Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea: Jose Mourinho gets the better of his former club as Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera strike to ensure the Premier League title race is alive and kicking
- Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0 as Jose Mourinho got the better of his former club
- With Zlatan Ibrahimovic rested, Marcus Rashford led the line and opened the scoring on seven minutes
- Ander Herrera doubled the United soon after the break, with his shot deflected off Kurt Zouma
- United's victory ensures the gap between Chelsea and Spurs at the top of the table remains at four points
He may claim it was just another game for him, but who believes that? This was a special event for El Specialissimo. He put Manchester United back in the hunt for the Champions League places, and did so making his old charges at Chelsea look second best.
Chelsea did not have a shot on target for the first time in a Premier League game since September 23, 2007. The result that day was 2-0 to Manchester United, too. It was Avram Grant’s first game as manager, after Mourinho’s first Stamford Bridge dismissal.
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Marcus Rashford celebrates after firing Manchester United into the lead over Chelsea after just seven minutes of play
There was more than a hint of controversy about the opening, as Ander Herrera appeared to break play up with his hand
Spaniard Herrera provided the first but scored United's second, as he slammed the ball into the back of the Chelsea net
Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, in for Thibaut Courtois, had no chance as the ball looped into the net off Kurt Zouma
Victory saw Mourinho get the better of his former club, having been on the end of two defeats to Chelsea so far this season
Herrera slides on his knees in front of the home supporters after doubling his side's lead against the league leaders
Defeat to United gave Conte a lot to ponder, with the result seeing Chelsea unable to stretch their lead at the top of the table
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PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
Manchester Utd (4-3-3): de Gea 6.5; Valencia 6.5, Rojo 7, Bailly 7, Darmian 6.5; Fellaini 7, Herrera 8, Pogba 6.5; Lingard 7 (Carrick 60, 6), Rashford 8.5 (Ibrahimovic 83), Young 6.5 (Fosu-Mensah 90)
Subs not used: Blind, Romero, Mkhitaryan, Shaw
Goals: Rashford 7, Herrera 49
Yellow cards: Herrera, Rojo, Ibrahimovic
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Begovic 6, Zouma 6 (Loftus-Cheek 83), Luiz 5, Cahill 5; Moses 5 (Fabregas 54, 5), Kante 5.5, Matic 6.5 (Willian 66, 5), Azpilicueta 6; Pedro 6, Hazard 5.5, Costa 5
Subs not used: Ake, Batshuayi, Terry, Eduardo.
Yellow cards: Costa, Cahill, Fabregas
Man of the Match: Ander Herrera
Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
Marcus Rashford put Manchester United ahead with a neat finish from an Ander Herrera pass. See more from our brilliant Match Zone right here
Just under a decade on and Mourinho is now Chelsea’s nemesis. Certainly this performance would have put a considerable dent in some big blue egos.
Eden Hazard was anonymous against Ander Herrera, Pedro rarely threatened, while Diego Costa was ineffectual, having started too many feuds to play a coherent game. This was the classic performance of a Mourinho side, all the more impressive because a Thursday night fixture in Brussels had given him so little time to prepare.
But he obviously did. He threw a blanket over Chelsea’s creativity and worried them with pace and width. He left out Zlatan Ibrahimovic and was rewarded by the best performance of the season from Marcus Rashford, who received a standing ovation from the crowd and a hug from his manager when he was substituted after 83 minutes.
Herrera’s job on Hazard was quite magnificent. To rub it in, the man sent to destroy Chelsea even scored United’s second goal. There were 41 minutes remaining at the time, but still looked to be no way back. It is hard to remember a Chelsea so ordinary, or a chance that caused a bead of sweat to break out on David de Gea’s brow.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had admitted he was begin to feel tired after a long season and started the game on the substitute's bench
Mourinho named an unusual-looking United side for the game, with Ashley Young leading the Red Devils out as captain
Ibrahimovic's absence did not seem to hurt United in the early stages, as Rashford slotted home to make it 1-0 to the hosts
Manchester United were a different class on the day, just as Chelsea had been at Stamford Bridge when these teams met in the Premier League earlier this season.
So, the good news is we have a title race again — just four points separating Chelsea and Tottenham now. The bad — Chelsea do not play a team of Manchester United’s substance again, while Tottenham must face United and Arsenal and have a London derby at West Ham.
Still, we are closer to a scrap than we looked likely to be a month or so ago, and the hope in north London is that Chelsea will be rattled by playing a match they deserved to lose at such a crucial moment in the season. There is a difference between battering the hell out of Crystal Palace and coming away with nothing, and being battered by a Manchester United team they put four goals past in October.
For what is without doubt is United were worth this. True, both of their goals had an element of good fortune about them, but only a blue-eyed fool would claim Chelsea were hard done by.
