· 2 min readIn this Chelsea vs Man United match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Chelsea and Manchester United came into matchday nine in a rather embarrassing position for two clubs of this size. United were in complete chaos, with Carrick under pressure and fans having very little reason to believe. Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea were coming off a defeat in the Carabao Cup against a Liverpool side that had made several changes. Whoever lost would have a huge problem on their hands.
Chelsea started with Pedro Neto as their most advanced player, Palmer behind him, Estevão on the right and Morgan Rogers on the left. With João Pedro injured, they lacked a clear attacking focal point. United had Bruno Fernandes back in the starting line-up. He made a good start: in the ninth minute, Andrey Santos received the ball from Bruno and shot from outside the box, narrowly wide of the post.
It was an open game, and United created the best chances. In the 19th minute, Mbeumo found Bruno inside the box with an excellent pass, but the Portuguese midfielder took a poor touch and produced a very poor finish. In the 25th minute, Cunha won the ball back from Palmer and Amad found Bruno inside the six-yard box. The pass travelled across the danger area, but Mbeumo couldn’t get there in time. Chelsea threatened too, but kept making defensive mistakes. Fofana lost the ball to Amad in the 32nd minute and made another mistake in the 42nd. On both occasions, Amad wasted the chance to punish him.
There were two goals ruled out for offside: first Cunha’s, and then Estevão’s for Chelsea. Maguire also lost the ball to Pedro Neto, who nearly scored, while a Chelsea header struck the post after taking a touch off Caicedo. Half-time arrived with the score still goalless, but certainly not for a lack of chances. United had been the better side. Defensive mistakes were piling up at both ends, which helps explain why both teams concede so many goals.
In the 49th minute, Morgan Rogers changed the game. Lavia won the ball back from Mbeumo and played it to the Englishman, who drove forward through the middle, exploited the space between Maguire and Lisandro Martínez and finished over Lammens. A superb goal. Rogers was unstoppable and showed it again in the 59th minute, when he resisted Lisandro’s attempt to bring him down and got past another opponent.
In the 61st minute, Lisandro fouled Fofana from a corner, ignoring the ball and catching him on the chin. VAR awarded a penalty and the Argentine was shown a second yellow card. A ridiculous piece of behaviour that left United down to ten men. Palmer converted in the 63rd minute, although Lammens got both hands to the ball and looked as though he had a chance of saving it. The shot wasn’t particularly powerful, but it still ended up in the back of the net.
United still had a chance to pull one back in the 90+2nd minute. Mbeumo unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, but Penders got his fingertips to the ball and diverted it onto the crossbar. An extraordinary save. Then, in the 90+9th minute, Barco had a golden opportunity to make it three at the far post, but missed the tap-in.
Chelsea won 2-0, but the result doesn’t take away from United’s good first half or the problems that remain unresolved.
Post-match
Nine matches, just seven points. For a club of this size, it’s genuinely ridiculous. We’re witnessing the decline of one of the biggest clubs in football history.
