Chelsea defeated AC Milan 2-0 on Sunday evening at MetLife Stadium in New York.
Strikes by Kevin De Bruyne and Andre Schurrle were good enough for the English club as they advanced to the semifinals of the Guinness International Champions Cup.
Chelsea nearly scored four minutes in when a De Bruyne cross was deftly backheeled by Branislav Ivanovic towards the Milan net only for Christian Abbiati to get low a tip it away.
Chelsea went wide again three minutes later when Oscar screwed his shot wide from the left side of the penalty area.
Ivanovic came close again after hisheader of an Oscar freekick went wide of Abbiati’s net in the 12th minute.
Milan’s shooting accuracy early on was off kilter as several shots were well wide of of the Chelsea net in spit of some promising moves from the trio of Stephan El Shaarawy, Mario Balotelli, and Kevin-Prince Boateng, who started out brightly only to disappear as the half progressed.
The Rossoneri nearly went ahead in the 27th minute after a Sully Muntari shot barely missed the foot of Balotelli as Ivanovic intervened at the right time to clear the ball out for a corner.
Chelsea came right back as another Oscar shot from the left went wide of Abbiati’s far post as they continued to press for the opener.
The Londoners broke the dealock in the 29th minute after an excellent run and pass by Eden Hazard met De Bruyne, whose shot wrong-footed Abbiati and went into the far corner from the right side of the pitch.
The trio of Hazard, Oscar, and De Bruyne looked bright from the start, giving a Milan backline fits that included new singing Matias Silvestre and Urby Emanuelson in an unfamiliar left-back position.
After the goal Chelsea enjoyed the swing in momentum, with Chelsea’s attack keeping Milan penned in their own half, and when Milan did venture forward, their shots were largely off-target.
Luca Antonini earned the match’s first yellow card in the 41st minute after taking out his frustrations on Oscar in the form of a late challenge, a sign of Milan’s frustration with Chelsea’s advantage.
Early on in the second half, Milan were able to hold onto the ball better, however, like the preceeding half, were unable to turn that possession into meaningful chances.
Chelsea captain John Terry came close to doubling the Blues’ lead when his shot off a corner kicked narrowly missed the post six minutes into the second half.
Chelsea continued their domination into the second half with the introductions of Fernando Torres, Victor Moses, and Juan Mata as Milan struggled to create chances in the attacking third.
An hour in Moses almost scored a spectacular solo effort, speeding past Emanuelson down the right and taking a shot at a narrow angle only to see the ball go high and wide.
A minute later Mata could have had Chelsea’s second after his shot was saved by Abbiati after another run down the right exposed the Rossoneri.
Chelsea’s attacks proved to be too much for Milan, as the combination of Torres, Mata, Moses, and Ramires continued to cause problems much like De Bruyne, Oscar, and Hazard had in the first half.
Again Chelsea came close after Mata’s freekick in the 70th minute scraped the top of the netting after Ramires was fouled just outside the area by Silvestre.
Milan’s best chance of the second half came when a M’baye Niang cross from the left met the head of Andrea Petagna, however, his effort sailed wide of Mark Schwarzer in goal late in the second half.
In the final 15 minutes of the match, Milan started to pile on the pressure to no avail as Chelsea put the tie to bed in the 92nd minute via Schurrle’s late strike.
