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23 December 2024

Oscar sparkles as Chelsea thump AC Milan 3-1

Chelsea's Oscar (right) in action with AC Milan's Niccolo Zanellato. (Action Images via Reuters)

Published
By AFP

Oscar scored a second half brace as Chelsea cruised past AC Milan 3-1 in the final game of their globetrotting exhibition tour, which took them to Australia, China, England, Scotland and the USA.

The Brazilian star scored in the 70th and 87th minutes on Wednesday for Chelsea, who rebounded from a one-sided exhibition loss to Real Madrid in their last outing.

Chelsea also got a first half goal from Bertrand Traore, who headed it in from the doorstep in front of a crowd of more than 64,000 at the new US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It was the first major sporting event held in the 73,000-seat facility, which is the home of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings.

Chelsea midfielder Oscar (front) dribbles away from AC Milan midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura during the second half of a friendly soccer match Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, in Minneapolis.  (AP)

Oscar first placed a penalty into the top corner after a Milan hand ball and then hammered a low drive into the bottom corner.

French international N'Golo Kante made his debut for Chelsea, coming on as a substitute in the second half.

Giancomo Bonaventura scored the only goal for Milan with a perfectly placed curving free kick in the 38th minute.

In other Champions Cup play, Spanish giants Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in a contest that marked Carlo Ancelotti's reunion with his former team.

But Ancelotti wasn't able to get one over on Real Madrid as substitute Danilo scored in the 79th minute with a stunning individual play to give Real Madrid the victory.

Danilo charged down the flank then cut sharply to his left and split the Bayern defense before blasting a left-footed shot through the hands of goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.

Although Bayern Munich controlled most of the play in the first half, they were unable to capitalize on their scoring chances.

As is the custom during North American friendlies, both teams were without several of their star players.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Pepe and Toni Kroos decided to skip the tour and Karim Benzema was ruled out with an injured hip.

Bayern Munich lacked Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Douglas Costa. While the absence of the stars upset many North American fans, it opened the door for young players like Julian Green. The 21-year-old fired a hat-trick against Inter Milan last week.

Real Madrid now get ready for the UEFA Super Cup on August 9 against Sevilla.