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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Nathan Ridley

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proves Rio Ferdinand right after "tail between his legs" claim

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proved Rio Ferdinand to be spot on after another goal for Chelsea.

The 33-year-old striker, who joined the Blues on transfer deadline day, netted in their excellent 3-0 victory over AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, his second goal in as many games. His first strike came in the narrow 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday, after which Ferdinand predicted that he'd kick on.

"He needed this, he needed it at the weekend," the ex- Manchester United defender declared on BT Sport. "He had a difficult end to his career at Arsenal, goes to Barcelona - surplus to requirements there - comes here, almost with the tail between his legs but not the Aubameyang we seen first time around.

"He's got a point to prove, a point to prove to the Chelsea fans, the Chelsea hierarchy, his team mates and to say to himself 'do you know what, look in the mirror, you can still do it'. That quality will not fade away, he knows how to score goals, done it all his career and he'll do it again."

And so he did, converting Reece James' cross to make it 2-0 against Milan, his former club. That doubled Chelsea's lead after Wesley Fofana opened the scoring on 24 minutes, before James got a goal of his own just after the hour mark to seal all three points and move the Blues ahead of the Italian champions in Group E after a winless first two games.

"It was not an easy game. They played well in the first half. Then we kept the intensity really high. We were confident," Aubameyang told BT Sport post-match. "[I am] definitely [enjoying myself at Chelsea]. Feeling good. I was very welcomed by all the players and staff. It was a bit strange to play against them [Milan] after a lot of years but that's football.

Have your say! How many goals will Aubameyang score this season? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

"The first goal was really important. It gave us strength and confidence to play the game. We knew what we had to do against Milan. They have great strikers as well. The defenders did an incredible job today. It's easier when you win games. The mood is very good at the moment. We'll try to keep it up."

Chelsea manager Graham Potter, who was taking charge of only his third game as Blues boss, was equally delighted and added: "It was a good night for us. We needed to play well. The attitude and application of the players was fantastic. It was a really important win for us.

"I thought we started off a bit nervous for about five minutes. It was just a result of us wanting to do so well. But then you saw the appetite of the players. We got control of it and had a bit of a threat. The first goal was important.

"We had to start a little on the back foot in the second half. We suffered a bit which was good and the second goal gave us a breather. Clean sheet, three goals. The personality of players was good."

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