Chelsea produced their most convincing performance of pre-season to dismantle AC Milan 3-0 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, with Joao Pedro scoring twice either side of half-time and Moises Caicedo adding a third to hand Xabi Alonso’s men the win.
The result ends a run of two consecutive pre-season defeats – a 2-1 loss to Tottenham and a 1-0 reverse against Juventus – and offers the first proper glimpse of what Alonso’s system can produce when the pieces begin to click.
AC Milan, still searching for their own first win of pre-season under Ruben Amorim, were taken apart in the opening 20 minutes of the second half and had little answer to Chelsea’s intensity.
Joao Pedro broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time, meeting Moises Caicedo’s corner at the near post to flick a header into the top right corner.
The Brazilian looked sharp throughout an encouraging first half in which Cole Palmer and Danny Welbeck also created openings, while Luka Modric showed his enduring class in what was one of his first appearances in the red and black of Milan this summer before being replaced at the interval.
AC Milan reorganised heavily at the break, sending on six players simultaneously including Goncalo Ramos, Alexis Saelemaekers, Christopher Nkunku and Yunus Musah.
It had no effect. Within 40 seconds of the restart, Joao Pedro had doubled the lead. Pedro Neto drove down the right and clipped a cross into the box that Koni De Winter had lost track of, and Joao Pedro arrived from deep to flick it in left-footed from close range.
Caicedo then removed all remaining doubt in the 50th minute. Romeo Lavia played a short corner to the edge of the area, the Ecuadorian took one touch to set himself and drove a right-footed volley into the bottom right corner from 20 yards.
Chelsea continued to press for more. Geovany Quenda struck the post with a rasping effort from the right side of the box, and Nicolas Jackson, who replaced Welbeck in the second half, rattled the woodwork as well minutes later. Marco Palestra was equally unlucky when he flicked down a cross well only to fire wide at the near post.
There was one fitness concern, with Wesley Fofana requiring attention late in the game and being replaced by Mamadou Sarr in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
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