Chelsea produced a controlled performance to ease past 10-man AC Milan 2-0 and continue Graham Potter's impressive start to life in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The game hinged on an incident in the 18th minute, which saw Fikayo Tomori sent off against his former club and Chelsea take the lead. Tomori was given his marching orders for pulling back Mason Mount in the box, allowing Jorginho to coolly slot away a penalty and make it 1-0.
Chelsea doubled their lead before the break when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tucked in following a flowing move which involved the outstanding Mount to make it three goals in three games for his new club.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, AC Milan fashioned a few openings of note. Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud spurned the best of them, sending a free header wide in the six-yard box, while Sergino Dest blazed over at the back post in the second half.
In truth though, Chelsea, who were led by 38-year-old Thiago Silva at the back, were fairly comfortable in their lead and the three points takes them top of a previously wide-open Group E. Their seven points has them above RB Leipzig, Milan and Dinamo Zagreb with two matches left to play, less than a week after being bottom of the pile.
Here are Mirror Football's talking points from the Blues' win in northern Italy.
1. Tomori dismissed
Another day, another refereeing controversy. This time it was referee Daniel Siebert who was at the centre of it, after sending off Tomori just 18 minutes into the tie for a tiny tug on Mount.
A red card and a penalty felt like tough justice for the former Chelsea defender, who was beaten down the side by an incisive pass from Reece James and Mount’s clever movement. Yes, it was a foul – and yes, a foul in the penalty area means a spot-kick, especially when there’s no attempt to play the ball – but a red card felt extremely harsh. Not only was he sent off against his old team, Tomori now has the unwanted record of being the first English player ever to be sent off in the Champions League against an English team.
Siebert continued to draw the ire of the majority of the San Siro crowd by whipping out cards at great speed, ending up with nine yellows to go with his red in the end. The German referee can, of course, justifiably point to the fact he simply applied the laws of the game to the situation, but Tomori is unlikely to be appeased by such an explanation.
2. Chelsea clicking
The decision to sack Thomas Tuchel on September 7 was not a popular one at the time. The German had a lot of credit in the bank with Blues fans, many of whom therefore felt the call was a reactionary and not well thought out one.
Fast-forward just over a month and Todd Boehly might already feel his decision to fire Tuchel and hire Potter is justified. After drawing their opening match under Potter 1-1 against Salzburg, Chelsea have now won four matches in succession, beating the Italian champions twice without conceding a goal.
While their opening goal in Milan came from the tried and tested route of Jorginho’s right boot from 12 yards, their second hinted at Potter’s methodology. Chelsea bounced the ball around with ease before Mount’s delicate touch was fired in by Aubameyang.
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3. Mount at his very best
Mount did not necessarily need rejuvenating by a new manager – and his upturn in form may be coincidental – but there can be no doubting the star of the nascent Potter era. The creative midfielder has been exceptional of late and was electric at the San Siro.
The 23-year-old picked up two assists in the 3-0 win over Wolves on the weekend and finished the first half against Milan with another two, winning the penalty and playing the final ball for Aubameyang – even if it was originally intended for Sterling.
Having picked up a yellow card in the post-penalty chaos, he was substituted at half-time with Sunday's match against Aston Villa also in mind. With the World Cup on the horizon, Mount appears to be timing his form to perfection for club and country.
4. Potter looking at home
When Potter took the job at Chelsea last month he revealed that he had never even attended a Champions League game, let alone managed one. He’s now attended three – and is growing in stature with every one of them, with his new look befitting the performance of his side.
Chelsea laid waste to Milan at Stamford Bridge last week, running out 3-0 winners against the defending Serie A champions. This time out they were helped by Tomori’s early red card, but this was still a performance of control and authority.
Potter’s chosen line-up drew some concern from a section of Blues fans, who felt the midfield pairing of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic might be overrun and that Ruben Loftus-Cheek should have started. Yet it worked nicely in the event, as did his game-management, with Conor Gallagher looking at ease on the big stage. Potter has more than earned his stripes and he appears to be flourishing now.
5. Concern for James
It might not turn out to be a perfect night for Chelsea, who were forced to substitute James in the second half due to what appeared to be a knee injury. James went down midway through the second period following a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Theo Hernandez.
After some initial concern, and a visit from the Chelsea physio, he continued, but after being burnt by Rafael Leao on the overlap, he went down for a second time and was replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea will have to wait and see what the prognosis is for the right-back. The fingers of Chelsea and England fans will be crossed.
