Mason Mount has disagreed with Thomas Tuchel - the now former Chelsea head coach following his sacking - on a key point after they were humbled at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Blues lacked a spark in the opening Group E affair on the continent as Ante Cacic's inspired side outfought them and outwitted the winners from 2021/22, and the one clear-cut chance they had, was taken with aplomb by Mislav Orsic. Zagreb hit the post with a speculative effort which Kepa Arrizabalaga saved well, but all-in-all, the hosts were limited with their chance creation but took what they made whilst defending their goal in heroic fashion.
READ MORE: 'Fofana and Tuchel criticised' - National media react to Chelsea's opening Champions League loss
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failed to impress on his debut whilst the likes of Mount underwhelmed but not as much as substitute Hakim Ziyech, who received the most stick on social media post-match from the fanbase. Many supporters' overall question was whether or not all involved underestimated their counterparts for this Group E opener.
A question that Tuchel was not afraid to answer from his perspective in his post-match press conference: "Me personally, no. If we did, then we have a huge problem. Honestly, then we have a huge problem if we did."
The undertone of that comment suggests the players may have had a different mindset to their boss, which is a worrying sign if all aren't singing off the hymn sheet.
However, Mount, who has come under criticism for his recent form at the start of 2022/23, came out to go against this argument as he spoke on behalf of the players who played in that embarrassing defeat at the Stadion Maksimir.
He said post-match on BT Sport: "No, we never underestimate anyone.
"This is the Champions League, and they are here for a reason. Tough place to come. You see the crowd the whole game, but I feel like the way we played and the way we started the game, we should have killed it off at the beginning.
"Take our chances, score some goals, and the game is done. We let them kind of feel that they are still in the game, and once they get that goal, it's very difficult to get back into it, so they have obviously done what they came to do tonight, what they plan to do, and we need to look at ourselves because it is not good enough.
"We are a team that bounces back, we are strong, and we use this as a moment in time where we get together and look at how we get out of this form."
Chelsea fans- How have you rated Mason Mount's season so far and has he justified earning a new long-term contract? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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