INDIANAPOLIS – First-half goals by Oscar and Hazard saw Chelsea triumph 2-0 in the Guinness International Champions Cup in front of a 41,983 crowd at the Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday night.
Despite the negative scoreline, Walter Mazzarri's side performed well overall and went close on a number of occasions. However, a key decision went against Inter when the referee opted to award Chelsea a penalty midway through the first half for a foul that was clearly outside the box. The Nerazzurri were also forced to play the last 30 minutes of the encounter with 10 men after Campagnaro saw red but managed to hold their shape well despite being a man down. Clearly there are positives to take from the game as the team continues to grow.
Inter's next pre-season test will be against Valencia on Sunday 4 August.
FIRST HALF – The Nerazzurri started off brightly as the opening exchanges produced a series of half-chances down both ends. Alvarez got an early sight on goal after 4 minutes but his scuffed effort from outside the area turned out to be easy pickings for Cech in the Chelsea goal.
Guarin had Inter's best chance of the half in the 11th minute. The Colombian showed superb coordination to connect with a cross from the left and strike a spectacular volley from outside the box, only to see it fizz inches wide of the upright.
Inter's industrious play failed to yield an opener though, and instead it was the Blues who broke the deadlock. Moses burst forward from inside his own half before squaring the ball for Oscar on the edge of the area, the Brazilian cutting back onto his right and bending a well-placed finish beyond Handanovic's reach – nothing the Slovene could do with that one.
The Nerazzurri quickly picked themselves up and created another decent opening with Palacio on 21 minutes: the Argentine's powerful drive forced Cech to tip the ball over for a corner.
Oscar proved to be Chelsea's danger man once again in the 26th minute when he attempted to chip Handanovic; on this occasion it finished wide of the target, however.
A minute later the referee blew for a penalty even though Pereira's foul on Moses took place outside the box. Guarin was booked for his protests and Hazard sent Handanovic the wrong way to make it 2-0.
The Nerazzurri had the chance to pull one back on the stroke of half time. Icardi's shot came off of a blue shirt and fell to Alvarez, whose right-footer was deflected behind. From the resulting corner kick, Ranocchia was unable to get the decisive touch needed following a scramble in the box.
SECOND HALF – Mazzarri's men shot out of the traps after the interval and within a matter of minutes Nagatomo had seen a long-range shot charged down.
Moments later Icardi guided the ball into the back of the net with an expert finish following Guarin's driving run and through ball, but the goal was chalked off for a close (but correct) offside call.
Chelsea went looking for a third and very nearly got one when Lukaku (55) rattled Handanovic's right-hand post with a thunderous effort from a wide angle, shortly after Hazard (53) had fired over.
In the 58th minute came the moment that effectively ended the game as a contest: Campagnaro was given his marching orders for a foul on Terry, leaving Inter to play out the game with ten men. Mazzarri did his best to address the problem by summoning Icardi to the bench and throwing on Chivu to shore up the hole left in defence.
A man up, Mourinho's side looked to make their numerical advantage count and carved out further opportunities. Ba drilled wide in the 67th minute then Torres powered forward on a great run (78) before unleashing a vicious drive from the edge of the box, drawing a smart save out of Carrizo. The Argentine shotstopper was called into action again not long after as Obi Mikel went looking for glory.
Ten-man Inter managed to hold out and even mustered a final attempt of their own deep into stoppage time - Schwarzer saving Belfodil's shot from a tight angle - but there was no coming back into the game.
The defeat means the Nerazzurri will play Valencia in Round 2 of the competition in New York on Sunday at 16:00 local time.
Chelsea 2-0 Inter (HT: 2-0)
Scorers: Oscar 14, Hazard 28 (pen).
Chelsea:
1 Cech (Schwarzer 46); 2 Ivanovic (Azpilicueta 66), 26 Terry, 24 Cahill
(Luiz 60), 3 A. Cole (Bertrand 73); 7 Ramirez, 16 Van Ginkel (Obi
Mikel, 66); 17 Hazard (Torres 73), 11 Oscar (Essien 46), 13 Moses (Mata
46); 18 Lukaku (Ba 60).
Unused subs: none.
Coach: José Mourinho.
Inter: 1 Handanovic (Carrizo 76); 14 Campagnaro, 23 Ranocchia, 5 Juan Jesus; 55 Nagatomo, 13 Guarin (Olsen 76), 19 Cambiasso (Kuzmanovic 68), 11 Alvarez (Belfodil 68), 31 Pereira (Jonathan 68); 8 Palacio (Capello 76); 9 Icardi (Chivu 60).
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 6 Andreolli, 33 Mbaye, 93 Laxalt.
Coach: Walter Mazzarri.
Booked: Guarin, Ivanovic, Cambiasso, Hazard, Ramires, Chivu.
Sent off: Campagnaro 59.
Added time: 0 + 2 minutes.
Referee: Mr. Ismail Elfath.
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HIGHLIGHTS CHELSEA - INTER 2 - 0 GUINNESS CUP 01 08 2013
