Chelsea 1-1 (5-4 on pens) Inter Milan
It was all smiles for Maurizio Sarri and his new Chelsea side as Cesar Azpilicueta scored the winning penalty in a shootout after a hard fought draw with Inter.
And the fans on the French Riviera were happy as Chelsea vs Inter Milan put on a show at the Allianz Stadium in Nice. Luciano Spalletti’s side were good value for a draw but the Blues stayed calm at the death, scoring all five penalties.
Chelsea had gone ahead early in the game through Pedro, but a Gagliardini strike equalled matters at the beginning of the second half to set up the shootout drama.
Highlights of the game
Maurizio Sarri’s men came out on the front foot and thought they’d scored on just six minutes, when Alvaro Morata headed a Cesc Fabregas cross powerfully home, only for the linesman’s flag to signal offside but, my, it was a close call.
Then three minutes later came the opening goal. Morata chased what looked like a lost cause as D’Ambrisio aimed to shepherd the ball out for a goal-kick, but the Spaniard kept it in play and snapped a shot away, and the ball was only parried into the path of Pedro who slammed it gratefully home. What an opening!
Morata started like a man on a mission after his club had indicated they are willing to let him go for a price. Milan is interested, but they’ll have to pay a premium if he continues to show this kind of form, and he may persuade Sarri to try to keep him.
Chelsea was playing with energy and skill and Morata and Pedro continued to link up well, threatening to make it two, but Pedro couldn’t quite find his partner when the big chance came.
Inter’s talisman Mauro Icardi was always going to feature heavily in the Chelsea vs Inter Milan highlights and he looked up for the challenge as the Italians began to find their way into the game. He had a shot charged down, before teeing up winger Matteo Politano who should have done better from the edge of the box. Inter has signed the Sassuolo man on a season long loan with an option to buy, and he did look lively, early in the second half forcing Will Caballero into a save.
But there was nothing the keeper could do when that man Icardi found Roberto Gagliardini with a lovely ball and the big midfielder fired it through the Chelsea keeper to level the scores. 1-1.
The Blues’ big buy of the summer Jorginho looked tidy but had struggled to make an impression, but he almost earned an assist, teeing up Danny Drinkwater, only for the ex Leicester man’s shot to fly just over. Then Jorginho tried his own luck and fired a super shot towards the top corner which Handanovic tipped brilliantly away.
Lautaro Martinez almost won it for Inter on 90 minutes but Caballero saved superbly as the ball looked destined for the top corner. In our pre-match Chelsea vs Inter Milan predictions we highlighted a 2-1 to Inter and that would have paid nicely at 9.75.
But it wasn’t to be, and Azpilicueta eventually tipped the tie Chelsea’s way from 12 yards.
Key statistics
It was new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri’s first big game in charge having overseen a 1-0 win, on the other side of the world, over Perth Glory. And he seems to be making an impression as his team played with a high tempo, certainly in the first half.
Inter will be getting used to big European clashes having qualified in such dramatic fashion in a last game victory over Lazio at the end of the Serie A season. But tonight’s opponents Chelsea must make do with Europa League football, having finished fifth in the Premier League.
That makes it two goals in two for Pedro, keen to stake his claim for a place in Sarri’s opening league outing.
In last year’s ICC clash Inter ran out 2-1 winners against Chelsea, and Martinez was so close to making it a repeat.
But on tonight’s stats Chelsea just shaded it in a close and entertaining game, with 58 per cent possession and 16 shots to 14.
What’s next?
It’s a London derby, well sort of, at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday when Chelsea meets Arsenal, and that could be some game after Unai Emery’s side spanked PSG 5-1 earlier today.
For Milan, it’s a clash with Olympique Lyonnais next Saturday, three days after the French team has faced Benfica.
Make sure you keep up with the SBOBET odds as the games continue to come thick and fast.
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