Fikayo Tomori has had many good days, but ironically some of the worst have faced the club he sponsored.
After 2-0 in Milan, Chelsea are on their way to winning the group.
With a coach, prior to September 2022, he had never seen a Champions League match on site.
It is often said that a judge is at his best when he is not visible. Daniel Seibert immediately put himself in the spotlight at the San Siro on Champions League night, when the Hornet’s Nest was scheduled to be coordinated in Group E.
With the tube still in his mouth, the German took one free kick after another, often for Milan. It went so far that Mason Mount resorted to Italian body language to express his displeasure with the ruling’s provisions.
If Milan were completely outperformed in London last week, they initially showed very different rhythms in the comeback. Theo Hernandez, one of the players to come back, has interestingly alternated between a left-back and a much more central position which put central defender Fikayo Tomori over the edge. Apparently coach Graham Potter wasn’t ready to change Stefano Pioli’s line-up.
That doesn’t mean Chelsea lacked an ace up his sleeve. On several occasions, Rhys James sent passes from the right to Ben Chilwell on the left wing, to open the field.
But when the winger played with Mount’s skill, Tomori’s evening (and World Cup dreams?) were shattered.
Southgate is not convinced
Since leaving West London, Tomori has adopted Italian Calcio, learned the language and above all established himself in the Milan starting line-up. Despite such a beautiful life, national team captain Gareth Southgate has doubts about the centre-back.
After the meeting at Stamford Bridge, hardly any petitions began to bring Tomori to Qatar (Southgate did not sign anyway). On Tuesday, it took 18 minutes before he once again reduced his chances of impressing the national team captain of his worth.
Tomori ended up on the wrong side of Mount, dragging his compatriot’s shoulder thus preventing a certain scoring opportunity. The result was a penalty and a red card that Seibert eagerly took out of his pocket.
Since the referee had already set an incredibly low level, he was expected to explode, even if the double penalty seemed to be harsh. As Jorginho scored the penalty behind goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarasanu, Siebert began tossing yellow cards around him.
James Enda Ursmollen
Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud was on the verge of sparking the event with a – somewhat wrong – header. Then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with his past at AC Milan, hit a 2-0 score and cemented the London club’s position at the top of the standings.
Five matches for Potter, four wins and one draw. For someone who has never seen a Champions League meeting in person before September 2022, he has undoubtedly succeeded in stabilizing Chelsea who are now heading to win the group. The only cloud of concern was the dreary Reece James’ oversight when he equalized in the 62nd minute. The right-back/winger is perhaps Potter’s most valuable player besides Mount, whose level has risen dramatically since the coaching change.
Daniel Seibert finally got one red card and nine yellow cards.
Fikayo Tomori’s dismissal may sound harsh, but in this particular case the referee followed the rules. An intervention from the central defender which, if things really go wrong, could cost the team a playoff ticket. Chelsea stand with seven points, Salzburg six and AC Milan with four points before the decisive round, as they face the Italian team, Dinamo Zagreb, bottom of the standings. It could also be that, if we want one to be truly cynical, it cost a toilet ticket.