Chelsea had the better of the opening 45 minutes against AC Milan in Jakarta and were rewarded by Joao Pedro’s goal on the stroke of half-time.
Pedro, who had not scored in either of Chelsea’s last two games after netting a hat-trick as a substitute against the Western Sydney Wanderers on July 28, broke the deadlock in the second minute of injury-time, nodding an inswinging corner past Milan goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani at the far post.
Ruben Amorim’s Milan bossed the ball in the early stages with the tempo dictated by evergreen midfielder Luka Modric but it was Chelsea who conjured up the opening chance, Pedro’s shot deflected wide after the Brazilian latched on to a free-kick from Pedro Neto.
Pedro threatened again after 13 minutes with a low shot that was well saved by young Milan keeper Torriani.
Danny Welbeck fired wide before Milan had their first moment as an attacking threat with Christian Comotto seeing a shot blocked after Robert Sanchez’s punch fell to him on the edge of the area.
Torriani was the busier of the two keepers in the opening half hour and he produced another good stop to prevent Neto’s curling effort creeping into the far corner. But there was little he could do when Pedro was left unmarked and guided a downward header into the net.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
Alonso made four changes to the side beaten by Juve with Josh Acheampong, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer and Neto coming in for Tosin Adarabioyo, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, Geovany Quenda and Jamie Gittens.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Palestra, Acheampong, Fofana, Hato; Caicedo, Lavia, Palmer, Joao Pedro, Neto; Welbeck
Chelsea Substitutes: Sharman-Lowe, Penders, Sarr, Anselmino, Tosin, Subuloye, Essugo, Nicoll-Jazuli, Watson, Walsh, Satpayev, Quenda, Gittens, Estevao, Mudryk, Jackson, Delap
AC MILAN TEAM NEWS
Christian Pulisic has a thigh problem and Mike Maignan is still working his way back into full training after his World Cup commitments.
Modric started as did former Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
AC Milan: Torriani; Terracciano, De Winter, Pavlovic; Modric, Comotto, Loftus-Cheek, Estupinan; Chukwueze, Leao; Camarda
AC Milan Substitutes: to follow
How to watch Chelsea v AC Milan: TV and online streams
Chelsea versus AC Milan kicked off at 1pm UK time and is not being shown on television. It can, however, be streamed on Chelsea’s in-house station, CFC+ (subscription required, £15 annually or £9.99 pay-per-view)
Stats for Chelsea v AC Milan
- The teams met in a pre-season friendly almost 12 months to the day, Chelsea winning 4-1 at Stamford Bridge
- Their last competitive meetings came in 2022 with Chelsea winning home and away in the Champions League group stage
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