Rashford begins his celebration after putting the hosts in front with his coolly taken opener against Chelsea at Old Trafford
Jesse Lingard, Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera celebrate the opening goal with England international Rashford
Goalkeeper David de Gea pumps his fist in celebration after Rashford's goal put Manchester United into an early lead
Eric Bailly collided with the post after a push from Diego Costa, but the defender picked himself up and was able to continue
Break No 1 came with a handball in the build-up to Rashford’s opener, unnoticed by referee Bobby Madley. In his defence, he got most of the rest of it right and any official spending 90 minutes in the company of charmers like Costa and Marcos Rojo deserves our sympathy — but he messed up here. The goal came in the seventh minute — surprisingly United’s fastest of the season in the Premier League — after Nemanja Matic had been dispossessed carrying the ball upfield.
What Madley failed to spot was that Herrera had intercepted using an arm, clearly outstretched, clearly handball. Madley was unresponsive, Herrera was not. Seizing on his advantage he broke forward and played a lovely pass into the path of the outstanding Rashford who drew Asmir Begovic and finished smartly past him.
The second came after some uncommonly sloppy play at the back from Chelsea and a deflection. A clearance was sent cheaply back into the path of Ashley Young, whose cross found Herrera.
Replays showed Gary Cahill choosing to offer Jesse Lingard a hand up as play went on when he may have been better off focusing on the problems ahead — but Herrera’s shot ricocheted off his defensive partner Kurt Zouma, giving Begovic little chance.
Herrera spent much of the afternoon glued to Eden Hazard in a bid to nullify the threat of the Belgium international
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba slides in and wins the ball from Diego Costa to break up a Chelsea attack
It was an uncomfortable afternoon for Chelsea’s stand-in goalkeeper, promoted after Thibaut Courtois suffered an injury. The suggestion was he turned an ankle playing basketball for a promotional film, though Antonio Conte would not confirm this. His frosty response, however, suggested he was not best pleased that this particular white man couldn’t jump.
When Marcos Alonso withdrew from the pre-match warm-up having woken up feeling unwell, Chelsea’s misery was complete. The most settled starting XI in the Premier League was to include understudies and battlefield promotions — Zouma to central defence, Cesar Azpilicueta into Alonso’s wingback role.
Not since the visit to White Hart Lane on January 4 have Chelsea been as comprehensively outplayed as they were here. They were simply no threat and it did not help that Costa decided to have one of those games when he takes on the world. Focused, he’s dangerous; on afternoons like this he can be a menace.
Antonio Conte, who opted for the suit and cap look at Old Trafford, was the more animated of the two managers
Captain for the day, Young, tried his luck at goal but the midfielder was unable to hit the target with his shot
Marcos Rojo and Costa were nibbling at each other during much of the opening 45 minutes of the game at Old Trafford
Soon after the break it was 2-0, as Herrera's drilled shot deflected into the back of the Chelsea net off Kurt Zouma
Herrera charged over to the home fans to celebrate after doubling United's lead with his first goal in 14 months
He was at war with Eric Bailly, with Rojo, with Madley, his assistants and the Old Trafford crowd. He started by pushing Bailly off the field as they tussled for a ball in the six-yard box, which angered the United players. He was booked for a foul on Paul Pogba after 33 minutes, and was then involved in a wrestling match with Rojo that could have brought further trouble. The pair jumped, Costa landed on Rojo’s hip, the United man took it personally and grabbed him around the neck.
Costa flailed around on the ground holding his face as if struck, Rojo did likewise with other parts of his anatomy. They were both such rotten actors that Madley saw through it all and did nothing.
Yet Chelsea looked hesitant, particularly David Luiz, who was caught in possession by Lingard after five minutes, the ball sent through to Rashford whose shot was wastefully wide. It was all United after that. Young had several good attempts and Rashford was magnificent.
One run, in which he fought Luiz off all the way, ended in a fine Begovic save at the near post. Another shot saw Cahill almost turn the ball into his own net trying to block.
‘We’re top of the league,’ crowed Chelsea’s fans throughout, but by the end it sounded more bravado than boast. Tottenham’s meeting with Manchester United looms large.
If United’s manager wants to make sure of Champions League football next season, he may yet have to hold his nose and do his old club a favour on May 14.
Zouma, Marouane Fellaini and Gary Cahill battle for the ball in the air on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area
Fellaini and Cesar Azpilicueta battle for possession under a high ball on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area
As things began to get serious for Conte on the Old Trafford touchline, and as rain began to fall, he removed his cap
Herrara's stunning afternoon continued as he got back superbly to slid in and win the ball as Diego Costa threatened to shoot
Ibrahimovic did eventually make it onto the pitch as Mourinho looked to keep hold of the lead in the final 10 minutes
Paul Pogba strides to try and get clear of N'Golo Kante as the two France internationals battle for possession of the ball
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4416444/Manchester-United-2-0-Chelsea-Premier-League-match-report.html#ixzz4eSsIyvUK
