Graham Potter believes Chelsea were lucky in their Champions League win against AC Milan at the San Siro on Wednesday evening.
The Blues cruised to a 2-0 victory against Milan thanks to first-half goals from Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The hosts were reduced to 10 men when the game was goalless after former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori was controversially sent off.
Tomori was shown a straight red card by German referee Daniel Siebert for pulling back Mason Mount in the box and denying him a scoring opportunity. Contact between Tomori and Mount was minimal, and the latter still managed to take a shot on a goal.
Siebert also awarded a penalty to Chelsea for Tomori's foul, which Jorginho converted. Potter has admitted his side were fortunate to get the decision but believes his players deserve credit for winning at the San Siro. Milan are the defending Serie A champions.
Chelsea's Champions League campaign is back on track after picking up just a point against Dinamo Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg in their opening two fixtures. Back-to-back wins against Milan has put them top of their group and they're now favourites to progress.
"To come here and win is not easy," Potter told BT Sport. "Credit to the players. They were really good. We had a bit of luck with the opposition going down to 10 men. Overall the performance was good. It's nice to keep a clean sheet and to come away with three points is fantastic."
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On the red card and penalty decision, Potter added: "It's hard from where I'm sitting. It looks like he had his hand on him and Mason Mount was through on goal. I need to look again clearly. It's nice for the penalty and nice for Jorginho to score.
"It was a nice move to lead to it. It is what it is. Sometimes they go for you. It's tricky. You want to control the game but not to be too passive. With the atmosphere here, one action can result in a goal, the stadium erupts and they feel like they have an extra man."
BT Sport pundits Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott sympathised with Tomori but criticised him for getting the wrong side of Mount and leaving himself vulnerable.
"As a young defender, you have to ask how he has allowed himself to get into that position, where you are cambering on the back of a player," said Ferdinand. "Mason Mount’s movement is exquisite, comes short then turns to go long.
"It’s great play from Mount initially. Anywhere else on the pitch that is going to be called as a foul, and the rulebook states if there is no intent to play the ball, which isn’t there, you are going to get a red card. The rules are the rules. I don’t necessarily agree, I would feel hard done by, but the rules are the rules."
Lescott added: "It is great movement from Mason, but it is just panic isn’t it really. He feels it’s harsh, but it is a foul."
