Mason Mount continued to endear himself to Chelsea's matchgoing supporters after the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa despite not getting onto the pitch. The Englishman was left as an unused substitute as Graham Potter chased the game in the second half but was left untouched.
It comes after a medium term lay-off for the usually first choice Blues. Mount last played on Febraury 26 and has missed the action since due to an ongoing lower abdomen problem. This was his first time back in the squad since the 2-0 loss to Tottenham, another game he was on the bench for.
The time on the sidline also comes amid increasing uncertainty over his future at Stamford Bridge. Mount's contract expires in just over 12 months time, when he will be eligible to leave the club for free. The club aren't willing for him to run it down though and an ultimatum of commiting to his boyhood team or being sold this summer is on the cards.
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As a two-time player of the season at Chelsea, Mount has been pivotal to much of their success since his first team debut in 2019 but he is currently in his worst patch of form since then too. With just three goals this season - two coming in the reverse fixture against Villa back in October - has has struggled to hit the heights of previous campaigns.
He is far from the only one to do so though, but Potter still chose to look elsewhere when he needed inspiration against Unai Emery's stubborn opposition. "With Mason, I just felt we were there in the game," Potter explained afterwards.
"We made some attacking subs and wanted to see how it all landed. Mason is coming back and only had a couple of days training." The 47-year-old had already ruled Mount out of starting the fixture due to his lack of match sharpness, but Noni Madueke, N'Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher all got the nod ahead of the him on this occasion.
None of the changes made much difference though with the Blues failing to find a way past Emi Martinez despite having 27 attempts, the most without scoring for the Blues since 2014.
At full-time the feelings of the crowd - or what was remaining of it - became clear as Potter and his players were once more booed off having gotten similar treatment in the first-half. There were also chants of "sacked in the morning" and "you don't know what you're doing" towards the former Brighton head coach.
There was no such response towards Mount though, who made his way onto the pitch after the game and clapped the home supporters. The 24-year-old took his time to go around the stands, showing gratitude for their efforts.
The result may have turned fans on their manager and team once more but the reaction to Mount's gesture went down positively online and in the stadium. One user wrote: "Mount didn’t play a minute today but still went round and clapped the fans. People might hate him but at least he actually cares man."
Another pointed out that he did more than those who were on the field, saying, "Showed more heart for the club doing that walk than anyone did on the pitch today."
Whilst Mount remains a player that splits opinion within the fanbase reaction of those inside Stamford Beridremains united towards him.
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