Chelsea picked up a confidence-boosting pre-season win as they comfortably beat AC Milan in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Blues were on top for long spells but did not take the lead until first-half stoppage time.
João Pedro broke the deadlock, heading home an in-swinging corner from six yards. The Brazil forward had gone close twice earlier in the half before finally converting.
He doubled his and Chelsea’s tally within seconds of the restart. Pedro Neto’s delivery from the left picked out Pedro at the far post, and he steered the ball past Milan goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani.
Chelsea added a third four minutes later through Moisés Caicedo. A half-cleared corner dropped to the captain on the edge of the box, and he struck a first-time volley into the far corner from around 20 yards.
The win follows back-to-back friendly defeats to Tottenham and Juventus, results that had raised some early questions about Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea. This performance offered a firmer response, coming against a Milan side, coached by former Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim, that never got going.
Chelsea could have added to their margin. Geovany Quenda and Nicolas Jackson both struck the woodwork as the Blues continued to press for a fourth.
Chelsea round off their pre-season schedule on Sunday against Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim, kicking off at 13:00 BST. Their Premier League campaign then begins at home to Fulham on 24 August.
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