Chelsea concluded their pre-season in emphatic fashion with a 4-1 win over AC Milan at Stamford Bridge, offering a glimpse of the attacking intent Enzo Maresca will take into his debut Premier League campaign as the club’s manager.
The European champions wasted little time asserting themselves. Within five minutes, captain Reece James’ free-kick was inadvertently turned into his own net by Milan’s Romanian defender Andrei Coubis. Just three minutes later, Pedro Neto’s surging run down the right produced a cross for Joao Pedro to head home, doubling the advantage.
Milan’s evening worsened when Coubis, already reeling from his earlier mistake, was dismissed after 18 minutes for hauling down Joao Pedro as the last defender. Reduced to ten men, the visitors struggled to stem Chelsea’s pressure.
The third came midway through the second half, when new signing Estevao was bundled over inside the area. Substitute Liam Delap stepped up and dispatched the penalty with authority. Milan briefly threatened a fightback when Alexis Saelemaekers threaded a pass to Youssouf Fofana, who beat Robert Sanchez at his near post.
Any hope of a comeback was swiftly extinguished. Delap struck again late on, finishing coolly from the edge of the box after being teed up by Andrey Santos.
The performance was underpinned by vibrant attacking play from Chelsea’s new arrivals. Jamie Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund, impressed on the left, registering nine touches in the Milan box — more than any other player. Despite only featuring for the final half-hour, Delap matched Neto for shots on target, scoring with both attempts.
