Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday in what was a convincing all-round performance from the home side. It was Marcus Rashford who opened the scoring for the Red Devils early in the first half as they raced to a 1-0 lead in just the seventh minute. Four minutes into the second half, Ander Herrera doubled the lead to make it 2-0.
Despite the stronger lineup on paper, it was Chelsea who failed to turn up while Jose Mourinho’s side ran riot to register a crucial win. Here are the major talking points from the game.
1) Two contrasting lineups for completely different reasons
While fans expected the squad’s best players to be named in the starting lineups, it was far from it. Jose Mourinho named a starting XI without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – two of the top three goalscorers for the club in the Premier League this season (the other being the injured Juan Mata).
Mourinho opted to start Rashford up front while Anthony Martial was not even named on the bench. Surprisingly, Ashley Young was named captain – just a week after Marouane Fellaini wore the armband.
While most United fans questioned the decision to drop Ibrahimovic (Twitter went wild when they saw the starting lineup), Mourinho’s decision to start Rashford worked as a United counter-attack saw the teenager score in the first half – a goal Ibrahimovic may never have scored.
On the other hand, Antonio Conte was forced into making substitutions following injuries to his key players. While Thibaut Courtois failed to recover from an ankle injury forcing Conte to go with Asmir Begovic in goal, Marcos Alonso forced the Italian to tear up his plans when he injured himself in the warmup before kickoff.
2) United’s 3-5-2 vs Chelsea’s 3-4-2-1 frustrates the Blues
In what was dubbed as a battle between two master tacticians, it was Mourinho who came out on top even though both managers played three at the back. Alonso’s pre-match injury had forced Conte to switch a number of positions as he picked Kurt Zouma in defence and moved Cesar Azpilicueta to a right wingback role. This saw Victor Moses moved to the left wingback role.
On the other hand, United saw Darmian, Rojo, and Bailly play in a three-man defence aided by a five-man midfield playing ahead of them. The space between the two lines was negligible and that worked in United’s favour as Diego Costa had one of his worst games of the season.
Costa filled the highlight reel with petulant fouls and behaviour that characterised his bad-boy image when he first arrived in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Pedro and Eden Hazard were also starved of space and only had the chance to stretch their legs on the counter-attack – which were effectively shut down by the likes of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini.
Without any creativity in the middle, Chelsea’s forwards rarely saw the ball. But there was one other reason for Hazard’s lack of contributions in the game.
3) Ander Herrera key to United’s attack and defence
As soon as the game kicked off, one thing was very obvious to see. Mourinho had tasked Herrera with one job when United did not have the ball – stick to Eden Hazard like glue. No matter where the Belgian roamed on the Old Trafford pitch, Herrera was no more than a couple of yards away from him, pressurising him to get rid of the ball or force him into a mistake.
As a result, PFA Player of the Year nominee Eden Hazard (with 14 goals and 5 assists), had a very quiet game by his standards this season – especially in the first half. Shots on goal? Zero. Take-ons completed? Zero. Chances created? Zero.
Herrera was also responsible for both goals. The first goal was created from his interception but one could argue that it was a handball. However, while Chelsea’s players shouted in protest, Herrera was the only one playing to the whistle and set Rashford on his way to score the opener.
In the second half, it was his deflected shot that managed to beat a wrong-footed Begovic to double United’s lead. Having received the ball from Young (who did well to steal the ball of N’golo Kante’s feet), the Spaniard drilled a shot that deflected off Zouma to find the back of the net and spark wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
4) Conte gets Chelsea’s substitutions wrong
Antonio Conte is usually a very animated figure on the touchline but this game saw a Conte we haven’t seen since the back-to-back losses to Liverpool and Arsenal early in the season. While he shouted instructions a couple of times to his players, most of the time he was in a pensive mood – trying to figure out how to best Mourinho.
While he did have his thinking cap on (he wore a baseball cap to protect him from the elements), the truth was that he had been outclassed by the former Chelsea manager.
Firstly, Conte did not bring on a substitute at half-time when it was sorely needed. Nemanja Matic and Kante were unable to move the ball forward and they badly needed a ball carrier to build up their attack.
Cesc Fabregas was the obvious choice but he came on only after the second goal. Surprisingly, the Spaniard came on for Victor Moses – meaning Fabregas had two midfielders behind him and no player on the flank as an outlet for United’s pressure in the middle.
Realising this, Conte then took Matic off for Willian to provide an attacking influence. But by then Mourinho had brought on Michael Carrick for Jesse Lingard to shore up the midfield and leave Rashford (and later Ibrahimovic) as the lone forward.
As a result, Chelsea failed to create chances in the final third. They ended the game without a single shot on target and without completing a single pass in United’s box.
5) Race for the title and top four blown wide open
Had Chelsea won this game, it may have put the league title out of reach for Tottenham Hotspur. Now, the Blues lie just four points ahead of their London rivals with six games to go. Conte’s side have not done well against the top six in the away games having now lost at Old Trafford, the Emirates, and White Hart Lane without scoring a single goal.
Before they resume their league campaign, they face each other in the FA Cup semi-final next weekend. A look at the remaining fixtures sees Chelsea have the upper hand on paper. Among the top seven, the Blues only have a trip to Everton while Spurs are yet to face Arsenal and Manchester United.
In the race for the top four, this result gives Mourinho’s side a huge lift. United still have two games in hand and should they win those they will equal Liverpool’s points tally. The Red Devils are yet to face Spurs and Arsenal and it’s easy to understand why Mourinho is focusing on the Europa League to get a Champions League spot.
But this result has surely sent tremors through the top of the table and sets it up for a tantalising finish to the Premier League campaign.
| # | TEAM | GP | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 32 | 38 | 75 |
| 2 | Tottenham | 32 | 46 | 71 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 33 | 29 | 66 |
| 4 | Man City | 32 | 28 | 64 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 31 | 24 | 60 |
| 6 | Everton | 33 | 23 | 57 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 30 | 22 | 54 |
