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English football giants Chelsea cruised to a 4-1 victory over a Malaysian selection as part of their pre-season Asia tour yesterday. |
Bertrand Traore opened the floodgates in the fifth minute, tapping home a low cross from Kevin De Bruyne after a deft dummy from Romelu Lukaku.
The Blues doubled their advantage just before the half hour mark, as De Bruyne—returning from a loan spell at Werder Bremen—smashed home an unstoppable half volley after taking Lukaku’s flicked header in his stride.
An awkward landing followed the scorching shot however, and the promising Belgian was stretchered off moments later clutching his knee.
Lukaku put the tie to bed in first-half injury time with a near post finish to make it 3-0.
Chelsea, fielding new signings Mark Schwarzer and Marco van Ginkel, were comfortable and Traore could have notched up his second of the match, but saw his early shot saved.
The second half was pretty much a procession as Chelsea were barely threatened by a Malaysian side who lacked the spark to trouble the Blues’ defence. There was drama in the dying stages of the match as Victor Moses drove home a fourth for Chelsea in the 88th minute.
Malaysia created a couple of half chances that were enough to force Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho to the edge of his technical area.
The Malaysian fans finally had something to cheer about in stoppage time as Fadhli Shas headed home a consolation goal for the home side. Malaysia enjoyed another good spell but couldn’t find the net, which Chelsea did again on the stroke of half time, this time with Lukaku finishing well after Traore had rolled the ball into his path.
Mourinho made wholesale changes at the break, and Demba Ba could have added a fourth when he cut inside from the left and drilled a very good shot at goal, which the keeper shovelled away for a corner.
Eden Hazard, one of the two survivors of the half time cull, almost scored a rare headed goal, but saw the ball glide the wrong side of the post after Moses picked him out.
Chelsea lacked the fluidity of the first half but eventually added a fourth in the last minute when Moses squeezed a powerful low drive inside the near post, with the Malaysia keeper at fault.
Chelsea’s victory came on the heels of a 1-0 win over Thailand’s Singha All-Star XI on Wednesday, thanks to a goal by Romelo Lukaku. The Blues next head to Jakarta under close scrutiny after new team manager Jose Mourinho reportedly made a 10 million pounds (11.5 million euros, $15.1 million) bid for Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.
The Premier League champions insist the England striker is not for sale. Veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer may be a new addition to the Chelsea squad but on Saturday he pulled no punches, telling reporters he was aiming for a first team place for the coming season.“When I signed for Chelsea, I knew they had top quality goalkeepers, and the competition for a starting place would be tough,” he told reporters.