After securing just one point in the current Champions League campaign, Chelsea were up against the dreaded AC Milan who sat at the top of Group E. The pressure on the Blues was enormous as defeat at Stamford Bridge could lead to their hopes of making it to the knockout stages slimmer.
CFC looked nervous and struggled for the first 20 minutes of the game, which was soon followed by Wesley Fofana’s first goal for the club. This was the turning point of the match, after which Chelsea took control of the game and asserted their dominance throughout. It was a performance that the home fans were longing for. Almost every player put on a decent show, however these three players were the cut above the rest.
Reece James of Chelsea
Yet again Reece James managed to assert his dominance on the pitch. At this point, words don’t do justice to this man at all. James was strong in both the attack and the defence and took complete control of the right side of the pitch. His masterclass consisted of one goal, one assist, most touches, most passes, most passes in the final third, most possession regained and joint-most tackles.
The England international also managed to limit Rossoneri star Rafael Leao’s impact by helping to keep him quiet for parts of the game. Leao was clearly impressed as he said:
"“Reece James is a good player, he was all over me and everywhere at the same time, he timed his runs very well. He scored a goal too and that’s something you don’t get from every defender.”"
The right wingback’s performances will surely have shown Southgate enough to cement his spot in the starting XI for the upcoming FIFA World Cup at Qatar. Surely even Trent Alexander Arnold agrees!
Mason Mount
Mount has been Chelsea’s player of the season for two consecutive seasons, but a poor start to this campaign led to the majority of the fanbase losing faith in him. But it wasn’t limited to just losing faith, Mount has been subjected to a lot of hate and also been slandered by our very own supporters after every other match.
In spite of failing to get his name on the scoresheet, Mount had a great game and we can’t let his performance go under the radar. He managed to get the ball in the back of the net early on in the game, however the goal didn’t stand as he was marginally offside. Overall, the Three Lions man looked confident on the ball and helped the team to maintain and retain possession, only being dispossessed once in the entire game.
Thiago Silva
The veteran time and again proves how blessed Chelsea is to have him around. Our skipper did manage to organize the entire defence very well against the Rossoneri’s threatening attack. Even though CFC had a nervous start to the game, Silva was not sluggish at all. His aerial dominance in Milan’s box lead to consecutive corners, which ultimately broke the deadlock. That was very much the turning point of the game. If not for that moment, the Blues were likely to head into the dressing room trailing at half time.
Kalidou Koulibaly, who earned his first opportunity under Graham Potter, put himself under a lot of pressure in order to prove himself and was pretty sluggish. However, Silva covered up for him until he got comfortable. Fofana too had to leave the pitch soon after his goal due to a knee injury, which brought Trevoh Chalobah into play, who hasn’t played enough this season. Through all of this, Silva showed the CFC fanbase why he deserved that armband. Giving it his all, Silva ensured that the Blues leave the bridge with a clean sheet which will go a long way considering how slim the qualification criteria has turned out to be.