MY ACCOUNT
Fikayo Tomori was unlucky to be sent off and concede a penalty during Milan’s Champions League defeat to Chelsea, so says Mason Mount.
The Milan centre-back, a former Chelsea player, was given an 18th-minute red card after he was adjudged to have pulled Mount’s shirt in the penalty box as the midfielder went through on goal.
Jorginho converted the penalty before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 34th-minute strike wrapped up a comfortable 2-0 win for the Blues in Group E.
Mount, however, believes Chelsea were fortunate.
In an interview with Chelsea’s official website, Mount said: “I was probably a bit surprised [with the decision] at the time because I’ve still gone through and had a shot.
“I felt him [Tomori] trying to pull me back but I was running to goal so I wasn’t going to go down. I carried on going, didn’t score and then obviously the ref blew up and gave a pen straight away.”
Tomori and Mount are both products of Chelsea’s academy. The duo both spent time on loan at Derby County, under Frank Lampard, in the 2018-19 campaign and went on to play together for the Blues first team before the defender departed for Milan in 2021, helping the Rossoneri win the Serie A title last season.
“He’s obviously my mate, I’ve known Fik for a very long time, and I felt for him in that situation, I was gutted for him. I don’t think it was a sending-off,” Mount added.
“You still want to be playing 11 v 11 and going at it with two good teams, so it maybe ruined the game a bit. It was massive for us and we obviously wanted to win the game, which we did,” he added.
Tuesday’s game was poignant for striker Aubameyang, who played at San Siro for the first time. His half-brothers Willy and Catilina both played for Milan.
On Instagram, Aubameyang said: “Big dream achieved!! I used to come to this stadium to see my brothers playing and never had the chance to play at San Siro myself, now it’s done.”
Chelsea are top of Group E after four games with an away trip to Austrian side Salzburg next, as Graham Potter’s team look to secure qualification to the knockout stage.
