MASON MOUNT endured a nightmare return to Chelsea – and the home supporters were quick to let him have it.
The Blues defeated Manchester United 4-3 in a thrilling clash at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to all-but end the away side’s top four hopes.
England international Mount, 25, used to be a huge favourite with the Chelsea faithful having come through the club’s academy.
He won the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup during his time there but left under a cloud last summer.
Having snubbed several new long-term contract extensions, Mount was eventually sold to United in a £60m move.
He has so far struggled at United and been sidelined for most of the campaign through injury.
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But after scoring his first goal for the club against Brentford at the weekend, Mount headed back to his old Chelsea stomping ground full of confidence yesterday.
However, there would be no red carpet or warm welcome waiting for him from his once adoring public while he began the game on the bench.
Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer’s penalty fired Chelsea into a two-goal early lead, leading to a chorus of “Mason, what’s the score?”
Things soon looked like they had gone completely wrong for Mauricio Pochettino’s side as they threw away their lead before the break as Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes made it 2-2.
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Garnacho grabbed his second to make it 3-2 on 69 minutes and that is how it remained until the dying stages.
With 86 minutes on the clock, it was time for Mount to be introduced to the action in place of United’s two-goal hero.
His arrival was met by a huge chorus of boos, followed by a chant of: “You left cause you’re s***.”
Then a shirt was spotted being held aloft by a fan as the Blues took a corner that had his old number 19 on the back along with the name “Judas”.
And, unfortunately for Mount, it would soon turn into a nightmare as the match entered the eight minutes of additional time.
Noni Madueke was fouled by United’s Diogo Dalot in the area and Palmer stepped up to level from the spot.
Then, just seconds later, Palmer received a short corner and drilled a deflected shot past Andre Onana to spark wild celebrations in West London.
During his time on the pitch Mount made 12 passes and produced two tackles, but his manager was fuming that his team lost a lead again in added time after their 1-1 draw at Brentford.
Erik ten Hag said: “You have to do your job, you have to make the right decisions, and we didn’t react quick enough to avoid this situation.
“We dominated the game, especially our wide players were a danger: Garnacho, Antony.
“We have to make better decisions. You saw how we score from counters. We can be such a massive threat and we’ve seen again today an example.
“But we have to read when to keep the ball, especially when you are winning. Keep the ball, pass and move and switch the play instead of giving it way.”
Discussing Mount’s exit for United before the game, the Dutchman had said: “I don’t think they wanted to sell him.
“They wanted to keep him and offered him a new contract many times. But he wanted to make this step.
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“We are very pleased he is a Manchester United player because he has great abilities and will contribute and become a big player for Manchester United.”
Mount’s injury issues at Old Trafford also meant that he was unable to feature in the reverse fixture in December when the Red Devils beat Chelsea 2-1.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
