And finally, Manchester United can breathe a little easier. The Red Devils managed to overcome a Chelsea side that was reduced to ten men very early and looked extremely apathetic throughout the match.
A torrential downpour, fired-up players, and a waterlogged pitch everything pointed to a dramatic clash, and Old Trafford did not disappoint this afternoon. It all began in the fourth minute with the inevitable red card for Sánchez. After a long ball from Altay Bayindir, Sesko beat Chalobah in the air and sent Bryan Mbeumo through on goal. The Cameroonian was illegally brought down by Sánchez, and the Spanish goalkeeper was handed the ultimate punishment. Chelsea would now be forced to play with ten men for 85 minutes.
Maresca reacted by taking off Neto and Estevão to bring in Jørgensen, the backup goalkeeper, and Tosin to strengthen the defense. Chelsea then suffered another heavy blow when Cole Palmer was forced off injured and replaced by Andrey Santos. In a very short span of time, Chelsea lost their entire attacking quartet and were reduced to sitting deep in defense.
Chelsea finally cracked in the 14th minute when Bruno Fernandes scored. With no resources left, they had to endure wave after wave of United attacks, and the pressure paid off when Casemiro doubled the lead after a scramble in the box. After Palmer’s exit, it was hard to imagine things getting any worse for Chelsea, but eventually they caught a break when Casemiro was sent off just before halftime, during the seven minutes of stoppage time, which restored numerical balance.
After a chaotic first half, Chelsea pushed forward more in the second but never really looked dangerous. Only a header from Trevoh Chalobah gave them a glimmer of hope, but this Chelsea side deserved nothing more than a one-goal defeat.
Many observers have struggled to understand Enzo Maresca’s choices. It is well known that trying to reinforce an already fragile defense can backfire, and by adding more defensive players Chelsea exposed themselves to United’s crosses. The punishment came quickly. Questions have also been raised about why Alejandro Garnacho was left out, given his explosive and destabilizing profile.
This defeat piles further doubts on Chelsea, especially after the thrashing against Bayern in the Champions League. Likely without Cole Palmer, the Blues must react quickly, starting Tuesday against Lincoln in the Carabao Cup and especially Saturday against Brighton in the Premier League.