Pedro’s fifth minute goal proved the difference although Glory came close to levelling late, with new signing Brendon Santalab heading narrowly wide.

Glory goalkeeper Liam Reddy kept his side in the contest with a series of good saves but Perth did push hard towards the end.

“I thought we showed too much respect to our opponent in the first 20-25 minutes and they showed their class,” Popovic said.

“After that they relaxed a bit more. All round it was a good night for us.

“It’s still pre-season, we’ve got no injuries and the spectacle was excellent.

“It’s something we should all remember. Hopefully there’s a few more good nights like this in Perth.”

Popovic declined to identify individuals but said he was happy with his new signings.

Left-back Jason Davidson impressed off the bench while Fabio Ferreira was arguably Glory’s best.

“I think, in general, the effort, the work-rate and the commitment from the players in terms of what we’ve been trying to do was excellent,” Popovic said.

“They should take a lot from it. We’ll learn from the experience.”

Popovic said Glory would learn a crucial lesson having taken on the reigning FA Cup winners.

“You don’t get many chances against a Chelsea,” he said. “When you get your moment, you’ve got to take it.

“We have to learn that. But overall it was pleasing with what they did.

“We clearly got into the final third in the areas we wanted to. It was always the final ball or when the players were under fatigue.

“We got into those areas very well. It was nice to see towards the end those areas resulted towards chances. The game finished off in a positive way.”

Glory’s first competitive match is against Melbourne Victory in Perth on August 7.