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Sheva give Milan perfect American ending
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - AC Milan and Chelsea put a beautiful offensive exhibition on display Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field, and the 39,123 fans that showed up to see the match between the Italian powerhouse and the up-and-coming British stalwarts, both which had most of its star players in the lineup, were treated to a thrilling ending.
It was Milan's star of all stars, Andriy Shevchenko, that eventually propelled his club to the come-from-behind 3-2 victory with a gorgeous goal late in the match.
Sheva proved why he is considered such a dangerous threat up front when he scored off a free kick in the 87th minute, putting the finishing touches on the thrilling match. The star striker unleashed a laser off a free kick into the sidenetting to cap a tremendous second half for Milan.
Milan, which was thoroughly outplayed in the first half and trailed for most of the match, was down 2-1 until substitute Alessandro Costacurta struck for the equalizer in the 70th minute.
That set the stage for Shevchenko to produce the fitting ending to Milan's American exhibition tour, as they also beat Manchester United this past weekend at Giants Stadium.
Despite a slow start where both teams seemed to take its time to settle in, Chelsea eventually struck first after a foul on AC Milan's Paolo Maldini near the left sideline. Scott Parker curled the free kick perfectly to Eidur Gudjohnsen, who went in the air and slid the ball off the side of his foot and past Milan keeper Christian Abiatta.
The Italians would answer just moments later in the 26th minute on a brilliant strike by Brazilian defender Cafu, who dropped the jaws of those in attendance with a remarkable volley from the right edge of the area for the spectacular strike.
The score, though, would only stay even for so long, as Chelsea seemed poised to touch off its tour of the United States with another positive result.
Didier Drogba, last year's French Player of the Year for Olympique Marseille, made his first start as a member of the new-age English powerhouse and scored to give Chelsea a 2-1 lead, which it took into the locker room at the half.
Drogba, who made the move over to Chelsea earlier this summer, exhibited his aerial prowess (something the Chelsea faithful can get accustomed to seeing) to register the goal in the 38th minute. He beat his defender to the ball, seemingly jumping completely over his defender and sending the ball with his head powerfully to the back of the net.
AC Milan and Chelsea capped off its American exhibition tours with the highly anticipated match. The fan turnout, however, was not as impressive as the action on the field, maybe partly due to the threatening skies and the showers prior to the match.
By The Source
Aug 3, 2004
© Copyright 2004-2005 www.miamifootball365.com
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