Chelsea secured an important 2-0 win over AC Milan at the San Siro thanks to goals from Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after Fikayo Tomori’s red card.
The former Blues defender was adjudged to have pulled back Mason Mount inside the penalty box midway through the first half with the referee pointing to the spot and sending off the England player. Milan were furious and Tomori took an age to leave the field.
But Graham Potter’s side deserve huge credit for their professional job on the Italian side. Jorginho duly converted from the spot and when Aubameyang finished off a fine move, with Mount again to the fore, Chelsea were well on their way to a handsome win.
The club’s first Champions League win away to Italian opposition in 19 years makes it back-to-back wins against Milan and takes them top of Group E. Victory against Red Bull Salzburg next time out would be enough to reach the knockout stages. The only setback? A second-half injury to Reece James.
Tomori’s moment to forget against former club
Milan had started the game brightly and might even have equalised when down to 10 men had Olivier Giroud – another former Chelsea player – headed the other side of the post from close range. But the game hinged on the phase of the play that saw Tomori depart.
The 24-year-old centre-back has his admirers with many arguing that he should be in Gareth Southgate’s starting line-up for the World Cup. But while there was debate about the decision to send him off, the build-up to it did not show him at his best.
Mount had already got the wrong side of him and Tomori compounded the error by attempting to tug him back. The red card would have attracted rather less controversy had the Chelsea midfielder tumbled to the ground rather than got his shot away.
Mount shines but James is injured
Chelsea’s Reece James was injured in the second half to mar the win at the San Siro
If Mount deserved credit for that, how about his role in the second? It was his pass that split the Milan defence and had both Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling queuing up to apply the finish. Potter removed him at the interval but by that stage his work had been done.
The Chelsea boss might regret not removing James too. An awkward landing led to him having to be substituted on the hour mark. That will be of concern beyond Stamford Bridge given that the World Cup begins next month. It was the one blot on a successful night.
Potter credits players and ‘fantastic’ Mount
“To come here and win is certainly not easy, that is for sure,” Potter told BT Sport. “Credit to the players. They were really good, I thought. Obviously, we get a bit of luck with the opponent going down to 10 men but I thought overall the performance was good.”
Potter also explained the decision to withdraw Mount at the interval – the England international having been the outstanding player on the pitch in the first half.
“He was on a yellow card and has played a lot of games so we just thought it would be sensible at half-time to give him a breather. But I thought he was fantastic, got into good spaces and attacked the goal well, won the penalty for us and was a constant threat.”
Chelsea’s win in stats
- Fikayo Tomori received the earliest red card since the start of a Champions League game for a Milan player.
- Milan have lost eight of their last nine games in European competition against English sides, drawing the other.
- Since Jorginho’s first season with Chelsea in the Champions League only Robert Lewandowski has scored more penalty goals in the competition.
- Ten cards were shown in Milan-Chelsea more than in any other Champions League match this season.
- Thiago Silva becomes the fifth Brazilian to play 100 Champions League games becoming after Roberto Carlos (120), Dani Alves (111), Fernandinho (103) and Marcelo (102).
What’s next?
Sunday 16th October 1:00pm
Kick off 2:00pm
Chelsea face Aston Villa away on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm; kick-off 2pm.
Three days later, Graham Potter’s side go to west London rivals Brentford on October 19.
Then on Saturday October 22, Chelsea host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, live on Sky Sports Premier League; kick-off 5.30pm.
Saturday 22nd October 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm