Summary
The Blues will play AC Milan with
a place in the Guinness
International Champions Cup at
stake, after a comfortable 2-0 win
over their city rivals Inter in
Indianapolis.
Two goals inside the opening half-
hour, an Oscar stunner followed by
an Eden Hazard penalty, put us in
control of the match, and when our
opponents were reduced to 10 men
after the break the Italians were
always up against it.
While winning matches is always
imperative, even during pre-
season, Jose Mourinho will have
been pleased he was able to give
those players who took part in the
Confederations Cup some much-
needed minutes on the pitch, while
also managing the rest of the
squad carefully.
Team news
Mourinho opted to select a strong,
experienced back four in front of
Petr Cech , with John Terry
skippering the team alongside Gary
Cahill. The full-back spots were
taken by Branislav Ivanovic and
Ashley Cole .
In midfield, youngster Marco van
Ginkel partnered Ramires , with the
width provided by Victor Moses
and Eden Hazard.
Oscar was the only one of the six
players involved at the
Confederations Cup to start the
game, operating in a central role
behind lone striker Romelu Lukaku.
First half
Having comfortably won all three
matches on our tour of Asia, the
game against Inter presented our
first serious test of pre-season.
It was the Blues, however, who
threatened first, and we were
unfortunate not to be awarded a
penalty inside three minutes when
Oscar was brought down by Andrea
Ranocchia following good work by
both Hazard and Lukaku.
It took until the 10th minute for
Inter to go close, and we breathed
a huge collective sigh of relief as
Fredy Guarin's well-hit volley flew
inches past Cech's right-hand
post.
Two minutes later, though, it was
Chelsea who took the lead, and the
deadlock was broken with a goal
of the highest quality.
As an Inter move broke down deep
inside our half we broke at speed
through Moses, who was allowed
to advance to the edge of the
penalty area. With options to his
left and right in the form of Oscar
and Lukaku, the Nigerian opted for
the former, who curled an exquisite
strike beyond Samir Handanovic
into the top corner.
Oscar only returned to training
earlier this week following his
summer break, but he looked as
lively as any other player on the
pitch during the opening
exchanges.
Chelsea had certainly started the
brighter of the two sides,
particularly from an attacking
point of view, but the Inter threat
remained, and Cech was forced
into a brilliant save to deny
Rodrigo Palacio in the 20th minute
after his shot deflected towards
goal off the leg of Van Ginkel.
Five minutes later Oscar had a
good opportunity to double our
advantage - and his own personal
tally - when he raced on to a
wonderful pass by Hazard, but
with Handanovic advancing off his
line, the Brazilian opted for the lob
and put too much weight on his
strike.
Within three minutes, however, it
was 2-0, but the second goal
came amid controversial
circumstances.
As Moses picked the ball up and
drove towards goal, he was clearly
fouled by Alvaro Pereira, and the
referee showed no hesitation in
pointing to the penalty spot, much
to the frustration of the Inter
players, who argued the incident
had taken place outside the box.
Replays appeared to show that
there was some justification in
their complaints, but with the
decision already made, Hazard
strode forward and calmly sent
Handanovic the wrong way with
his second penalty in as many
games.
In truth, we'd clearly benefited
from what was a poor decision,
but Walter Mazzarri's side could
have no complaints about their
two-goal deficit, with the Blues in
total control during the opening 45
minutes.
The Serie A outfit were struggling
to live with the pace and
movement of Moses, Oscar and
Hazard, while at the other end,
Terry and Cahill were seldom
troubled.
Second half
As anticipated, Mourinho
reshuffled his pack at the break,
with Mark Schwarzer replacing
Cech in goal, while Michael Essien
and Juan Mata were also
introduced to the action, at the
expense of Moses and Oscar.
The changes to personnel meant
Van Ginkel was now partnered by
Essien in midfield, with Ramires
moving out to play wide on the
right and Mata taking up a central
role.
The second half began in a similar
manner to how the first ended,
with the Blues enjoying plenty of
possession and knocking the ball
around confidently.
Hazard went close with a fizzing
effort, before Lukaku crashed a
strike against the foot of the post
from a tight angle as we looked to
put the game to bed.
Inter's task was made all the more
difficult just before the hour mark
when they were reduced to ten
men, Hugo Campagnaro the player
seeing red for a nasty foul on Terry
as the two challenged for the ball
in the middle of the park.
Mourinho made two more changes
soon after, with David Luiz
replacing Cahill and Lukaku
making way for Demba Ba, as he
attempted to give each player the
necessary game time.
As the clock ticked down, our one-
man advantage was allowing us to
control the pace of the game, with
Inter tiring as they attempted to
win back possession.
Ryan Bertrand and Fernando
Torres , the last of our substitutes,
entered the action with 18 minutes
left to play, with the Spaniard
playing as the focal point of our
attack and Ba shifting out wide on
the left.
Torres went close shortly after
coming on but was unable to get
enough power behind his strike,
while Ba tested Handanovic with a
powerful strike from long-range
late on.
The damage had been done before
the break, however, and it's the
Blues who will now face AC Milan
in New Jersey on Sunday.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech
(Schwarzer h/t); Ivanovic
(Azpilicueta 66), Cahill (David Luiz
59), Terry (c), Cole (Bertrand 72);
Ramires , Van Ginkel ( Mikel 66);
Moses (Essien h/t), Oscar (Mata
h/t), Hazard (Torres 72); Lukaku
(Ba 59).
Scorers Oscar 12, Hazard 28 (pen)
Booked Ivanovic 42
Inter Milan (3-5-2): Samir;
Campagnaro, Ranocchia, Jesus;
Nagatomo, Cambiasso (c), Guarin,
Alvarez, Pereira; Palacio, Icardi
Booked Guarin 28, Cambiasso 45

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