Three points secure, that’s all that matters right now.
Manchester United rebounded from a disastrous Manchester Derby defeat across town with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday. Ruben Amorim’s side were rewarded tactically and karmically in the opening minutes to establish a lead in the match, and were able to hang on despite a nervy second half and the other end of what goes around comes around.
Still, it was a needed victory for the club, regardless of player error and stingy management.
The goals went in and the Reds held on. That’s about as much as we can ask for right now.
Amorim saw the return of Matheus Cunha from injury, but opted to place Amad in the front three alongside Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo as the Brazilian makes his way back. It was a fast start for the side, particularly for Mbeumo, who could have scored twice in the opening minutes.
The first chance was a header, saved in the third minute by Robert Sanchez, and moments later Mbeumo was on the end of a long ball forward by Altay Bayindir, reaching the ball before an onrushing Sanchez. The Chelsea keeper clipped Mbeumo in what looked like an attempt to just prevent a goal despite the obvious punishment, a red card to take the Blues down a man and down a goalkeeper.
United didn’t score on the following free kick, but they did find the net soon after from open play as Bruno Fernandes finished a pinballing chance from close range.
Casemiro added another after 20 minutes of probing by United. There wasn’t the same sort of urgency in search of a second goal as there was leading up to the first goal, but when the second went in the result felt insured.
That is until Casemiro clumsily got himself sent off as well. Already on a yellow card, the midfielder wrapped himself around a Chelsea player while fighting for the ball from behind. Whether it was deserving of a yellow card or not is another situation, but the situation could have been avoided entirely had Casemiro simply realized the situation didn’t call for his aggression.
The second half is perhaps best summarized by this tweet from Casey.
What is important to know is that Manuel Ugarte came on and United became a reserved, cautious team that failed to play the ball forward despite Chelsea leaving plenty of opportunity to attack.
A goal from Trevoh Chalobah on a corner kick (color me shocked) gave the Blues hope late, but the Reds did well to precent another clear chance on Bayindir’s net and saw out the win.
There are positives from the performance, particularly Mbeumo, who continues to look like the most adjusted of the new signings. Bruno Fernandes got forward and looked more like the hero Reds remember, and the defense never looked particularly threatened until Harry Maguire was subbed off in the final minutes.
Still, the near collapse after everything went United’s way early was worrying. It’s annoying that even in victory it’s impossible to ignore what makes this team and setup so frustrating, but it is still important to celebrate the win.
