Chelsea can anticipate a different AC Milan at the San Siro than the team that lost 3-0 in London last week, said England defender Fikayo Tomori on the eve of the Champions League second leg in Italy.
Tomori performed poorly against his previous team at Stamford Bridge, but scored in a 2-0 win over Juventus last weekend in Serie A.
The 23-year-old told reporters before Tuesday’s game, “I was quite unhappy after the game against Chelsea, which had to be canceled totally, therefore it was wonderful for me to score the goal.”
“We did not play as we have for the past year and a half, or since I’ve been here.
“Disappointingly, we were unable to do so in games such as this one, which took place in a difficult environment in the Champions League and in which we were expected to do well.
“The good news was that we had another match against Juventus, so we were able to rectify our performance and win the match.
“We have a second chance in front of our fans to put an end to that game against Chelsea.
“We have an opportunity to demonstrate that we are superior to it. I have a chance to demonstrate my superiority over that.”
Chelsea and Serie A champions Milan are equal with four points after three matches in an open group, one point behind group leaders RB Salzburg and one point ahead of Dinamo Zagreb.
Against the Blues, Milan head coach Stefano Pioli hopes to “demonstrate that this loss was an isolated incident.”
“We were quite disheartened, knowing that we are capable of much more. “We must learn from the past week and make fewer errors,” Pioli stated.
“They have been analyzed, so we do not wish to repeat them. As a result of these errors, Chelsea had gained a tremendous deal in addition to their exceptional qualities.”
In addition to goalkeeper Mike Maignan (calf) and defender Simon Kjaer (thigh), as well as long-term absentees Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Florenzi, Davide Calabria, and Alexis Saelemaekers, midfielder Charles De Ketelaere (muscle) will be unavailable for Milan.
Following this weekend’s homecoming of Theo Hernandez, the Italian champions may anticipate the return of Brazilian midfielder Junior Messias.