Yuri Zhirkov had a dream Chelsea debut, scoring the winner as Chelsea beat Milan 2-1 in Baltimore...
Yuri Zhirkov scored the winner on his debut, as Chelsea ran out 2-1 winners over Milan.
The last time these two sides met was in a friendly last summer, when a horror show from Zeljko Kalac contributed to a 5-0 romp from Chelsea.
The Australian keeper was back between the sticks this time, and he was in action soon, saving a pile-driver from range from Frank Lampard.
It was all Chelsea in the early stages, and it was no surprise when the goal came after just six minutes, and it was worth the price of entry. Picking the ball up more than 30 yards out, Didier Drogba unleashed an unstoppable shot that went flying into the top right hand corner, leaving Kalac with no chance.
Milan began to earn a bit more possession after conceding, but they were struggling to create any genuine chances. They did come close on 18 minutes, when Andrea Pirlo's shot from range was well saved by Petr Cech's outstretched left foot, while Ronaldinho's overhead kick from the rebound bounced out off Marco Borriello.
Chelsea were content to sit back and counter, and they were getting plenty of encouragement from Kalac's antics in goal. Having nearly made a complete mess of an attempt to tackle Nicolas Anelka, once in the box and once way outside of it, he then managed to fumble a seemingly routine cross, but luckily escaped unpunished on all three occasions.
Just before the half-hour, Milan had their best chance of the match, when a 1-2 between Clarence Seedorf and Alexandre Pato resulted in a sublime chip from the Dutchman, which was cleared off the line by John Terry.
After a frantic start, the game had slowed down somewhat, but on 35 minutes, a scything challenge from Mathieu Flamini on Jon Obi Mikel earned him a yellow card, a rare occurrence for a friendly.
On 37 minutes, just when the match was looking for some inspiration after a brief lull, it was provided by Seedorf. Ronaldinho laid the ball up for him just outside the box, and he unleashed an strike to match Drogba's earlier effort, as Cech helplessly watched the ball sail into the top-right hand corner.
Chelsea almost fought back instantly, when Drogba's ball across the six-yard box found Yuri Zhirkov, who was denied by Kalac's trailing leg.
That was the last chance of an exciting first half in which Milan dominated possession, while Chelsea created the best chances, and both sides deserved to be level thanks to two spectacular strikes.
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Unusually for a friendly, neither team made a change at half-time. Chelsea were inches away from reclaiming the lead almost immediately, when Anelka slid his shot just past the far post after being put through by Drogba.
Seconds later, Seedorf nearly produced an early contender for goal of the season. Playing the ball into Ronaldinho, the Brazilian produced a phenomenal first time back-heel back into Seedorf's path. but the Dutchman's lob flew just wide.
It was certainly an intense start to the second period, and Kalac was being kept busy again as Lampard tested him out with another long range effort. Branislav Ivanovic then got booked for a challenge that might have seen him off in a competitive encounter, and Ronaldinho's free-kick flew wide.
On the hour mark, Carlo Ancelotti made his first substitution, replacing Anelka with AndriyShevchenko. Meanwhile, Seedorf, who had just picked up a knock to the knee, was replaced by Ignazio Abate. The changes were now starting to increase, with Oguchi Onyewu and Gianmarco Zigoni replacing Nesta and Borrielo respectively.
With twenty minutes remaining, Chelsea took the lead once more. Shevchenko cut in from the left and saw his shot saved, while Lampard's rebound was also blocked. However, the ball came out to Zhirkov, who fired a low strike in at the near post.
The Rossoneri continued to make their changes, with Gennaro Gattuso now replacing Pirlo. Marek Jankulovski then took Zambrotta's place, while Drogba was withdrawn for Claudio Pizarro.
Milan now almost had a new XI by this stage, with Davide Di Gennaro replacing Ronaldinho, and Filippo Inzaghi taking Pato's place.
With ten minutes remaining, Milan did not look likely to equalize, as the new introductions tried to settle into the game. Inzaghi did attempt an ambitious bicycle kick, but he failed to connect properly and the ball simply floated out of play.
On 85 minutes, Zhirkov's succesful debut came to an end, as he was replaced by Michael Mancienne. Just before full time, Jose Bosingwa was withdrawn for Sam Hutchinson.
Just when it seemed as though the game was petering out to its inevitable conclusion, Inzaghi got a trademark header in from the six yard box, which was spectacularly tipped over by Cech. Onyewu then headed wide from a late cross, as Chelsea hung on to claim the victory.
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