Joao Pedro struck on either side of half-time as a strong Chelsea line-up defeated AC Milan in a pre-season friendly in Jakarta.

Moises Caicedo added a brilliant third in a comfortable victory on Saturday afternoon, handing Xabi Alonso’s side an encouraging lift before the start of the new season.

The first half was fairly sluggish, with Milan arguably making the brighter start before Chelsea gradually settled into the contest.

Joao Pedro was central to Chelsea’s attacking threat, and it came as little surprise when he opened the scoring by heading in from a corner to give his team a deserved lead in first-half stoppage time.

Chelsea began the second half just as they had finished the first, with Joao Pedro doubling the lead inside a minute of the restart as he swept home Pedro Neto’s free-kick from close range.

Milan made eight substitutions at half-time, while Alonso kept faith with the players who had started in the 30C heat, and the Italian side struggled to organise themselves.

Minutes later, Caicedo produced a spectacular finish to make it 3-0, volleying in from the edge of the box after being picked out from a corner.

From that point, Chelsea managed the match professionally. Milan enjoyed more possession as the game went on, but the Blues were rarely placed under serious pressure and preserved their clean sheet through to the final whistle.

For Alonso, the result provided plenty of encouragement. Chelsea displayed attacking sharpness, energy in midfield and the defensive discipline required to complete a convincing win.