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Saturday afternoon's lunchtime kick-off between Chelsea and Manchester United lived up to expectations and was an extremely entertaining encounter at Stamford Bridge. The game ended in a 2-2 draw as Ross Barkley scored a 96th-minute equalizer for the home side.
However, Chelsea will feel very lucky to escape the match with a point. On the whole, the team's performance was disappointing and arguably Chelsea's worst of the season.
So far Maurizio Sarri has had a dream start to life at Stamford Bridge. The draw against Jose Mourinho's Manchester United means the Italian is the first Chelsea manager to remain unbeaten after nine Premier League games.
The Blues are the only English side who are unbeaten across all competitions. However, Sarri will be the first to admit that his side was fortunate to not lose.
While the Italian has done nothing short of a sensational job in West London so far, the same cannot be said for today. A few mistakes by the former Napoli coach were pivotal reasons in Chelsea's lackluster performance.
#3 Not starting Pedro
One of the few spots that is in doubt is the right-wing position. The place is open for both Willian and Pedro. For the Manchester United game, Maurizio Sarri decided to select Willian. It is fair to say the decision backfired.
The current Chelsea time is one which lacks goal-scorers, with both Alvaro Morata and Oliver Giroud struggling to establish themselves as consistent names on the score sheet. This has led to an over-reliance on Eden Hazard for goals. However, Pedro is a player who possesses the ability to share the burden.
Before suffering an injury against PAOK in Chelsea's opening Europa League game, Pedro was in exceptional form. The former Barcelona forward started the season with three goals in the first four games. He is someone who has the ability to make runs behind defenders, get into goal scoring position inside the box and take a shot on goal.
These are qualities that Willian does not possess at the same level. His performance today left a lot to desire for as he failed to create anything significant. The 30-year old took too much time on the ball and in the process hurt Chelsea's one-touch passing.
The Brazilian has only one goal to show for so far this season. With Pedro back to full fitness, Maurizio Sarri should reinstate him into the starting 11.
#2 Taking off Kovacic
The first substitution by Maurizio Sarri was taking off Mateo Kovacic for Ross Barkley. While in the end, Barkley ended up scoring the equalizer, the substitution did come as a surprise.
The Croatian midfielder was Chelsea's most influential player in the attacking zones. Kovacic was the one who was constantly driving forward with the ball, initiating attacks and creating dangerous situations in the final third. The Real Madrid loanee linked up beautifully with Eden Hazard and played a pivot part in Hazard's best moments in the match
In the post-match press conference, Sarri admitted that Chelsea's performance was not good enough after the 60th minute. It's important to remember that Kovacic was substituted shortly after the clock hit the hour mark.
While the Croatian does not have goals or assists to show for it, he is an extremely important member of Chelsea's midfield. Kovacic provides stability and solidity to Chelsea in the middle of the park which the Blues clearly lost against the Red Devils once he came off.
At the moment, it seems Sarri has a fixed routine of changes he makes within a match. One wonders if being more flexible according to player's performance on the day will serve Chelsea better.
#1 Keeping Morata on for too long
If there is one player Sarri should have taken off earlier, it is Alvaro Morata. Chelsea's once club record signing earned a first Premier League start in four games. With Oliver Giroud's hectic workload in the International break and Morata scoring two goals in Chelsea's last two matches, the change in the starting line up made sense.
However, the former Juventus striker did not justify his inclusion one bit. The Spaniard's performance was one that exhibited why many Chelsea supporters have lost faith in him.
Morata struggled to retain possession and was easily shrugged off possession by Mourinho's team. He barely displayed any confidence in front of goal and made life extremely easy for Manchester United's backline. For most parts of the game, it felt like Chelsea were playing with ten men as Morata barely had any impact.
Despite Morata's substandard display at Stamford Bridge, it was only as late as the 79th minute that he was replaced with Oliver Giroud. While Giroud is himself not a prolific goalscorer and is yet to score a goal, he does make his presence felt.
The World Cup-winning striker is someone who is adept at holding the ball and bringing players around him in the game. Moreover, he gets the best out of Chelsea's talisman Eden Hazard.
In a game where Chelsea was struggling to keep the ball in the final third, Giroud's inclusion could have made a huge difference.
