Chelsea topped Group E on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory at AC Milan, moving one step closer to the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
At a crowded San Siro, Graham Potter’s team dominated Milan, who had to play the majority of the game with 10 men after Fikayo Tomori was controversially given a straight red card early on.
When former Blues player Tomori was sent off in the 18th minute for pushing Mason Mount back in the area, the confrontation took an unexpected turn.
Jorginho of Italy converted the ensuing penalty, and 11 minutes before halftime, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang calmly finished to break Milan’s resistance and move Chelsea one point clear of Salzburg in the group standings.
Milan is now third after two straight losses to Chelsea, although they still have a strong chance of reaching the knockout stages for the first time since the 2013–14 season.
The fate of Stefano Pioli’s team in the competition will be determined by their trips to Dinamo Zagreb and Salzburg. The team is only two points off of the qualification spots.
When referee Daniel Siebert sent off Tomori and awarded Chelsea a penalty after the England defender hauled back Mount, who had been expertly put through by Reece James, the already fractious and scrappy match erupted.
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When Olivier Giroud and Mount were both booked in the shoving that ensued amid deafening boos from the home crowd, Tomori could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Three minutes later, Jorginho scored to further enrage Italy supporters, whose team failed to qualify for the World Cup due to his missed penalty kicks.
In the 27th minute, Olivier Giroud came close to tying the score against his former team with a header that narrowly missed the goalpost, but Aubameyang quickly ensured Chelsea had a firm hold on the game.
Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling were both assisted by Mount when he played through them, but it was the Gabon striker who arrived first and calmly finished at Ciprian Tatarusanu’s near post.
Milan’s sales were completely knocked off course by the second goal from the Blues, Aubameyang’s third in as many games, but to their credit, they did make an effort to press the matter in the second half.
On the hour mark, Rafael Leao shot down the left wing and threw over an inviting cross that the American could have handled better, but the hosts’ Sergino Dest sliced a dreadful effort into the stands.
From that point on, Chelsea was content to maintain the ball and neutralize an already-decided game.