With much uncertainty facing both clubs, English traditional rivals Manchester United and Chelsea squared off at Old Trafford on Thursday night. The visitors Chelsea came into the game as favorites with their hosts struggling for form and the blues started the game the better of both sides applying pressure on the United rare guard.
The first half ended with United counting themselves really lucky after Chelsea missed too many good chances to take the lead in the first 45 minutes with Kai Havertz in particular being a huge culprit in letting United off the hook.
The second half saw the game continue in the same vein with the blues having the upper hand and being in control of the ball but remained without a cutting edge as the game approached the hour mark. With Chelsea still pressing and probing, right on the hour mark, Mount found space on the far edge of the box and his cross was diverted by Kai into the path of Alonso and the Spaniard struck a beautiful volley that beat the impressive De Gea in goal.
It took no longer than a minute before United got back into game with loss of concentration being Chelsea’s bane once more. Matic won the loose ball in midfield and got lucky twice before brilliantly looping the ball over the blues’ defence for Ronaldo to take down swiftly before powering home his seventh goal in three games at home (Old Trafford).
Tuchel reacted to United’s goal and sought to win it with his attacking changes(Lukaku and Pulisic) but United were not to be breached any longer. The game ended at Old Trafford 1-1 with the blues’ last win at Old Trafford coming in 2013.
Here are 5 lessons learned as Chelsea remain winless in Old Trafford (9 years and counting);
Kai’s Wastefulness;
A player reborn in recent weeks, it was a shock to see Kai Harvertz miss some glorious goal scoring opportunities here at Old Trafford.
A man known to shine on the big occasions, Kai fluffed his lines here on multiple occasions and one missed goal scoring chance before the first half whistle in particular infuriated Tuchel who couldn’t hide his frustration at his Compatriot.
Kai’s running were at the usual standards with the German often tracking back to help out the team when out of possession but his finishing touches left much to be desired and Chelsea faithfuls can only hope this is only a one off for the “Silky German”.
James is Class;
With his return to the team, many Chelsea fans became even more hopeful of ending their Old Trafford curse and if it were left to James alone, that curse would have been broken tonight. The former Wigan defender didn’t look like a player who has been struggling with niggles in recent weeks as he dominated the right hand side often turning Telles (United’s left back) inside out.
James playing at a more familiar wing back role had the license to push high up the pitch and got involved in the attacking play often being Chelsea’s major weapon down the right. James created the most chances of the game and could have taken one himself with a brilliant left footed effort that came off the post with De Gea left watching in awe of the beauty of the strike.
James would now hope to end the season on a high with the FA cup final still to come in May.
Mount-James glorious combo;
The injury to James and Chilwell pushed Tuchel’s hands to tweak his approach and pattern and in recent weeks has also seen him change Mount’s position to a more central one but here Tuchel returned to default with Mount playing as an half ten and a winger on occasions.
The decision to have Mount and James operate down the right side meant the two combined to a great effect with both looking to always find space and deliver dangerous crosses at every opening. If there had been a more natural goal scorer on the pitch for the blues, he would certainly have benefited from the luxury of chances both Mount and James created on the right.
The Englishmen took turns to torment the United defence often playing neat one-twos and balls round the corner to create space and wreak havoc. If the duo should have many more games like this together then there would be little or no chances for opponents in games to come.
Loss of concentration proves Costly;
One thing Tuchel’s Chelsea were known for in the business end of last season was their incredible level of concentration and that helped in the most difficult of circumstances against top level oppositions.
This season, Chelsea haven’t produced such performances on a regular basis with the blues often having one moment of concentration lapse and this has more often than not cost the team in recent games.
In the UCL quarter final against Madrid, the team experienced such in both legs and that proved to be a problem too difficult to solve for Tuchel’s men.
The blues suffered same bane here at Old Trafford with United equalizing after just a minute of Chelsea taking the lead.
Chelsea has got to up the ante.
Alonso’s expertise;
Tuchel recently mentioned in an interview how good Marcos Alonso was in the LWB position having played there under Conte before now showing brightly in that position under his tutelage.
Alonso’s ability to ghost behind the back line of teams and find himself free on the far post is something that gives him the chance of striking at goal unperturbed if the ball finds its way to him as he’s often on the last defender’s blind side and thus has space to shoot.
Alonso often struggles against pacy wingers defensively but his attacking output is a huge asset to this present side. The Spaniard got the goal and his overall play on the left is sure to have pleased Tuchel.
Alonso sure knows how to play LWB.
Man of the match; Recce James 9/10
Next up for Chelsea is a trip to Merseyside to face Everton on Sunday – 2pm UK time.
