Joao Pedro scores twice as Chelsea beat Milan in friendly
Joao Pedro scored twice as Chelsea brushed aside AC Milan in a dominant 3-0 pre-season victory in Jakarta.
Joao headed in the first just before the break and the Brazilian touched in a second just after the interval, with Moises Caicedo volleying a superb third.
The performance was impressive throughout, with the Blues looking much fitter and sharper than in the previous two games which brought defeats against Tottenham and Juventus.
Joao, Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Wes Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Pedro Neto all shone in a strong starting line-up that produced plenty of high-energy attacking football on a humid evening in the Indonesian capital.
The Blues had the edge of an open, attacking first half that saw both sides play at a high tempo despite the heat, but it was not until injury time that their increasing dominance told.
Joao, who had been wayward with a couple of earlier attempts on goal, cleverly steered in the opener with a clever downward header from a Caicedo corner.
Within a minute of the restart, Joao added his and Chelsea’s second, albeit via a clumsy close-range contact from Pedro Neto’s delightful cross.
And Caiedo’s stunning finish – a wonderfully guided volley with the outside of his right foot direct from Lavia’s corner to the edge of the box – made it 3-0.
The excellent Marco Palestra almost added another soon after, but the Italian shot wide at the near post after a slick move, while substitutes Goevany Quenda and Nicolas Jackson both hit the outside of the post.
Mykhailo Mudryk once again made a late appearance off the bench and could well feature from the start when Chelsea conclude their tour of Asia with a game against Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim on Sunday.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Palestra, Acheampong, Fofana [Sarr 92], Hato [Anselmino 79]; Caicedo [Watson 85], Lavia; Palmer [Estevao 85], Joao Pedro [Mudryk 85], Neto [Quenda 59]; Welbeck [Jackson 58].
Subs not used: Sharman, Penders, Subuloye, Tosin, Essugo, Nicoll-Jazuli, Walsh, Satpaye, Gittens, Delap.