Potter hails ‘fantastic’ Chelsea as Mount insists ‘we’re going in the right direction’ after Milan win

Graham Potter saluted a “fantastic” Chelsea performance after the Blues moved to the Group E summit in the Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Milan.

First-half goals from Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proved enough to sink the Rossoneri, who played 72 minutes at San Siro with 10 men following Fikayo Tomori’s early red card.

That ended the Blues’ 19-year wait for a win on Italian soil in Europe’s premier club competition, with their most recent triumph coming courtesy of a resounding 4-0 success against Lazio in November 2003.

“To come here and win is not easy. Credit to the players, they were really good,” Potter told BT Sport. “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.”

Potter also explained the half-time substitution of Mason Mount, who was fouled for the penalty that saw Jorginho break the deadlock before providing a neat lay-off for Aubameyang to tuck away the second goal. 

“[Mount] was on a yellow card, and he’s played a lot of football so at half-time, we gave him a breather,” Potter added. 

“He was fantastic; he was a constant threat. I’ve been really pleased with him from the start. He’s a really important player.”

Meanwhile, Mount hopes Chelsea can continue to move “in the right direction” after making it four successive wins under Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge last month, while the Blues have also kept three straight clean sheets.

“I feel good. I’m enjoying it, and we’re playing well and scoring goals. I’ll take the assists, setting up goals for my team-mates,” the England international said.

“[Playing under Potter has] been brilliant. You can see the way we’ve played. We’re an attacking threat going forward and solid at the back. We’re obviously going in the right direction, and I hope it continues.”