Fikayo Tomori was unlucky to be sent off and concede a penalty during Milan s Champions League defeat to Chelsea, so says Mason Mount.
The Milan centre-back, a former Chelsea player, was given an 18th-minute red card after he was adjudged to have pulled Mount s shirt in the penalty box as the midfielder went through on goal.
Jorginho converted the penalty before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s 34th-minute strike wrapped up a comfortable 2-0 win for the Blues in Group E.
Mount, however, believes Chelsea were fortunate.
In an interview with Chelsea s official website, Mount said: I was probably a bit surprised [with the decision] at the time because I ve still gone through and had a shot.
I felt him [Tomori] trying to pull me back but I was running to goal so I wasn t going to go down. I carried on going, didn t score and then obviously the ref blew up and gave a pen straight away.
Lovely stuff.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
Tomori and Mount are both products of Chelsea s academy. The duo both spent time on loan at Derby County, under Frank Lampard, in the 2018-19 campaign and went on to play together for the Blues first team before the defender departed for Milan in 2021, helping the Rossoneri win the Serie A title last season.
He s obviously my mate, I ve known Fik for a very long time, and I felt for him in that situation, I was gutted for him. I don t think it was a sending-off, Mount added.
You still want to be playing 11 v 11 and going at it with two good teams, so it maybe ruined the game a bit. It was massive for us and we obviously wanted to win the game, which we did, he added.
Tuesday s game was poignant for striker Aubameyang, who played at San Siro for the first time. His half-brothers Willy and Catilina both played for Milan.
On Instagram, Aubameyang said: Big dream achieved!! I used to come to this stadium to see my brothers playing and never had the chance to play at San Siro myself, now it s done.
Chelsea are top of Group E after four games with an away trip to Austrian side Salzburg next, as Graham Potter s team look to secure qualification to the knockout stage.
