Gianfranco Zola said he was proud of Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori after the 20-year-old centre-half recovered from scoring an own goal against his parent club in the League Cup fourth-round tie with Derby County, with both the assistant manager and Frank Lampard praising the youngster for showing character.
A fizzed Davide Zappacosta cross caught Tomori out and saw him divert the ball into his own goal after just four minutes, for the first goal of an eventual 3-2 win for Chelsea, with Richard Keogh’s own goal then giving the home side their second. Chelsea had given Derby special dispensation to use loanees Tomori and Mason Mount, the latter of the two having also set up his side’s second goal.
“He shouldn't be feeling like that at all,” Zola said of Tomori. “He's been unlucky with the own goal, but the performance he and [Richard] Keogh put on afterwards was excellent. It happens. If he hadn't touched that ball, [Alvaro] Morata would have scored a goal. He played well. Mason Mount played excellent tonight. It looks like they're in good hands. They're doing very well for the team. The coaching they're getting is excellent.
“I think I will have to get over this game first [before speaking to Tomori]. We always keep contact with them. We always have people who follow them and we know everything about them. They are players we keep an eye on.”
Lampard was similarly enthusiastic about the duo.
“Not great for Fik in the first four minutes, but to deal with an own goal after that, his character was immense. He and Richard [Keogh] have been immense all season. This wasn't a game for Mason to run it because he's against Chelsea, against [N’Golo] Kante, [Mateo] Kovavic and [Cesc] Fabregas. But he was asked to produce moments, and he did. It was his pass for the second goal. They both passed with flying colours. This could be the first game of many at Chelsea. I hope it is.”
