Chelsea kickstarted their Champions League campaign with a comfortable three-goal victory at home to Italian champions Milan.
Goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James helped secure a well-deserved victory for Graham Potter’s side, who were dominant throughout despite the visitors enjoying the lion’s share of possession.
The only concern on the night for the Blues was an injury to Fofana, whose right knee appeared to buckle in the first half – not long after he had given the hosts the lead – and had to limp off the pitch.
Here are Mirror Football’s five talking points from Stamford Bridge as the Blues won their first group stage game against the Rossoneri.
Fofana injury scare
An incident that could potentially be more significant than the result, Wesley Fofana’s match was ended prematurely during the first half as his right knee appeared to buckle and he was unable to continue.
Fofana, who set out seven months of last season due to a broken leg, was the most notable arrival at Stamford Bridge this summer and is the key player in the three-man defence. Having opened the scoring against Milan, limping off less than 15 minutes later comes as a major scare for Blues fans and they will be anxiously awaiting the results of any medical tests to discover the extent of his injury.
Aubameyang run continues
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted the Blues second of the evening to make it two goals in two games for his new club – with his killer instincts inside the penalty area essentially being the key moment in the game, as it took the match away from Milan.
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The Gabonese striker had to wait over five years for a goal in the Champions League – having never played in the competition with either Arsenal or Barcelona. He has been tasked with being the Blues main man this season, and having also netted against Palace at the weekend – the early signs at Stamford Bridge are promising.
Kepa fighting for his spot
This was a big night for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who maintained his place in the starting line-up despite Edouard Mendy’s return to fitness – with the Senegalese shot-stopper fit enough to make the bench. Kepa had also started against Dinamo Zagreb and RB Salzburg, while he has been selected for each of Graham Potter’s games in the dugout to date.
Kepa is prioritising quiet, event-free performances and he delivered in this game. Milan rarely threatened the Blues goal throughout, but he did make an impressive stop from point-blank range just before the break to maintain Chelsea ’s lead, in what was an assured showing.
Leao Milan’s standout star
The Italian champions were underwhelming throughout the match but the most eye-catching player for the visitors was Portuguese forward Rafael Leao. The wide forward was linked with a move to Chelsea over summer, and speculation over his future is only likely to increase after this showing.
The 23-year-old – who has already netted four goals this season – regularly got the better of his Chelsea opponents due to his pace, technical ability, work rate and clever positioning. He will be hoping for his opportunity for Portugal at this winter’s World Cup.
Tomori’s tough return
Fikayo Tomori made just 27 first-team appearances for Chelsea despite being one of the brightest stars to come through their youth team in recent years and having been capped at senior level for England.
Tomori has established himself as a star in Italy and as an integral part of the Milan defence that won the Serie A title last season – the club’s first in 11 years. There is a clamour for him to be recognised at international level for England, but he was unable to replicate his domestic form in Italy to his return to Stamford Bridge.
It was a collectively poor defensive showing from the visitors, but Tomori was personally below-par – booked before half-time and caught out of position for Aubameyang’s second of the night. An evening to forget for Tomori, who will undoubtedly come back stronger.
