Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea: Scrappy affair ends even. Both teams had to settle for a point each at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United played out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Ruud van Nistelrooy took charge of his first Premier League game as United’s interim boss following the departure of Erik ten Hag, and the Dutchman will be content enough with his side’s performance and the subsequent result.
There wasn’t much to enjoy from an entertainment point of view before two second-half goals arrived in quick succession, and Enzo Maresca will know that his side missed an opportunity here, with the Blues will ending the weekend in fourth, while United climbed up to 13th.
How the match unfolded;
Van Nistelrooy’s presence on the touchline emboldened the Theatre of Dreams, but Chelsea did an excellent job of taming the Old Trafford atmosphere in the opening exchanges, by keeping the ball in the face of a 4-2-4 mid-block installed by the interim boss.
Chelsea were far too slick for the hosts when they opted to move through the gears, but hesitancy in the final third meant Andre Onana wasn’t tested in the opening 45 minutes. Noni Madueke hit the post with a header from Cole Palmer’s corner, while United’s best moment of the first half arrived in stoppage time when Marcus Rashford clipped the crossbar with a first-time effort at the back post.
In truth, it was a half bereft of quality and laden with infuriating decision-making in dangerous transition moments. There could’ve only been an improvement after the break, but the desired upsurge in tempo and intensity didn’t immediately arrive.
But then, out of the blue: something. Signs of life. Robert Sanchez just couldn’t help himself as he attempted to deny Hojlund from rounding him, and his outstretched arms clipped the Dane’s left boot which gave referee Rob Jones no choice but to award a penalty.
Bruno Fernandes made no mistake from 12 yards, but United’s joy was short-lived as Chelsea quickly responded via a sublime volley from the excellent Moises Caicedo. The two goals could’ve set up a thrilling conclusion as Chelsea searched for all three points, but United remained a threat on the counter and may well have snatched it themselves.
However, outside of Fernandes’ effort on the edge of the area which sailed into the Stretford End, there were a lack of clear-cut openings and a pretty sub-par encounter ended all-square. Neither side would’ve been worthy winners.
In a game of incredibly fine margins, it was two defensive midfielders who made the telling contributions: Casemiro and Caicedo. The former’s excellent pass led to United’s penalty, before the latter responded with a glorious strike from range to tie things up.
The pair proved the importance of having goal threats throughout a squad, providing moments of magic against hard-working defences to try and drag their respective sides to all three points.
