Chelsea were afforded a much easier night than they will have expected in Milan, as a controversial refereeing decision dominated the narrative at San Siro.
The game was just 18 minutes old when former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori was sent off for hauling down Mason Mount when through on goal. The referee awarded a penalty but also produced a red card for Tomori whilst apparently ignoring the double jeopardy rule.
The rule exists to prevents a team being punished twice for the same incident, and from the moment Jorginho tucked away the penalty it felt it was already over as a contest.
Milan briefly rallied, and Olivier Giroud missed a glorious chance to level with a free header just six yards out.
However, Chelsea were always a threat with the extra man, and they doubled their lead just past the half-hour when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang slotted home from inside the box.
The second half was more of the same, and substitute Conor Gallagher probably should have extended the lead when he rounded Tatarusanu in the Milan goal. However, he could only find the side-netting.
Milan did have a short spell where they threatened, but in truth they never really laid a finger on Chelsea after the red card. The Giroud chance in the first half was their opportunity to change the momentum of the game and it was squandered.
The game descended into something of a training exercise. That suited Chelsea just fine, but Milan will feel understandably aggrieved.
GK: Ciprian Tatarusanu – 7/10 – Blameless for either of the goals and made some useful saves to keep the score down.
RB: Pierre Kalulu – 6/10 – Moved centrally after the red card and did well.
CB: Matteo Gabbia – 6/10 – Had to spend up to some pressure with the rest of the Milan defence, and generally did okay.
CB: Fikayo Tomori – 3/10 – Desperately unlucky to be sent off against his former club.
LB: Theo Hernandez – 6/10 – An energetic presence on the left hand side.
CM: Sandro Tonali – 7/10 – Saw a surprising amount of the ball in the second half and used it well.
CM: Ismeal Bennacer – 6/10 – Huffed and puffed but never really got anywhere.
RW: Rade Krunic – 5/10 – Not his most influential game, it must be said.
AM: Brahim Diaz – 6/10 – Looked lively when he was on but sacrificed after the red card for another defender.
LW: Rafael Leao – 7/10 – Always looking to make something happen, even if the red card allowed Chelsea to double up on him as often as they could.
CF: Olivier Giroud – 5/10 – Generally fine, but when…
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