Match Report: Chelsea 1-0 Man United | OneFootball

Manchester United slipped to yet another Premier League defeat this evening as they lost 0-1 away to Chelsea.

The Blues were the first side to register an attempt when Cole Palmer threaded through a cross and Noni Madueke should have done better when he found himself in plenty of space.

Luckily from a United perspective, he fired widely over to keep the scores level early on.

Both teams struggled to keep the ball in the opening stages as possession was turned over with regular frequency in the middle of the park.

United thought they had taken the lead after 15 minutes when Bruno Fernandes perfectly picked out Harry Maguire, who side-footed home with aplomb.

Unfortunately, after a quick VAR check, Maguire was judged to be offside and the goal was ruled out.

Mason Mount almost had a perfect return to Stamford Bridge when Patrick Dorgu found him in space on the edge of the box. Sadly, he fluffed his lines and fired the ball spectacularly wide.

Chelsea fought back however, and a ball by Madueke into the box was expertly half-volleyed by Reece James against the outside of the post.

The hosts continued to push for an opener as Palmer had a vicious shot that was deflected over by Noussair Mazraoui for a corner kick.

The game drifted by as both teams seemed happy to not have the ball too close to their goal, despite a draw doing little for either side.

Andre Onana has had a poor season and he was almost embarrassed again as he palmed a Palmer effort right into the path of Enzo Fernandez. Fortunately, the Argentine smashed the ball over the bar and had his blushes saved by the linesman hoisting up the offside flag.

The first half drew to an end with the hosts pushing but failing to exert much pressure on United’s goal.

In truth, United struggled to have much impact on the game after Maguire’s ruled-out goal and Ruben Amorim would have to find a way to motivate his team for the second half.

United sprung into life in the 52nd minute when Amad weaved his magic down the right hand side and picked out Mount in the area.

The former Chelsea man never looked truly balanced however and skewed his left footed shot well wide of the post in the second half’s first real chance.

United had their tails up and Mount led a breakaway, finding Amad on the right. The Ivorian carried the ball forward and laid it off to Fernandes who could not keep his effort down, as it sailed over the crossbar.

The visitors suffered a scare when the referee awarded a penalty to Chelsea for a supposed foul on Tyrique George on the hour mark.

Andre Onana foolishly left his goal, bringing down the English striker and the whistle blew for a spot kick. On second viewing however, it became clear that the United keeper had not touched the Chelsea forward before he fell to the ground and the decision was overturned.

Chelsea finally grabbed the breakthrough on 71 minutes as United’s fragile defence once again collapsed under pressure.

A lovely bit of skill by James ended in a delightful cross into the box that was headed home by Marc Cucurella to give the Londoners the lead.

It was a great passage of play by the home side but Amorim will once again be left scratching his head at the defensive effort of his team.

The hosts almost had a second as they carved through United once again with ease but Madueke inexplicably fired wide when put straight in on goal.

Amorim’s side continued to struggle to get a foothold in the game and Pedro Neto had an effort stopped by Onana on the 78th minute.

The away side hit back almost immediately though when Amad beat Cucurella and fired a fierce drive at the Chelsea goal that was solidly parried away by Robert Sanchez.

The final period of the match failed to produce much in terms of excitement as United failed to lay a glove on the hosts.

The match ended with yet another defeat for Amorim, who will hope his side can pull out a much better display against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final next Wednesday night.

Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Dorgu, Casemiro, Mount, Fernandes, Amad, Hojlund Subs: Garnacho, Ugarte, Mainoo, Heaven Featured image by Justin Setterfield via Getty Images

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