Chelsea has opened its International Champions Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over 10-man Inter Milan.
Goals from Oscar and Eden Hazard inspired Premier League side Chelsea to victory over Inter, which had Hugo Campagnaro sent off in the second half in the first-ever football match played at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.
Chelsea will now face
fellow East side opponent AC Milan in New York on Aug. 4, while Inter will do battle with La Liga's Valencia on the same day.
Jose Mourinho's men had been in lethal form in their previous five preseason fixtures, scoring 14 goals and conceding just three, but it was the Portuguese manager's former employer Inter which came closest to breaking the deadlock early on Thursday.
Fredy Guarin unleashed a volley on goal after 10 minutes of play but the Colombian midfielder, who scored 10 goals in a disappointing 2012/13 campaign for Inter, sent his stinging effort just wide of the post.
The Indianapolis crowd did not have to wait long for the opening goal, however, with Chelsea hitting the front just three minutes later
Inter found itself caught out in the attacking third and Chelsea took full advantage of a three-on-three situation, with Brazilian playmaker Oscar the beneficiary.
Walter Mazzarri's Inter side almost leveled proceedings seven minutes later but Rodrigo Palacio's long-range effort was tipped away for a corner by Petr Cech.
Chelsea were then awarded a controversial penalty in the 27th minute, which was converted by Belgian winger Hazard.
Replays showed Victor Moses had been brought down just outside the area but that did not faze Hazard, who doubled Chelsea's lead from the spot.
Chelsea ended the opening 45 minutes with a two-goal buffer and introduced the likes of Mark Schwarzer and Michel Essien after the break.
The substitutions added some fresh impetus around the pitch and they almost made it 3-0 early in the second half but Romelu Lukaku's thunderous strike cannoned off the post.
Inter's task was made even tougher just minutes later, when Argentine defender Campagnaro was given his marching orders for a nasty tackle on Chelsea veteran John Terry.
Campanaro's dismissal took the sting out of the game, with Inter happy to sit back and avoid any further punishment.
Chelsea had chances to add some extra gloss to the scoreline through substitute Fernando Torres but he was unable to find the net.
The result saw the Europa League champion end a two-game losing streak on American soil, having lost twice to Manchester City in May
No comments:
Post a Comment