by Pamela Schembri from Stamford Bridge, London

Chelsea won the second friendly match of the VisitMalta Weekender when they played against AC Milan at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Before the game started, Chelsea, led by Captain James Reece and coach Enzo Maresca, came out to present the Club World Cup trophy to the fans and those present.

For this match, Enzo Maresca made no fewer than six changes to the starting lineup compared to how they started on Friday against Bayer Leverkusen. He decided this time to start Tosin Adarabioyo, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Jamie Gittens, and Joao Pedro. Meanwhile, Massimiliano Allegri started only Yunus Musah compared to yesterday, as they had a friendly match against Leeds United, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea opened the score after six minutes through an own goal by Andrei Coubis, who was unlucky to deflect a free kick by the Blues captain Reece James into the goal. Just one minute later, Joao Pedro made it 2-0 when he received a ball from the right from Pedro Neto and, from in front of the goal, scored with a header past AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

In the 18th minute, Milan’s Andrea Coubis stopped Joao Pedro in a clear scoring opportunity. The referee did not hesitate twice and showed the Romanian player a straight red card.

Chelsea came close to increasing the score when a free kick by Cole Palmer hit the crossbar. Meanwhile, Milan had a goal by Leao disallowed for offside.

Yunus Musah pulled Estevao inside the box, and referee Salisbury ordered a penalty. In the 67th minute, substitute Liam Delap took the penalty and scored his first goal at the Bridge.

In the 70th minute, AC Milan reduced the score to 3-1 when Youssouf Fofana fired into the net from close range after receiving from the Belgian Saelemaekers.

Chelsea made it four in the 90th minute when Liam Delap scored with a central shot towards the left corner of the net.

At the end of the match, the Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Tourism Authority, Carlo Micallef, presented the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, winners of the second VisitMalta Weekender match.

The Malta Tourism Authority, through VisitMalta, is the official sponsor of the VisitMalta Weekender—an initiative putting Malta on the map as a vibrant, world-class destination. Through this partnership with Chelsea Football Club, fans enjoyed a unique blend of sport, culture, and tourism. Before today's match, the VisitMalta brand was prominently displayed at strategic points such as Stamford Bridge stadium itself and the Fulham Broadway Underground station, offering those present a visual taste of all that Malta has to offer.

Line-ups

Chelsea: Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James (C), Moises Calcedo

Subs: Filip Jorgensen, Gabriel Slonina, Liam Delap, Dario Eussugo, Andrey Santos, Jorrel Hato, Malo Gusto, Aaron Anselmino, Tyrique George, Josh Acheampong, Estevao, Samuel Rak-Sakyi, Genesis Antwi, Reggie Walsh.

AC Milan: Mike Maignan (C), Samuele Ricci, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao, Youssouf Fofana, Fikayo Tomori, Filippo Terracciano, Davide Bartesaghi, Andrei Coubis, Alexis Saelemaekers, Yunus Musah

Subs: Pietro Terracciano, Pervis Estupinan, Santiago Gimenez, Luka Modric, Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze, Ardon Jashari, Strahinja Pavlovic, Diego Sia, Matteo Dutu, Matteo Pittarella, Vitor Eletu, Matteo Gabbia, Lorenzo Torriani.

Referee: Michael Salisbury

minn Pamela Schembri fi Stamford Bridge, Londra

Chelsea rebħu t-tieni logħba ta’ ħbiberija tal-VisitMalta Weekender meta l-Ħadd waranofsinhar lagħbu kontra AC Milan fi Stamford Bridge.

Qabel bdiet il-logħba Chelsea mmexxija mill-Captain James Reece u l-kowċ Enzo Maresca ħarġu jippreżentaw it-trofew tal-Club World Cup lill-partitarji u dawk preżenti.

Għal din il-logħba, Enzo Maresca għamel xejn anqas minn sitt tibdiliet fil-line up inizjali meta mqabbel ma’ kif beda nhar il-Ġimgħa kontra Bayer Leverkusen.  Hu ddeċieda li din id-darba jibda lil Tosin Adarabioyo, Pedro Neto, Enso Fernandez, Jamie Gittens u Joao Pedro.  Intant Massimiliano Allegri beda biss lil Yunus Musah, meta mqabbel mal-bieraħ hekk kif huma kellhom logħba ta’ ħbiberija kontra Leeds United, liema logħba spiċċat fi draw ta’ 1-1.

