's game was very difficult, because we have had some very hard training sessions with strength and tactical aspects," said the former Juventus coach.

"I don't like to lose, and this is the same for my players. We can learn a lot from this," Conte added.