The Blues fell to the bottom of Group E by just one point from their first two group stage matches, putting their hopes of qualification in doubt ahead of successive games against last season’s Serie A champions.
But the visitors barely put a glove on Chelsea in west London, with Wesley Fofana netting his first goal for the club to put the hosts ahead at halftime. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James added their names to the scoresheet after the break, as the Blues moved up to second in the group and just a point behind RB Salzburg.
Graham Potter chose to restart Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal despite Edouard Mendy’s return from injury, while Kalidou Koulibaly made his first start under the Chelsea boss.
Milan started off as the more confident side of the two teams and passed the ball comfortably, but there were few clear chances in the way, apart from an early curling attempt by Mason Mount, which was turned from behind.
A flurry of set pieces led to the opening goal, with Thiago Silva taking full advantage of Milan’s odd decision to let Ismael Bennacer flag him. The Brazilian got two free headers, a save and one blocked in just over a minute, and a third soon followed. It was parried in the six-yard box, a scramble ensued and the ball eventually fell for Fofana to pass into the bottom corner.
Mount had the ball in the back of the net with a beautiful lobed finish, but the offside flag was quickly raised, before Chelsea suffered a real blow when Fofana limped with a knee injury.
Milan’s best moment came in the closing seconds of the break, Rafael Leao skipping past the Chelsea defenders at will as he had for much of the half. An attempt by Charles De Ketelaere was saved, and Rade Krunic was unable to turn the rebound.
After a slow start to the second half, Chelsea got the second goal that their performance, and that of Milan, deserved. James clipped a cross into the penalty area, Fikayo Tomori couldn’t cut it off and Aubameyang was completely clear for a simple finishing touch in the middle.
Five minutes later, the lead was three goals, as the Milan defense continued to fold. They were caught playing from the back, Sterling passed it to James and he relentlessly hammered a finish on the nearest post, putting the game to bed as Chelsea made a big statement ahead of the trip to San Siro next week .