Andriy Shevchenko used to be the Ukraine's secret weapon, but there is no longer any secret to just how potent and dangerous a player 'Cheva' can be.

The 27-year-old striker has just completed a U.S. tour with Italian champions AC Milan where he netted the equalising goal in a friendly against Manchester United.

He deflected Kaka's free kick past Tim Howard from the edge of the six yard box to take the game to penalties and Milan went on to win 9-8.

And he continued to prove his goalscoring abilities with a stunning strike against Chelsea.

On Monday night Milan overcame Jose Mourinho's side 3-2 in the ChampionsWorld Series - with Shevchenko scoring the winner.

The dangerman hammered home a long range free-kick two minutes from time to win the match for the Italian giants and warn some of the Blues' England stars what they will be up against at St James' Park later this month.

The newly married Shevchenko - he wed his girlfriend Kristen Pazik on July 14th - was last season's top scorer in Serie A after netting 24 goals for champions Milan.

The prolific striker is now fifth in the all-time Milan scoring charts with 91 goals and is fresher than most top forwards having enjoyed a lengthy summer holiday given Ukraine's failure to qualify for Euro 2004.

Andriy Shevchenko - Factfile

Nationality: Ukrainian (52 caps, 22 goals)
Date of Birth: 29 September 1976
Place of Birth: Dvirkivshchyna, Ukraine
Height: 183cm
Weight: 76kg

Year

Club

Apps

Goals

1994/95

Dynamo Kyiv

16

1

1995/96

Dynamo Kyiv

31

16

1996/97

Dynamo Kyiv

20

6

1997/98

Dynamo Kyiv

23

19

1998/99

Dynamo Kyiv

28

18

1999/00

AC Milan

32

24

2000/01

AC Milan

34

24

2001/02

AC Milan

29

14

2002/03

AC Milan

24

5

2003/04

AC Milan

32

24

2004/05

AC Milan

0

0