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Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in what was a bitter clash at Old Trafford.
It was a challenging match for Man United, especially being Ruud van Nistelrooy’s second game in charge following Erik ten Hag’s departure. Still, captain Bruno Fernandes rose to the occasion, taking a composed spot kick to secure a point for his team in a tricky fixture.
Barely a minute in, Rasmus Hojlund was taken down as he sprinted into the final third. He was brought down, handing United a free kick, however, Fernandes’ cross into the box was cut out.
For much of the opening minutes, it was Chelsea in the driver’s seat, launching quick attacks and outpacing United’s backline. The home side struggled to maintain possession, stringing together a few passes at a time before the Chelsea defence would cut them out.
In the 13th minute, Chelsea came within touching distance of scoring. A Cole Palmer corner hurtled to Noni Madueke, whose header struck the upright. United’s defence was in desperate need of more focus and tighter marking.
In the 17th minute, Andre Onana came close to giving away a goal for nothing. Lisandro Martinez played a short pass to the United goalkeeper, who then passed to Casemiro, who was marked. Fortunately, Casemiro was able to clear the ball out of danger.
After 20 minutes of play, United finally sparked to life. While on the attack, Hojlund collapsed in the box after Levi Colwill placed his hands on him. The VAR officials reviewed the incident and determined that the penalty appeal carried no merit.
United’s front three then launched a rapid counter-attack, with Hojlund, who switched to the left flank, passing a through ball across the face of goal to Alejandro Garnacho on the right. Garnacho took a blistering shot that was well saved by Robert Sanchez.
As a Chelsea cross came in from a corner, Onana lept up to catch the ball and dropped it; however, he did well to compensate by grabbing hold of the ball after it bounced. Then, Colwill shoulder-charged Onana, knocking him off his feet. While the foul was given, Colwill was lucky not to be booked for an obviously malicious challenge.
Nine minutes before the break, Hojlund took a blistering shot that was saved. However, the play was brought back as United was awarded a free kick on the edge of the box for a late foul on Manuel Ugarte. Fernandes’ effort hit the top of the defensive wall.
Ugarte was United’s first booking of the match, receiving a yellow card in the 42nd minute for crashing into Palmer, who was sprinting toward the United box.
Diogo Dalot soon followed in Ugarte’s footsteps, receiving a booking one minute into stoppage time after bringing down Pedro Neto.
On the stroke of half-time, Fernandes whipped in a cross to Rashford, who slammed his volley into the frame of the goal. As the ball flew out of play, the referee blew the whistle for the break.
It was a chaotic first half of football, with neither side quite able to build some momentum. Ruud van Nistelrooy clearly needed to find a way to organise his team more effectively so as to improve their cohesion, particularly up front.
The second half started off much like the first ended, with United largely lacking any chemistry in the middle of the park.
It was Chelsea who were in on goal first, with Pedro Neto taking a shot from distance that skidded past the far post.
In the 59th minute, Fernandes played out a short corner to Rashford, whose shot on the edge of the box ended up in the keeper’s gloves.
65 minutes in, Neto attempted another long shot, with Onana doing well to save the grounded attempt.
Rashford then started a counter-attack, pulling the ball back to Garnacho in the centre, who took a soft shot that the keeper easily gathered.
In the 68th minute, Rashford was booked after complaining to the referee about a foul on him.
Just moments later, Hojlund was brought down in the box by the keeper, with the Old Trafford crowd erupting as a penalty was awarded.
Fernandes stepped up coolly to the spot, sending the keeper the wrong way with a well-placed shot in the bottom corner. 1-0 to United with a little over 20 minutes to go.
Amad Diallo came on for Rashford in the 73rd minute, providing some fresh legs on the attack.
With 16 minutes left on the clock, Neto won a corner for Chelsea. Palmer’s corner found Moises Caicedo on the edge of the box, who let rip a stunning volley from outside the box that ripped through United’s defence on the way into the back of the net.
In the 83rd minute, Joshua Zirkzee was handed an opportunity to become United’s hero, replacing Hojlund up front just as United desperately needed a striker who could bag a winner.
Casemiro was booked a minute later after bringing down Neto on the touchline.
Zirkzee had a scoring opportunity as he got on the end of a through ball. However, he was already heavily marked upon receiving the ball, making him easy to dispossess.
Victor Lindelof replaced Ugarte, adding extra manpower to the struggling United defence in the dying moments of the game. Fernandes then received a lucrative scoring opportunity when the ball arrived at his feet in the centre of the box; however, he wastefully blasted his shot well over the crossbar.
Four minutes of added time were announced, giving United ample time to find a winner. On the flip side, however, the defence would need to keep their wits about them to avoid any late heartache.
With a little over a minute to go, Martinez was booked for a high boot during a challenge on Palmer.
VAR decided to review the incident for a potential red card; however, the officials agreed with the referee’s original decision. The yellow card would stand. Amad was then booked after his own protests were deemed excessive.
With the game continuing beyond four minutes of stoppage time, Zirkzee took a close-range shot that was deflected out for a corner. It was one final opportunity for United to grab a winner. Fernandes’ low cross was easily disposed of, with the referee bringing an end to proceedings.
It was a difficult match for Van Nistelrooy’s side, whose struggles up front persist. Still, it was a decent effort put in by United as they look to adjust after a turbulent period in their history.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Fernandes, Hojlund, Rashford, Garnacho, Casemiro, Dalot, Ugarte
Subs: Amad, Zirkzee, Lindelof
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images