Chelsea Defeat Inter Milan in Penalties at 2018 ICC; Pedro Scores Early Goal

Chelsea beat Inter Milan 5-4 on penalties in the International Champions Cup on Saturday after they played out a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, France.

Pedro celebrated his 31st birthday by opening the scoring in the eighth minute, tapping home a rebound after some good work by Alvaro Morata.

Roberto Gagliardini equalised just three minutes after the break when he was slipped in by Mauro Icardi, prompting a penalty shootout at the end of 90 minutes to separate the teams.

Substitute goalkeeper Willy Caballero denied Milan Skriniar, who was the only one of 10 takers to fail to convert their spot-kick.

Inspired Morata Can Thrive Under Sarri

While Morata's tally of 15 goals in all competitions wasn't a bad total for his first season in England—particularly as many of his team-mates had underwhelming campaigns—it didn't do a great deal to inspire, either, and the Spaniard missing one-on-one chances became a familiar sight at Stamford Bridge.

Amid links away from the club this summer, it seemed his time in the Premier League may have been a short one, but during his spell on the pitch on Saturday, it seemed new manager Maurizio Sarri had breathed new life into the striker.

He was perhaps unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet when he headed home Cesc Fabregas' cross after six minutes, but his effort was ruled out by a marginal offside call.

ESPN FC's Liam Twomey praised his early contributions:

Two minutes later, Chelsea were able to successfully convert their early pressure into a breakthrough. Morata played a key role, showing tenacity and skill to win possession from Danilo D'Ambrosio and turn another defender before his shot from a tight angle was palmed straight to Pedro by Samir Handanovic:

ESPN FC's Mark Worrall was impressed: 

He later showed more good footwork to escape the attention of his marker before driving toward goal and picking out Pedro with a neat pass. Had his team-mate been able to return the favour, he would have had a good chance to score.

BeIN Sports' Matteo Bonetti believes he can be a good fit under Sarri:

It's still early days in Sarri's reign, but Morata held the ball up well and displayed hunger, intensity and technical ability, all of which will serve him well next season if he remains at the club.

Callum Hudson-Odoi Makes Case for 1st-Team Play With Strong Showing

After an impressive performance in Chelsea's prior friendly against Perth Glory, CallumHudson-Odoi put in another strong showing that could put him in the frame for a role with the first team this season.

The 17-year-old has made just four senior appearances for the Blues, but he looked comfortable and sharp against Inter.

Operating from the left, he offered an outlet and a pacey attacking threat who looked to test Handanovic and terrorise defenders:

The youngster played 83 minutes—only Jorginho was given more time on the pitch—and was praised by Worrall when he was eventually taken off for Lucas Piazon:

If he can continue to impress during pre-season and is not sent out on loan, he'll surely add to his four Chelsea appearances in the forthcoming campaign.

Tiemoue Bakayoko Continues to Struggle in Chelsea Midfield

Like Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko did not have the most convincing debut season at Chelsea last year.

Unlike the Spaniard on Saturday, Bakayoko's struggles continued unabated with another evening to forget.

Having come on at half-time, the much-maligned midfielder carelessly gave away possession in midfield just minutes into the second half, leading to Gagliardini's equaliser.

Caballero was also at fault as he should have done better with the shot, but the Frenchman failed to recover from his early mistake and made a number of poor passes during his time on the pitch.

Bonetti was unimpressed:

Indeed, he perhaps lacks the technical ability to operate in Sarri's slick, high-tempo system, so his ability to contribute positive play in the middle may be even more diminished than it was last year.

Sarri is still in the early days of his Chelsea tenure and more time on the training ground should breed some results, but Bakayoko's showing here offered little encouragement.