AC Milan 0 vs. 2 Chelsea Champions League Group Stage MD 4
A big away win!
Chelsea travelled to Milan on Tuesday to play AC Milan in match day four of the Champions League group stage. The teams headed into the game sitting third and second in the group and level on points. Milan reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Theo Hernandez back in the lineup. The rest was the same as the previous game but Diaz came in for De Ketelaere who missed out. It was the strongest possible lineup that Milan could field and one that had beaten Juventus over the weekend. Graham Potter chose to play a 3-4-3 for this game with Loftus Cheek dropping out and Chilwell coming back into the team along with Kovacic and Jorginho in midfield.
Chelsea started the game well but it was pretty clear how the game would be refereed early in first half. Mount ran through on goal after Reece James played him in and he was brought down by Tomori. It was a penalty but Tomori was surprisingly sent off with a straight red. Jorginho stepped up and converted to give Chelsea the lead in the 21st minute. Mount and Giroud were also booked because they argued with the referee and the yellow cards did not stop for the entirety of the game. The second goal came in the 34th minute after Kovacic played a pass into Mount who laid it off for Sterling but Aubameyang was running in behind and he told Sterling to leave it and the striker smashed the ball in to give Chelsea a two goal lead. Half time came and Chelsea were in cruise control.
The second half was pretty straight forward because Milan showed no real fight and Chelsea just managed the game after Mount came off at half time. There was plenty of passing and control and it was good to see after Chelsea have shown in past games that they can’t control outcomes. The full time whistle blew and Chelsea had a got their first win in Italy since Claudio Ranieri.
Chelsea Team Review
Goalkeeper
Kepa get’s another clean sheet but he did not have much to do in this game. The only save he had to make came in the 88th minute and it wasn’t a hard save to make. Kepa will gain more confidence and that is only good for the goalkeeper.
Defenders
Chalobah has had to step in after Fofana’s injury and he put in another good performance up agains Leao in this game. Silva was impeccable self once again while Koulibaly also continues to put in better performances after being reintroduced into the team. Reece James was expansive and exciting and handled the right hand side well. He had to come off in the second half but he should be ok for future games. Chilwell had a decent game although his shots were slightly wayward going forward. Azpilicueta and Cucurella came on for the final minutes and they just saw out the game. The defence did not have to do much but there were no sloppy mistakes and the players looked strong and robust.
Midfielders
Jorginho and Kovacic controlled the game well and Jorginho had a 98% pass accuracy. It was a triumphant return to Italy for both players who have history with Napoli and Inter Milan respectively. Mount was the best player and he only played for 45 minutes. He was brought down for the penalty and he provided the assist for the Aubameyang goal. He is continuing to gain confidence with each game and it is good to see. Loftus-Cheek came on the second half and he added physicality to the midfield and picked up from his recent performances. Gallagher played 45 minutes and could have scored a goal or two.
Forwards
Sterling had a quiet game and physically had a hard time on the left hand side. Aubameyang got another goal and it was well taken. That is all anyone wants from Auba is to score goals and it is good that he is scoring them. Maybe he could find a different celebration because he is getting older and he is finding it harder to land those front flips. Havertz came on in the second half and was decent.
Manager
Two wins for Potter in the Champions League against AC Milan and it is not a bad start at all. Another formation change and changes to the formation within game. The game management was good and it was overall another positive performance. The attacking patterns and switches in play are particularly a breath of fresh air.
Chelsea go top of the table with seven points and sit a point above RB Salzburg. One more win should do it in the Champions League but for now the team travels to Villa Park to play Aston Villa on Sunday. COME ON CHELSEA!!!
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