Chelsea enjoyed another serene night against AC Milan as they took full advantage of Fikayo Tomori’s early red card to win 2-0 at the San Siro.
A week on from the Blues’ emphatic win over the Serie A side at Stamford Bridge, the former Chelsea centre-back was sent off with 18 minutes on the clock for pulling Mason Mount back in the box when he was through on goal.
Jorginho converted that penalty before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doubled the lead for Graham Potter’s side going ahead of the break in what was a perfect half for the visitors.
An injury to Reece James in the second-half will be a cause for concern for both club and country, but that was the only negative for Chelsea as they moved top of Group E with two games to go.
Milan made a bright start at a raucous San Siro, their efforts in the opening minutes a significant improvement on their total output in west London.
That was left to appear irrelevant with less than 20 minutes played though, as they were reduced to ten men. Mason Mount got in behind the Milan defence and, as he was being pulled back by Fikayo Tomori, poked an effort at the goalkeeper as he stayed on his feet. The referee immediately pointed to the spot though and duly produced a red card for Tomori, unmoved in the face of Milan protests.
Jorginho was typically composed in rolling the ball into the bottom corner, and the home side’s frustrations continued throughout the half as they picked up three yellow cards.
Their mood was not improved as the lead was doubled before the break, Chelsea taking complete control. Mount played a lovely cushioned pass through the Milan defence, Aubameyang got there before Raheem Sterling and slid a finish past Ciprian Tatarusanu at the near post.
Conor Gallagher was introduced at the break and almost got on the scoresheet minutes later, but saw his effort from a tight angle hit the side-netting.
The night took a sour turn though for the visitors, as Reece James went down with what appeared to be a knee injury. After attempting to play on, he then admitted defeat and trudged off in a worrying sight for Chelsea and England fans.
Much of the second-half was little more than a training session, Chelsea dominating possession and Milan having little interest in winning it back as they successfully turned their focus to avoiding further punishment.
