While the clash of two home nations always promises to be somewhat of a memorable affair, the most recent encounter between England and Scotland ended up being a rather dull one. From a Chelsea perspective, however, there were a lot of positives to take away from the game as the duo of Mason Mount and Billy Gilmour shined on the big stage.
It was a highly intriguing duel between the two and neither showed a lack of fight or intensity while going up against one another. Even when playing against a, on paper, stronger opponent, Gilmour made it seem all so easy. Unfazed by the occasion, he ended up bossing it in midfield and deservedly received the Man of the Match award for his valiant efforts.
While the entire world got to see how talented the 20-year old is for the first time on such a big stage, Gilmour’s mature performance wasn’t at all a surprise for Mount — or any Chelsea fan for that matter — as the England midfielder shared his thoughts on their duel with the official Chelsea website.
“He didn’t surprise me, I know what he is like as a player. We had a good battle and every time he plays he seems to get man of the match – he has done it a few times when he has played at Chelsea.
“He gets chucked in at the deep end sometimes and he is always swimming. I always watched his development and he is going to keep getting better and better and that is good for him personally, for the club and also at international level.”
Mount says exactly what we have all known for a while now and Gilmour’s immaculate performance reflects his teammate’s kind words. Chelsea are reportedly in the hunt for another midfielder this summer, but if the Scottish international keeps this up, Thomas Tuchel may just have to rethink the matter since Gilmour certainly looks up for the challenge.
There were also some more general words from Mount on England’s performance in the interview as he reflected on a game which didn’t go according to plan. It should be noted that the 22-year old says all the right things here despite an overall disappointing result from an England perspective as he simply says it as it is.
“I think there is pressure on every game, we are England and are always looking to win every game and the performances we look to put in have to be top quality. We just try to focus on ourselves and how we can improve, what areas of our game we can do better in.
“I think obviously we know how big the game was but the way we played, we tried to break them down and score goals. The way they set up, with five at the back, made it tough for us, but we got the point and we move on now. Hopefully we win the next game and we are through.”
-Mason Mount; source: Chelsea FC
Mason Mount has future England captain written all over him and his honest yet level-headed assessment of his team’s performance just reaffirms this. Chelsea really is blessed by having such fantastic young players on their books and the two in particular have represented the club well up until now during the tournament.
Let’s hope they can continue to do so for at least a little while longer!