Football: Chelsea stroll to win against Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: English football giants Chelsea cruised to a 4-1 victory over a Malaysian selection as part of their pre-season Asia tour?on Sunday.

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.

But team manager Jose Mourinho dismissed concerns of a serious injury after the game.

Lukaku put the tie to bed in first-half injury time with a near post finish to make it 3-0.

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.

The Malaysian fans finally had something to cheer about in stoppage time as Fadhli Shas headed home a consolation goal for the home side.

Mourinho said he was satisfied with his team's performance.

"If this was an EPL match, we would have collected six points already. Even though we don't have the points, this is a good warm-up for us," he told reporters.

"So far I am impressed with the players' identity, personality and mentality to win, which is embedded in their system... Chelsea are learning to play the way I like," the new manager said, adding that De Bruyne had given the team a fright.

"When he signalled to the bench, we thought the worst. But after assessing him, we are relieved there is no ligament damage, and it's not a serious one," he said of the injury.

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 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.

Mourinho said Demba Ba would start the next match in Jakarta.

"Lukaku started this one so Ba will play in the next one. We are still without six players, which we will have for our United States tour," he said.

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/football-chelsea-stroll/751548.html

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