Chelsea wrapped up pre-season with a 4-1 win over AC Milan at Stamford Bridge, signing off in style ahead of next weekend’s Premier League opener.
Two early goals — an Andrei Coubis own goal and a Joao Pedro header — put Enzo Maresca’s side in control inside eight minutes.
Milan’s day went from bad to worse when Coubis was sent off for denying Pedro a clear goalscoring chance midway through the first half.
Liam Delap extended the lead from the penalty spot after the break, before Youssef Fofana pulled one back for the visitors.
Delap struck again in the closing minutes to restore Chelsea’s three-goal cushion, capping an impressive all-round display.
As attention now turns to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge next weekend, KIERAN GILL rounds up five things we learned from Sunday’s final friendly.
Liam Delap scored twice as Chelsea beat 10-man AC Milan 4-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday
Joao Pedro was also on target for the Blues, scoring from a glancing first-half headed effort
Nkunku alongside Jackson on the ‘for sale’ list
Nicolas Jackson was not the only one missing from the Chelsea squad for the second successive friendly. Christopher Nkunku was also an absentee all over again.
That is because the Blues are looking to sell the 27-year-old Frenchman who they signed for £52million from RB Leipzig in 2023.
On Sunday morning, a WhatsApp message landed with Daily Mail Sport from a source telling us that Leipzig want Nkunku as part of the deal to sell Xavi Simons to Chelsea.
The Blues tend to prefer separate transactions rather than swaps so it required checking before reporting, and it was while waiting for verification that the news emerged elsewhere.
Nkunku’s time at Chelsea has never taken off so a clean break would be best for all parties.
Fernandez looking fine despite taped-up knee
Enzo Fernandez was the only outfielder on the bench in Friday’s friendly versus Bayer Leverkusen that was not brought on.
Everyone else received minutes except him, suggesting the 24-year-old Argentinian might have been dealing with an injury issue.
Fernandez was selected to start here against AC Milan but did so with his right knee taped up.
Thankfully for Chelsea, he looked like he was moving fine in midfield.
Only Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer played more games than Fernandez in the Premier League last season, showing how important he is to manager Enzo Maresca.
Enzo Fernandez (centre) played 60 minutes for Chelsea and appeared to be moving just fine
Gittens’ end product could do with work
Chelsea signed Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund for £48.5million plus £3.5m in add-ons.
Then they sold Noni Madueke to Arsenal for exactly the same – £48.5m plus £3.5m.
We will need to wait to see who ends up feeling like they got the better deal out of the two Premier League rivals, but Gittens has given a healthy account of himself over Chelsea’s two friendlies.
The 21-year-old Englishman regularly used his speed to skin Yunus Musah here.
However, his end product looks like it could do with a little work as he had several chances to bag a goal here against Milan but was either blazing over or wide.
Jamie Gittens (right) dazzled with some nice dribbling but his final product was less impressive
Maresca drops Palace hint
Do you show a red card in a friendly? Apparently so if you are Michael Salisbury.
Look, it was technically the correct call from the referee to dismiss Andrei Coubis after 18 minutes.
The 21-year-old from Milan’s academy denied a goalscoring opportunity when Joao Pedro broke in behind.
That came after Coubis had gifted Chelsea the lead with an own goal in what was an overall disastrous day for the youngster.
In a weird way, Maresca might have preferred to have his team face 11 men for the full 90 here to prepare for Crystal Palace in next weekend’s Premier League opener.
The fact that Maresca made no half-time changes may suggest this line-up is the one that he will select to face Palace.
However, it was concerning to see Trevoh Chalobah limp off the pitch midway through the second half, particularly with Levi Colwill already sidelined.
Enzo Maresca’s team selection and the timing of his subs suggest this was close to his best XI
Chelsea craving greater set-piece output
In a Premier League table for set-pieces scored in each of the last two seasons, Chelsea have finished very much mid-table. In 2023-24, they scored 12 in total, excluding penalties. In 2024-25, they managed 12 again. They could do with upping those numbers.
Their opener here came from one, at least, and Chelsea’s set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva was particularly proud of it. He was the only member of the coaching staff who stood up on the Blues bench to celebrate. It came as Reece James’ wide free-kick led to an own goal from Coubis. Those balls from James are such an asset to Chelsea.
