Results of Chelsea vs. Man United
The outcome, a 1-1 draw that keeps us in fourth place in the Premier League standings, follows the current pattern of draws in Chelsea vs. Man United games, with the previous four encounters between the two teams.
Despite giving our opponents the majority of goal attempts, Chelsea's better second-half performance felt as though it was building to a crescendo in their favor. It seemed as though that came to pass when two substitutes got involved, with Scott McTominay bringing down Armando Broja at a corner to concede a penalty.
Kepa came close to stopping a header from Casemiro with six minutes of added time remaining, but goal-line technology showed we had dropped two points.
In the first half, there were echoes of our previous two games with Brentford's continued goal drought and our displeasure with the starting lineup's performance at Aston Villa.
Before halftime, Graham Potter made a move, and chances to score appeared. However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had difficulty finding the back of the net, while Kepa and Antony both wasted opportunities at the other end.
Although the unbeaten Potter streak continues, the brilliant Trevoh Chalobah came near before Jorginho scored the breakthrough in the second quarter. However, the away supporters were the ones left singing at the conclusion when their team pulled off an escape act.
Selection
Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were back in the attack, making up two of the four changes from the draw at Brentford. Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell both made their comebacks after Kalidou Koulibaly left the previous game with a minor knee injury.
Unbeaten in eight Premier League home games, Chelsea faced a team that had won five of its last six away games across all competitions, despite their recent performance in London, where they had dropped their previous three league games.
A dedicated Ruben Loftus-Cheek won a header early on to set Aubameyang on his way to goal, enlivening the Blues majority in this boisterous Saturday tea-time crowd, but his delivery towards the target was errant. In reaction, the visitors' Luke Shaw fired a low, powerful, and wide shot.
With a strong strike, Anthony forced Kepa to make his first stop of the game. However, the following Chelsea attempt was very potent, and Raphael Varane's quick defending prevented Aubameyang from scoring after Mason Mount crossed the ball.
Early Changes
The first half's middle phase then descended into chaos. Chelsea would undoubtedly acknowledge that during that time, we were losing the ball too frequently and allowing space for our opponents in the middle of the field. We also appreciate Kepa for being upright and critically stopping Rashford after Man United had successfully played through the middle of our defense.
Graham Potter responded quickly when his team didn't perform as he had hoped, much like he did at Aston Villa last weekend. This time, he switched even early, and Marc Cucurella withdrew once more. The defense switched to a back four as Mateo Kovacic entered the game to give the Blues an extra man in the middle, where they had previously struggled.
The remainder of the half saw a much better Chelsea, but in three instances, Aubameyang was unable to capitalize on opportunities to score.
He struggled to make good contact with his boot when leaping to meet a cross from the left, and after a couple of careless Man United touches, he scuffed a shot wide with De Gea stretched. Our no. 9's frustration increased when Sterling slipped the ball sideways but it passed him by as diving, attempted interception proved to be a distraction.
However, Chelsea was counting their blessings as Antony missed a fantastic opportunity to put us ahead just before halftime.
Momentum Increases
Early in the second half, Chelsea kept looking for that extra coherence that an attack would require.
In the first minute of the second half, Sterling, who was trying to score his first goal against Manchester United, made the mistake of passing the ball inside to a teammate rather than volleying a cross toward the goal. It was unsuccessful.
But the Blues were putting more and more pressure on a rival team who had lost Varane to injury in their defense by this point. Trevoh Chalobah was putting on a solid performance in our backline, and it appeared more cohesive against the Red Devils than it had in the first half.
With 20 minutes remaining in the game, Chalobah headed a Mount corner just over the bar.
Before the fireworks, Kepa blocked a shot by Fernandes. There is little doubt that Broja was fouled by McTominay, resulting in the penalty that Jorgi converted in the 87th minute after patiently waiting to take it.
Casemiro's looping effort was pushed onto the post by Kepa, who then clawed it back to the ground, but by that point, Man U had Seen it land just the wrong side of the line. However, they recovered and began a strong hunt for a leveler, which was rewarded.
Kepa, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Cucurella (Kovacic 37'), Azpilicueta (c), Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek (Chukwuemeka 79'), Chilwell, Mount, Aubameyang (Pulisic 74'), and Sterling (Broja 79') are the players for Chelsea in a 3-4-3 formation.
Mendy, Gallagher, Zakaria, Havertz, and Ziyech were all inactive subs.
Scorer Jorginho 86'
Jorginho was booked in 90+2'
De Gea; Dalot; Varane (Lindelof 59), Martinez; Shaw; Casemiro; Antony, Eriksen (McTominay 80'), Fernandes (c), Sancho (Fred 52'); Rashford (Elanga 80'). are the players in Man United's (4-1-4-1) defense.
Heaton, Malacia, Pellistri, Iqbal, and Garnacho were all inactive subs.
Scorer Casemiro's 90+4'
Booked: Antony 32', Fred 86', Shaw 90', and Martinez, 90+5'
Stuart Attwell, the referee
Spectator 39,503
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