Chelsea and Manchester United could not be separated at Stamford Bridge, with Casemiro’s stoppage time header cancelling out Jorginho’s late penalty in an enthralling encounter.
Both sides went into this fixture with positive form, with Chelsea aiming for a sixth clean sheet in a row, while United were still enjoying their midweek win over Spurs.
The game had the makings of a decisive battle in the battle for the Premier League’s top four and perhaps it played in the minds of both teams as both took a somewhat risk-averse approach.
United had the better of the first half, dominating possession and threatening Chelsea’s backline to the point that Blues manager Graham Potter decided to bring on another midfielder before half-time.
The two sides canceled each other out in the second half, with virtually no further chances for either side as the game looked set to dwindle to a 0-0 draw.
But in a late twist of fate, substitute Scott McTominay took center stage when he clumsily brought down Armando Broja while defending a corner. Jorginho stepped up and calmly slotted home the penalty, seemingly securing three points for Potter’s side.
But there was to be another twist to the tale when Casemiro rose highest to head home Shaw’s cross, sparking wild celebrations from the fans.
The result means Chelsea remain just one point ahead of fourth-placed United and two points behind third-placed Spurs.
Chelsea vs Man Utd: Player ratings
1. Chelsea (3-4-2-1)
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10 – A couple of slightly shaky moments but overall this was a competent display by Kepa – although United didn’t test him much.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah – 7/10 – An impressive display by Chalobah, who rewarded his manager’s faith in him with another confident performance.
CB: Thiago Silva – 7/10 – Marshalled the defence with class. Standard Thiago Silva, basically.
CB: Marc Cucurella – 6/10 – Didn’t really do anything wrong, but was an unfortunate casualty of the change of shape when his manager sought to bring on another midfielder.
RWB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10 – Couldn’t influence the game going forward, but a competent enough defensive display.
CM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6/10 – Struggled to make an impact today and was substituted for Chukwuemeka late on.
CM: Jorginho – 7/10 – Grew into the game when Potter changed the formation, getting more time on the ball and playing some wonderful vertical passes.
LWB: Ben Chilwell – 6/10 – A forgettable display from Chilwell, who was outperformed on the day by his rival for England’s left-back position.
RW: Mason Mount – 5/10 – Mount has recaptured his best form of late but it wasn’t on show today, with United limiting his ability to create anything meaningful.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 5/10 – Struggled to have any influence on the game, meaning his record of never scoring against United remains intact.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/10 – Kept the United defence on their toes with his pace and runs in behind, but simply didn’t get the service today.
SUB: Mateo Kovacic (36′ for Cucurella) – 6/10 – Played a few stray passes but helped to make up the numbers in midfield and change the tide of the game.
SUB: Christian Pulisic (74′ for Aubameyang) – 5/10 – Unable to get on the ball and do anything noteworthy in this brief cameo.
SUB: Armando Broja (79′ for Sterling) – 7/10 – His physical presence makes him a nuisance for any side and he did well to win the penalty.
SUB: Carney Chukwuemeka (79′ for Loftus-Cheek) – 5/10 – Did he touch the ball? We’re not sure.
MANAGER: Graham Potter – 8/10 – It takes a brave manager to rip up their own tactics in the first half. Potter did this today after watching United overrun his midfield for 35 minutes, and the result was a much more coherent performance in the second half.
2. Manchester United (4-2-3-1)
GK: David De Gea – 6/10 – Largely untested much like his opposite number Kepa.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 7/10 – A solid if unspectacular display by Dalot.
CB: Raphael Varane – 7/10 – A solid performance by the French international, brought to an unfortunate end by his second-half injury.
CB: Lisandro Martinez – 8/10 – The Argentinian oozed class once again today, showing the right mixture of coolness and aggression throughout.
LB: Luke Shaw – 7/10 – Another solid performance by Shaw, who has responded well to the challenge of Tyrell Malacia to his spot in the first team.
CM: Casemiro – 8/10 – Possibly his best performance in a United shirt to date as he helped to take control of the midfield in the first half.
CM: Christian Eriksen – 7/10 – Kept things ticking nicely in midfield but this was still far from vintage Eriksen.
CM: Bruno Fernandes – 7/10 – Covered a lot of ground and influenced the action at both ends of the pitch, although he did lack end product.
RW: Antony – 6/10 – A frustrating day for Antony, who missed a great chance before half time and was noticeably reluctant to use his right foot at any point.
LW: Jadon Sancho – 5/10 – The winger didn’t really play to the best of his abilities and was hooked for Fred shortly after the break.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 6/10 – No shortage of energy and effort, but struggled to influence the game playing in a central role as Chelsea offered precious little space to run into.
SUB: Fred (52′ for Sancho) – 6/10 – Not quite as assured and classy as he was in midweek.
SUB: Victor Lindelof (60′ for Varane) – 7/10 – United’s defensive line didn’t suffer too badly from the loss of Varane, so we’ll chalk that up as a win for Lindelof.
SUB: Anthony Elanga (80′ for Rashford) – 6/10 – Didn’t have much time and was crowded out by blue shirts for most of it.
SUB: Scott McTominay (80′ for Eriksen) – 3/10 – Why, Scott, why? Brought on as a late sub to close out the game, McTominay instead took it upon himself to suplex Broja in his own penalty area and give away the penalty.
MANAGER: Erik ten Hag – 6/10 – Set his team up brilliantly and enjoyed the better of the first half, but didn’t react to Potter’s changes and threw the game away with his unambitious substitutions.
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