Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho received a fair bit of attention for his behaviour after the Blues' win in Milan on Tuesday.
Graham Potter's team won 2-0 at the San Siro, with Jorginho scoring the first goal from the penalty spot and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang making the points safe. The result was enough for Chelsea to move top of the group after Dinamo Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg drew in the other match.
The game was not without controversy, though, with Milan's former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori earning a straight red card for a foul on Mason Mount which prompted the first-half penalty to be awarded. And while Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali was seen voicing his feelings about the referee after the game, Jorginho could be seen laughing - to the displeasure of some who witnessed it.
“There are so many incidents like that during a game," Tonali told Sky Sport Italia (as translated by Football Italia ). "When you give a penalty and a red card after 18 minutes, for a touch like that…"
“We may as well make it basketball where any touch is a foul. It felt like that anyway, we had several yellow cards for ridiculous, embarrassing free kicks in the first half alone.
“Anyway, we have to look at the rest of the game. We tried to play with pride and passion, even if it was very difficult in the circumstances. It’s disappointing for all the fans who came here tonight, packed the stadium and expected a different match. We thank them for coming.”
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As Tonali finished venting his frustrations, the camera panned to Jorginho as the Chelsea man prepared to give his thoughts on the game. The Euro 2020 winner could be seen laughing, though, and this didn't go down too well.
"The disrespectful one was Jorginho, if he had shown that character in the Qualifiers, Italy would be in the World Cup," one Twitter user argued. The former Napoli star missed a penalty against Switzerland which cost his country a place in Qatar, admitting he would be "haunted for life" by the slip-up, but made no mistake this time against Milan.
“I think it was a penalty. Maybe not a red card, but yes a penalty,” Jorginho said of the Tomori incident. “Obviously, it’s a different game when you are a goal up and against 10 men, it facilitates everything. This time it was us who were facilitated, it’s an important victory for us.”
Chelsea's victory in Milan came off the back of a 3-0 victory at home to the Serie A champions. New manager Potter remains unbeaten in three Champions League games, having taken over after predecessor Thomas Tuchel lost the away opener in Zagreb.
The Blues take on Salzburg in their next game, and a win in Austria would guarantee them qualification and potentially lock up top spot. If they fail to get the job done at the Red Bull Arena, there will be another opportunity when Dinamo Zagreb visit Stamford Bridge on November 2.
Potter was also unsure on the red card offence for Tomori, suggesting his team had a bit of luck with the incident. "It's hard from where I'm sitting. It looks like he had his hand on him and Mason Mount was through on goal," he told BT Sport. "I need to look again clearly. It's nice for the penalty and nice for Jorginho to score."
