Chelsea 1 Man Utd 1 (Jorginho 69′ pen; Sancho 50′)
Ballon d’Or nominee Jorginho atoned for what could have been a match-defining error to save Chelsea against smash-and-grab Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
It was Jorginho’s uncharacteristic mistake that gifted Jadon Sancho the freedom to slot home the opener for United early in the second half in west London.
But Michael Carrick’s men couldn’t hold on to what would have been a surprise victory as midfielder Jorginho swept in a levelling penalty after Aaron Wan-Bissaka had fouled Thiago Silva in the area.
Chelsea could have wrapped the game up in the first half, with David de Gea’s boot denying Callum Hudson-Odoi four minutes into the encounter. By the half-hour mark Hakim Ziyech had blazed over and Antonio Rudiger crushed the crossbar.
United, starting without Cristiano Ronaldo after Carrick opted to bench the superstar, held firm after the break and took their opportunity when gifted to them.
And despite Thomas Tuchel throwing on the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Christian Pulisic late on, the hosts couldn’t force a winner as Rudiger volleyed over a golden opportunity at the death.
Chelsea vs Man Utd player ratings
Edouard Mendy – 6
Antonio Rudiger – 8
Thiago Silva – 7
Trevoh Chalobah – 7
Marcos Alonso – 7
Jorginho – 7
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 8
Reece James – 7
Timo Werner – 6
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 7
Hakim Ziyech – 8
Substitutes:
Romelu Lukaku – 6
Christian Pulisic – 6
Man Utd
David De Gea – 7
Victor Lindelof – 6
Eric Bailly – 7
Alex Telles – 6
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6
Fred – 6
Bruno Fernandes – 6
Nemanja Matic – 7
Scott McTominay – 6
Marcus Rashford – 7
Jadon Sancho – 7
Substitutes:
Cristiano Ronaldo – 7
Jesse Lingard – 6
Donny van de Beek – 6
Penalty controversy explained
No gameweek goes by without a VAR controversy in the Premier League and the match officials will argue they got it right both at Stamford Bridge and in Sunday’s earlier game between Brentford and Everton.
That Jorginho would score his spot kick was never really in question. What was doubtful was the ruling for the penalty in the first place.
Referee Anthony Taylor gave it a good hard look when Wan-Bissaka’s boot made contact with Silva’s leg, instead of the ball. The United full-back was in the act of clearing his lines when Chelsea’s experienced centre-half got in the way.
There was minimal contact and Silva didn’t exactly look to have control of the ball. Indeed, anywhere else on the field and the defender would probably have just got on with the game. But contact – even in these days of interpretive VAR – is contact, and in the box you go down. Of course you do.
Down went Silva, clutching his leg, and Taylor blew up. The ref’s colleagues watching on the monitors won’t going to overturn that.
Benched Ronaldo aids compact United
So much of the conversation around United’s tactics when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge was how to deal with a Ronaldo figure who doesn’t “do” pressing.
Pressing as a team is in vogue right now, and while Ronaldo may get the bulk of United’s goals it meant that Solskjaer’s set-up was never able to defend as one unit – and was subsequently picked apart by the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
Sunday saw Carrick withdraw Ronaldo and compact the midfield, and it worked in terms of keeping Chelsea generally at bay. United offered very little going forward – especially in the first half – but as the game wore on Chelsea’s chances became increasingly sparse.
By the time of Ronaldo’s introduction Chelsea were pushing hard for the winner and that gave United the opportunity to exploit spaces on the break, even if the veteran wasn’t spearheading those attacks.
They came close to stealing three points and Ronaldo himself saw a half chance go begging. There’s no doubting the Portugal international is an asset, but against superior teams United need a different approach – and they just about accomplished that at Stamford Bridge.
Keane: United deserve credit
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane expressed his surprise ahead of kick-off that Ronaldo had been benched for such a big game, branding Carrick’s move a “big decision”.
But the former midfielder was all praise for the visitors after the game, even if United laboured for many scoring chances.
“It’s a big point to Manchester United because Chelsea were by far the better team,” Keane said on Sky Sports.
“But United were spirited, stuck at it, so they will take a little bit of momentum into their season now. Hopefully they can kick on.
“(There’s been) lots of changes over the last week, a new manager coming in next week, but there are still huge question marks over a lot of these players.
“But they deserve credit because they stuck together in what was a spirited performance rather than one of real quality.”
De Gea: We are improving
A week ago David De Gea was the unlucky squad member to front up to the cameras after the 4-1 defeat to Watford cost Solskjaer his job.
That day De Gea admitted that the team was practically rudderless when it came to defending. But following Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over Villarreal and a scrappy display against Chelsea, De Gea believes the defence is heading in the right direction again.
“On the pitch, in the goal, I was feeling danger for nearly the whole game,” said the Spaniard. “We defended well, they missed big chances and the one they give us a chance we score. It is not enough to draw but at the moment it is a big point.
“The last games before we were conceding three or four goals. We are improving. This is just two games. At least now we are defending well. We are fighting for every ball. We are a team.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3nZSEyR
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