Chelsea fetħu l-iskor wara sitt minuti logħob permezz ta’ awtogowl ta’ Andrei Coubis li kien sfortunat li dawwar freekick tal-captain tal-blues Reece James f’gowl. Minuta biss wara, Joao Pedro għamilhom 2-0 meta rċieva ballun mil-lemin mingħand Pedro Neto u, minn quddiem il-lasta, skorja b’daqqa ta’ ras li biha għeleb lill-goalkeeper ta’ AC Milan, Mike Maignan.

Fit-18-il minuta Milan spiċċaw bi plejer inqas, meta Andrea Coubis waqqaf lil Joao Pedro f’opportunità ċara ta’ skor. Ir-referee ma ħasibhiex darbtejn u wera karta ħamra diretta lill-plejer Rumen.

Chelsea marru viċin li jkabbru l-iskor meta freekick ta’ Cole Palmer laqat il-wieqfa. Intant Milan kellhom goal ta’ Leao mħassar għal offside. 

Yunus Musah jiġbed lil Estevao fil-kaxxa, ir-referee Salisbury jordna penalty.  Fis-67 minuta, is-sostitut Liam Delap jinkariga mill-penalty u mill-11-il metru ma jfallix biex hekk jiskorja l-ewwel gowl tiegħu fil-Bridge.   

Fis-70 minuta, AC Milan naqqsu d-distakk għal 3-1, meta Youssouf Fofana spara fix-xibka mill-viċin war li rċieva mingħand il-Belġjan Saelemaekers.

Chelsea għamluhom erbgħa fid-90 minuta, meta Liam Delap b’xutt ċentrali lejn il-kantuniera xellugija tal-lasta.  

Fl-aħħar tal-logħba l-Kap Eżekuttiv tal-Awtorità Maltija tat-Turiżmu Carlo Micallef preżenta t-tazza lil Reese James captain ta’ Chelsea rebbieħa tat-tieni logħba tal-VisitMalta Weekender.

L-Awtorità Maltija tat-Turiżmu, permezz ta’ VisitMalta, li hija l-isponsor uffiċjali tal-VisitMalta Weekender organizzat din l-inizjattiva li qed tpoġġi lil Malta fuq il-mappa bħala destinazzjoni vibranti u ta’ klassi dinjija. Permezz ta’ dan il-partnership mal-klabb ta’ Chelsea, il-partitarji setgħu jgawdu taħlita unika ta’ sport, kultura u turiżmu. Qabel il-logħba tal-lum, il-brand VisitMalta dehret b’mod prominenti f’punti strateġiċi bħall-istess stadium ta’ Stamford Bridge u l-istazzjon tal-Underground ta’ Fulham Broadway, toffri lil dawk preżenti togħma viżiva ta’ dak kollu li toffri Malta.

Line-ups

Chelsea: Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James (C), Moises Calcedo

Subs: Filip Jorgensen, Gabriel Slonina, Liam Delap, Dario Eussugo, Andrey Santos, Jorrel Hato, Malo Gusto, Aaron Anselmino, Tyrique George, Josh Acheampong, Estevao, Samuel Rak-Sakyi, Genesis Antwi, Reggie Walsh.

AC Milan: Mike Maignan (C), Samuele Ricci, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao, Youssouf Fofana, Fikayo Tomori, Filippo Terracciano, Davide Bartesaghi, Andrei Coubis, Alexis Saelemaekers, Yunus Musah

Subs: Pietro Terracciano, Pervis Estupinan, Santiago Gimenez, Luka Modric, Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze, Ardon Jashari, Strahinja Pavlovic, Diego Sia, Matteo Dutu, Matteo Pittarella, Vitor Eletu, Matteo Gabbia, Lorenzo Torriani.

Referee: Michael Salisbury

Photos available through this link: https://we.tl/t-G3Vgky6aw8
Credit: VisitMalta