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Manchester United Manager David Moyes and Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho (R) look on during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on August 26, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho promised entertaining football when he took over at Chelsea for a second time, but so far, the London club have only entertained in 45 minutes of the three matches they have been involved in.
The match against Manchester United promised a lot before kick-off, but it turned out to be one of the dullest encounters in recent times. Mourinho put out a team that was not meant to lose and that was evident from the team news.
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Rather than go with a traditional centre forward, Mourinho used Andre Schurrle as a striker; a formation that reminded us of Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. Schurrle is not a centre forward and it showed as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic had a comfortable match, and were rarely troubled.
It was a game of limited opportunities for both teams, but United had a positive attitude. Chelsea, however, seemed to playing for a draw. A point at Old Trafford is not always a bad thing, but it was disappointing to see this sort of negative attitude deployed by Mourinho, and Roman Abramovich will almost certainly not be pleased.
“I think the result is fair. I think nobody did enough to be better than the opponent. Our counter-attacks and passes, to go from defensive situations to attacking situations, was not the best.” – Mourinho.
Wayne Rooney showed what Chelsea were missing on the night, as he was a shining light in a dull match. He created chances, tracked back and took shots on goal and demonstrated why Chelsea are prepared to go the extra length to try and sign him.
All in all, bar a few appeals for penalty from United and lame shots on goal from both teams, this was a rather dour 90 minutes.
Team line-ups:
Manchester United (4-4-1-1): De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic (c), Evra; Cleverley, Carrick; Valencia (Young 66), Rooney, Welbeck (Giggs 78); Van Persie
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Lampard; De Bruyne (Torres 59), Oscar, Hazard (Azpilicueta 90+3); Schurrle (Mikel 87)
