Chelsea suffered a nightmare start at the Old Trafford, after Manchester United’s massive win over the Blues with 4-0.
It was a match in which we United wasn’t dominant in any other aspect of the game than goals, but that is what counts in soccer. The hosts had a clinical finishing which made the difference this afternoon.
The visitors will have a lot to regret. They were in a position to score first and were a better team on the pitch in the first halftime. The Blues hit the woodwork twice, De Gea had a couple of solid saves, but as we said in the end, the goals are what counts.
Chelsea opened the match better, and Abraham’s rocket hit the post in the fourth minute. United started to play a bit more active, but not because of their actions. Mostly the Blues made mistakes which opened the space for United’s pacey attackers.
From one situation like that, Kurt Zuma brought down Marcus Rashford in the box, and the referee pointed towards the penalty spot. The same player who drew the foul converted the opportunity, and the Red Devils were up.
After that, the hosts became more defensive-minded, and it was Chelsea who dictated the pace of the game again. And they had another good chance. Emerson hit the bar in the 40th minute, leaving De Gea thanking God that his shot wasn’t a few inches lower.
“There were four mistakes for the goals, but we controlled major parts of the first half. We made a couple of poor decisions in the final third. We should have been ahead at half-time,”
stated Frank Lampard at the end of the match.
With the second half starting it seemed that Chelsea might pull themselves out of this mess. But after the 65th minute when Martial scored following Perreira’s cross, it was obvious that things aren’t going to be sweet for the guys from London. Two minutes later, it was even worse.
Another counter-attack, with Pogba finding Rashford and the open space ahead of him. The members of the English national team didn’t have any problems to use this gift and raise United’s lead to 3-0.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave a chance to Daniel Jones, the recent signing who landed from Swansea. It turned out to be a jackpot for United, as Jones set the final result in the 81st minute. Another good assist by Paul Pogba preceded the goal.
Harry Maguire debuted with a clean sheet, and despite having some luck throughout the game, we need to say that the most expensive defender in the world had a few magical interventions. He was very excited after the match.
“It’s a great start for myself and the team. We rode our luck a little bit in the first half – we gave them too many chances,” Maguire admitted. “I think we were a lot better in the second half, we controlled the game and thoroughly deserved the three points.”
Frank Lampard isn’t going to remember his EPL debut in a nice way. But the legend of the Blues has a chance to erase this humiliation. His team travels to Istanbul to face Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup. If by any chance Chelsea wins that match, this slip will be forgotten. But still, that is easier said than done, as you have Liverpool across the field.
After that Chelsea has another tough game in the Premiership, this time against Leicester City at home. Meanwhile, Manchester United heads for Wolverhampton to meet Wolves who have high ambitions for this season.
