The Red Devils Vs The Blues

Man United Vs Chelsea

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Historic Rivalry:

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The contest between these two teams was not the most anticipated but indeed an exciting fixture to have waited after the weekend fixtures. The Blues were set to host The Red Devils as the last visit between these two teams ended in United's favor as Chelsea were knocked out of the Carabao cup thanks to Marcus Rashford's thumping freekick. Even though these two teams have been in a rebuilding process, nonetheless the rivalry between these two clubs has indeed been memorable over the years. Honestly, one of the most classic encounters between these two clubs was in the UEFA Champions League 2008 finals with Luzhniki stadium hosting the contest. Frankly, it was one of the best matches ever played between them.

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 Players like Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, and the list goes on did play a crucial role in the competition respectively. With the scores tied 1-1, it went down with the penalty shootout. The Red Devils fell under pressure when Cristiano Ronaldo tried to misguide Petr Cech who judged correctly and saved the spot-kick as he was a penalty specialist. The Blues had the opportunity to win the title until John Terry stepped up to take the spot-kick only for him to slip and hit the post and miss despite sending Van Der Sar the wrong way. This proved to major miss as the last spot-kick was taken by Nicolas Anelka which saw his effort saved by the Dutch shot-stopper and the trophy was won by The Red Devils. Reports emerged that John Terry had to take Drogba's spot-kick as the striker was sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic in extra-time. 

Nevertheless, the clashes between these two teams have been memorable in the Premier League as well. Everyone will remember how United fought back from a three-goal deficit in the dying minute's thanks to Chicharito's late equalizer in the 2011/12 season. The fixture between these two teams has also garnered controversy when The Red Devils were thumped by The Blues in Stamford Bridge in October 2016 with the score ending 4-0. Jose Mourinho made headlines when he accused Antonio Conte's celebrating after his team scored the 4th goal and the Portuguese manager claimed that the Italian manager was being disrespectful and humiliating. This antagonized Mourinho as he returned to the ground where he won three premier league titles and was humiliated by the host's supporters. The Special One indeed got his revenge when his team won against the Blues 2-0 as his man-marking tactics were lauded by various critics and pundits. Last season's fixture between these two teams again made headlines when the Blues assistant coach Marco Ianni was seen celebrating the Blues equalizer in the dying minutes of the game in front of Mourinho which prompted him to get up and confront him. That's a little bit of history, now back to the present. Let us find out who prevailed in this exciting contest.

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Pre-match thoughts and summary:

Lampard dropped top scorer Tammy Abraham from the squad, so it was a big opportunity for Batshuayi to make an impression while Caballero continued to start. At an average age of 28 years, this was the oldest Blues squad. On the other hand, new signing Bruno Fernandes was named in the starting 11 while new signing striker Odion Ighalo made the bench. Defender Eric Bailly made his first competitive start since last April with the game ending 1-1. The Red Devils won the previous encounter at the Bridge which was a cup tie. Following the 4-0 victory on an opening day, The Red Devils were aiming for a double over the Blues for the first since 1987-88.

The match ended with the Red Devils claiming all three points against the hosts as the score ended 2-0 in favor of the visitors. Even though Man United won the encounter, it was not a stellar performance by the Red Devils as the hosts had the majority control over the game. This victory was indeed important for the Norwegian as his team closed the gap on the table with three points behind the Blues. Now let us see the talking points.

Talking points:

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1. Chelsea aggressive start and opportunities:

The game began with the hosts attacking in the early minutes of the game. Willian leads the charge with Kovacic and Pedro supporting him from the back. The Blues showed signs of a strong start by pressing at a high intensity to win the ball back. The Blues eventually did have opportunities in the match at the early stages of the match. In the 5th minute, Kovacic made an impressive run through the midfield and exchanging passes with Azpilicueta before finding James at the right corner who made room and struck the ball towards the bottom corner which went wide. 

The hosts had an opportunity to open the scoring in the 22nd minute when their corner was not cleared properly which prompted Christiansen to flick and which was then taken by Willian who found Batshuayi eight yards out, The Belgian striker did not react quickly enough and scuffed a shot straight up in the air. They had another opportunity two minutes later when Mount passed through Van-Bissaka and launched a through-ball towards Batshuayi who scuffed his effort well wide. Overall, the hosts had many chances to put the game to bed but had failed to capitalize on their opportunities. 

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2. United break the deadlock:

The score was 0-0 until the closing stages in the first half. Fred found Van-Bisaaka and he turned Willian inside out before firing a superb right cross. Martial then did brilliantly to get above Christiansen who flicked a header just inside the far post. 

Honestly, it was surprising to see former Eagles defender delivering a superb cross as we often see him making crucial tackles. It was indeed an excellent delivery, but fans should know that he crosses very rarely as he is not accurate in playing crosses like Kyle Walker or Trent-Alexander Arnold. 

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3. Maguire finally scores:

It was the moment that all the Red Devils supporters were waiting for. The visitors doubled their lead through a set-piece in the 66th minute. Bruno Fernandes delivered an excellent corner from the left towards the penalty spot and the Englishman Harry Maguire flying into power the ball into the right bottom corner.

 The world's most expensive defender finally scored his first goal for the Red Devils in the premier league since signing from the Foxes.

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4. Did Maguire deserve a red card?:

There was an incident involving Maguire and Batshuayi in the 20th minute. The English man tumbled in a heap by the touchline and the Belgian striker ran into his outstretched boot crotch-first, leaving the bench who reacted furiously. There was a quick VAR check for a red card, but no card was given upon reviewing. This is not the first time where VAR has generated controversy this season. 

Many critics and pundits have criticized VAR. A similar incident involving Son was also reviewed by VAR, but that time the South Korean was given a straight red. During the match, the Blues both the goals were denied after reviewing though VAR that showed Fred pushing Azpilicueta towards Brandon Williams during the corner kick and Zouma scored only for the goal to be disallowed and the second goal was ruled out after Giroud was caught just offside. Is VAR good or a bad decision-making system?

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Overall, the match was indeed entertaining. Both the teams put the ball in the net twice, but the host's goals were ruled out thanks to VAR, so three points to the Red Devils. Martial flicked a header through Willy Caballero in the closing minutes of the first half. On the other hand, Zouma's goal was denied after reviewing. Maguire powered home a header thereby scoring his first goal for the visitors in the premier league. Giroud then scored only for VAR to rule it out again after the Frenchman was caught offside by a margin. 

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Batshuayi missed a couple of chances which could have turned the favor towards the hosts and Kante was limped off which proved to be a big blow to them. Willian was booked after being caught diving outside the penalty area and Maguire almost escaped with a red card in a hugely frustrating night for the Blues. This victory meant that the Red Devils achieved a double over the Blues for the first time since 1987-88 and closing the gap on 3 points behind the Blues. Will Chelsea hang on or will Manchester United beat them to the top 4?

Author,

Zaid