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Chelsea and Manchester United played out a dour goalless Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge. Both sides largely cancelled each other out, and neither side perhaps deserved all three points.
Manchester United felt they had a penalty claim denied early in the first half after a Marcus Rashford free-kick was saved by Edouard Mendy and seemingly hit Callum Hudson-Odoi's hand inside the box. However, following a VAR review, no penalty was awarded.
Despite the controversial call, the tempo of the game remained high, with both teams matching each other for most of the game.
Chelsea got their best chance soon after the restart when Ben Chilwell's cross found Hakim Ziyech in the box. However, an alert David De Gea produced a fine save, and Luke Shaw blocked Reece James' ensuing follow-up effort.
In the 63rd minute, it was the turn of the Chelsea custodian to make a save; he did so by blocking Scott McTominay's shot with his chest. Both sides pressed for the winner, but was a winner was not to be.
Manchester City are now 12 points clear of Manchester United at the top, with Chelsea a further four points adrift. On that note, let's take a look at the five key talking points from the game.
#5 Chelsea and Manchester United draw both league games in a season for the first time in 99 years
Chelsea played out a goalless draw with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Earlier in the season, the reverse fixture at Old Trafford had also ended without any goals scored.
Interestingly, it marked the first time Chelsea and Manchester United did not score against each other in a league campaign for the first time in almost a century.
With 53 goals, Manchester United are the top-scoring side in the Premier League this campaign. But the draw at Chelsea marked the sixth time Manchester United failed to find the back of the net this season.
#4 Manchester United extend their unbeaten run in away league games to 20
Manchester United came into this game in great recent form, having lost just once in their last 19 league fixtures.
Their away form in the league has been even more fabulous. Following the draw at Chelsea, Manchester United are now 20 games unbeaten in away league games, winning 13 and drawing seven.
Their last league defeat on the road came in January 2020 to eventual champions Liverpool.
It is a club record for the visitors but a long way off the all-time record held by Arsenal, which was set during the 'Invincibles' era.
Also Read: The 10 highest-paid goalkeepers in the world.
#3 Chelsea's wastefulness in possession comes to the fore
Chelsea enjoyed the majority of possession against Manchester United. With 58% possession, they also managed to have more shots on goal than Manchester United, but only four of them were on target.
Thomas Tuchel has implemented a possession-based style since taking over the reins at Stamford Bridge. But at times, it seems Chelsea do not move the ball out of their own box quickly enough.
Chelsea completed 594 passes on the night, 150 more than that of Manchester United, doing so with almost 90% accuracy. But most of these exchanges happened near the kickoff line with only Mason Mount looking to move the ball forward at times.
#2 Manchester United fail to deliver against a top side yet again
Manchester United's woes against the top five sides in the Premier League continued with yet another tepid display at Chelsea.
They lost to Tottenham and Arsenal (both at home), while they have shared the spoils with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea (twice).
In these six games, Manchester United have only scored once, doing so in their 1-6 humbling at Old Trafford against Spurs.
After a mid-week trip to London where they face Crystal Palace, Manchester United host runaway leaders Manchester City. But their record against the top sides this campaign does not augur well for their prospects of beating their arch-rivals.
#1 Bruno Fernandes comes up short against a big six side
Bruno Fernandes has been the saviour of Manchester United on multiple occasions this season.
He has 15 goals and 11 assists in the league this term but failed to step up against Chelsea. It is not the first occasion the midfielder has come up short against a top-six team.
In seven cumulative games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, the Manchester United talisman has scored just once, with that strike coming from the penalty spot against Spurs.
It is another indication that Manchester United are getting heavily reliant on their January 2020 signing; when he fails to deliver, the visitors struggle to eke out favourable results.
Also Read: 5 most supported football clubs in the world.
