Chelsea 0-1 Man UTD: Only Matheus Cunha’s strike separated the teams at Stamford Bridge, with a significant impact on the race for Champions League football.
Matheus Cunha’s goal was enough for Manchester United (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Manchester United took a big step towards securing Champions League football after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Chelsea. The Red Devils grabbed all three points at Stamford Bridge thanks to a first-half goal from Matheus Cunha.
Michael Carrick’s side were nervous as they had to fend off one Chelsea attack after another as they looked for ways to ease the mounting pressure on Liam Rosenior. However, United remained in third place.
Coach Carrick’s team entered this game dealing with a defensive crisis, but in the end they won with their first clean sheet in about two months. Chelsea, on the other hand, have been unable to find their shooting boots and have lost their last four Premier League games.
Here are five talking points from Stamford Bridge.
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1. Makeshift Mazrawi
crisis? What crisis? Nousser Mazraoui was appointed as interim centre-back by Carrick, who faced a defensive crisis before the match. Four central defenders were absent after Lenny Yolo was injured in training, with Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez joining them on the sidelines.
However, Mazraoui performed admirably, second only to 19-year-old Aiden Haven, in a position he has never played for United before. This is another strength of the Moroccan player, and his versatility could be key to his long-term future with the Red Devils.
Nousser Mazraoui played as a central defender (Image: Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
3. Estevao’s early bath
Estevao is considered one of the most talented teenagers in the sport, but it feels like we haven’t seen the best consistently yet. And they will have to wait even longer after the 18-year-old was sidelined with injury.
Within the first 15 minutes, Estevao probed United’s defense, penetrated the box and fired a shot towards goal, which was collected by Senne Lamence. However, the winger appeared to pick up an injury midway through and was forced to be replaced by Alejandro Garnacho, who was playing against his old club for the first time since leaving for £40 million.
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3. How can we help?
Watch out, Thierry Henry, Kevin De Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes are coming for your records. Cunha’s set-up gave the United captain his 18th assist of the season.
Fernandes passed his former teammate Garnacho on the right and played an inviting ball across the box for Cunha to score. The midfielder needs three more assists to break the Premier League’s all-time record. With five games left, who would bet on him?
Bruno Fernandes is notable for his assist record (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
4. Toothless Chelsea
296 minutes have passed since Chelsea last scored in the Premier League. After giving up four hits against Aston Villa in early March, the Blues were toothless in front of goal.
Liam Delap came on in Joao Pedro’s absence, and although he came close in the second half with a shot that hit the bar, he was unable to end Chelsea’s drought. Conceding goals is certainly an issue for Rosenior to deal with, but the team’s inability to score is perhaps more concerning.
Who will qualify for the Champions League? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
Chelsea failed to end the drought (Image: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
5. Clear United Go 10
It’s a great comeback from United. The Red Devils currently have a big buffer against sixth-placed Chelsea and are firmly on track to qualify for the Champions League.
Such a feat likely earned Carrick a permanent place, and although things weren’t always great in west London, his patchwork defense held out and got the job done.
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