Chelsea vs AC Milan: Tomori out to prove Blues made transfer mistake
Chelsea's welcome of AC Milan sees a must win game for the hosts and three ex-Blues return to their former club.
Chelsea have looked out of sorts in the Champions League, losing their opener against Dinamo Zagreb and drawing at home to RB Salzburg. If they fail to win tonight, their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages would be dealt a major blow, as they currently sit three points behind group leaders AC Milan.
Graham Potter will take charge of his third game as Chelsea, and his second in this competition. A Raheem Sterling goal was not enough to beat Salzburg in his first game as Chelsea boss, but a wonder strike from Conor Gallagher at Crystal Palace on Saturday was enough to pick up his first win in the hotseat. Chelsea haven’t kept a clean sheet in all competitions since their opening weekend win at Everton, an eight-game run Potter will hope ends against the Italian champions.
AC Milan are currently three points off joint Serie A leaders Napoli and Atalanta after eight games, but a late goals from Fode Ballo-Toure and Rafael Leao against Empoli earned the Italians a deserved three points after their hosts bagged a 92nd minute equaliser.
Stefano Pioli, however, has an injury-stricken squad to take to Stamford Bridge, where he could be missing up to eight first team regulars, including Mike Miagnan, Theo Hernandez, Divock Origi, Alessandro Florenzi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Davide Calabria, Alexis Saelemaekers and Simon Kjaer, who are all doubts for the game after being subbed off through injury on the weekend.
They beat Zagreb 3-1 in their last Champions League outing and will have to be at their best to take all three points back with them to Milan to put them in a very commanding position in group E.
This will be Chelsea’s first competitive meeting with the Rossoneri since 1999, where they drew both games in the group stage of the Champions League. Dennis Wise scored a famous equaliser for the Blues in a 1-1 draw at the San Siro, which the Stamford Bridge faithful still chant about to this day.
It will also be a special encounter at Stamford Bridge, as former Chelsea players Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud return to their former stomping ground. Tomori left midway through the 2020/21 season after struggling for minutes, while Giroud departed that following summer after helping to win the Champions League for Chelsea with some key goals in the process. Both are revered by the Chelsea faithful and will certainly get a good reception.
For Tomori, Chelsea fans feel he left the club far too early, and many feel a deep regret in his departure from the Bridge. Tomori has been a fantastic signing for Milan having played a huge role in helping them to the Scudetto at the expense of city rivals Inter. He was one of the best defenders in Italy last season and has picked up where he left off, with many England fans now rightly questioning his exclusion from England sides of late.
As for his former employers, they signed Wesley Fofana this summer for just under £70m. He has played three games for Chelsea this season, and is still easing his way into life at Stamford Bridge. However, with the two squaring off against one another tonight, this could be a night where Chelsea fans ask the question: “Did we make a mistake in selling Tomori?”, especially when they had him for free, whereas they’ve had to dig deep into their pockets to ultimately land his replacement. However, it is key to remember that Fofana is only 21 and spent much of last season on the sidelines, so Chelsea fans will be hopeful he remains a consistent starter for many years to come.
Giroud also returns to Stamford Bridge having scored five goals in all competitions for AC Milan this term after notching 11 goals last season in Serie A, playing his part in that historic title win for the Rossoneri. He won three major trophies during his three-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge, including the 2020/21 Champions League.
Furthermore, it is also worth mentioning that Thiago Silva will be playing against AC Milan for the first time since he left to join PSG in 2012. Silva has been a key player for Chelsea since he joined in 2020, just as he was for AC Milan in their title win in 2011.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will also see a reunion against AC Milan having come through the Italian side's academy before joining Saint-Etienne in 2011 following loans to various clubs in France. However, he never played a senior game for the Rossoneri, so some Milan fans won’t be too upset to see their former player.
The mouthwatering head-to-head in tonight's Champions League tie, however, will see Fofana come up against Tomori, with supporters hoping they don't further rue the club's decision to cash in on the former.
