Ukranian superstar Andriy Shevchenko scored on a perfectly concealed free kick with three minutes to go Monday as Italian champion AC Milan posted a 3-2 victory over English Premiership hopefuls Chelsea in a ChampionsWorld tour matchup.
Shevchenko struck his winner beyond the English wall in the 87th minute to decide a match that could be a preview of UEFA Champions League showdown sometime next spring.
Earlier, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Didier Drogba had scored for Chelsea, the rising power in the English game, while Cafu and Alessandro Costacurta had twice pulled Milan level before Shevchenko decided one of the better games of the tour.
Both teams had come to Lincoln Financial Field with unbeaten records, although the Italian champions needed penalty kicks to gain a "victory" over Manchester United in their Saturday opener at Giants Stadium.
Chelsea had been the most impressive visitor, handling Celtic (4-2) and AS Roma (3-0) with ease in their first two matches of the summer exhibition series.
After a sluggish start, with both teams appearing hindered by the heat and humidity, Chelsea broke on top when Gudjohnsen, the Iceland international, was overlooked by the Milan defense and diverted a free kick by Scott Parker into the Italian goal. The 19th minute strike was only the second scoring chance of the match.
Chelsea's Drogba wasted the first when he headed a Paulo Ferriera cross past the post from eight yards out in the fifth minute.
Milan answered Gudjohnsen's tally five minutes later with one of the best goals in the two years of the summer series. Cafu, Brazil's outstanding right back, ripped a first-time volley from 16 yards past keeper Carlo Cudicini to tie the score, 1-1. Kaka and Shevchenko set up the goal by cutting the English defense apart with two quick passes.
Cafu's drive gave Cudicini, ironically a product of the Milan youth program, no chance to respond when caught off his line.
Chelsea regained the lead when Drogba, the Ivory Coast star signed away from Marseille, powered an eight-yard header into the top net off a corner by Frank Lampard corner in the 37th minute. Christian Abbiati, Milan's backup keeper who got the start Monday, could only flail helplessly after veteran Paolo Maldini was beaten to the corner. It was Drogba's second goal in as many games for his new club.
The advantage lasted until the 78th minute when veteran Milan and Italy defender Costacurta perfectly read a corner from the Brazilian Kaka, smacking his shot into the lower left corner from eight yards after meeting the free kick.
Then Milan won it with a brilliant free kick as Shevchenko ripped his 26-yard drive past the wall and by the unsighted Cudicini in the 87th minute.
Chelsea, in negotiations to headline the 2005 Champions League summer, will now turn its attention to the opening of the English Premiership season on August 15 when they face Manchester United in a blockbuster start to the new campaign. United finished winless on the ChampionsWorld tour, drawing with Bayern Munich and AC Milan and falling to Chelsea.
Manchester United competed with an understrength team that featured several emerging young players but was missing star striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
Milan's first official order of business will be the Italian Super Cup match against Italian Cup winner Lazio on August 21 in their own San Siro Stadium. The Italian Serie A season does not kick off until September 12 because of Italy's qualification for the Athens Olympic Games.
The Champions World series concludes Tuesday night at Giants Stadium with Liverpool facing AS Roma. The teams have split their two previous appearances, the English side defeating Celtic and falling to FC Porto while Roma rebounded from its loss to Chelsea with an impressive 1-0 win over Celtic Saturday night in Toronto.
#15 ป่าว ๆ มี Italian super cup กับลาโอ้ก่อนหน้านั้น วันที่ 21 สิงหาอ่ะ แล้วไปเจอบาร์ซ่าก่อน ค่อยกลับมาเจอยูเว่ใน LUIGI BERLUSCONI TROPHY ตั้งหน้าตั้งตารอไปก่องนะบอย
+++ Milan 3 -2 Chelsea : Ciao Billy +++
Forza milan