How It Happened!!
Alvaro Morata’s brilliant header in the second half was enough for Chelsea to beat Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in one of the most vital matches of the season. With this win Chelsea had gone just one point behind Manchester United and this match could turn out to be a game changer of the season for Chelsea.
Antonio Conte had preferred to play with a 3-5-2 formation in this very important game against United. Thibaut Courtois was in the goal for Chelsea in this match. Cesar Azpilicueta , Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen had started in the central defense for Chelsea. Davide Zappacosta and Marcos Alonso had started in the two flanks. N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas and Tiemoue Bakayoko had featured in the heart of the midfield for Chelsea in this match against United. Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard was leading the Chelsea attack from the upfront.
On the other hand, Jose Mourinho had also opted to play with a 3-5-2 formation in the match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. David De Gea had started in the Manchester United Goal in this match. Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling was there in the central defense for United. Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia had played in the both the flanks. Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had featured in the heart of the midfield for United in this big match against Chelsea while Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford was leading the forward line for Manchester United.
The match had started with both teams being physical from the beginning of the match. Chelsea were in the attacking mode throughout the first half while Manchester United’s players were busy in clearing balls. The ball possession was most of times in control of Chelsea. They had created many chances but wasn’t able to convert those in goals. Tiemoue Bakayoko was booked at 20th minute of the match for a bad foul. The first half had ended with the scoreline of 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.
In the second half, United players became more physical. Phil Jones and Ander Herrera were marked in the referee’s notebook for bad fouls. At 55th minute of the match, Alvaro Morata’s brilliant header from Cesar Azpilicueta’s great cross had given Chelsea the most important lead in the match.
Manchester United never looked promising in attacks throughout the whole match. The inclusion of Martial, Lingard and Fellaini didn’t affect much in the game. Morata and Bakayoko could have easily increased the lead for Chelsea but their pool conversion rate had kept the scoreline 1-0 till the end. The match had ended with Chelsea being victorious with 1 goal margin against United at Stamford Bridge.
The teams are going to the International Break now. Chelsea are now in the 4th position in the league table with 22 Points from 11 matches so far and United are situated and 2nd position in the table with 23 Points with same no of matches played.
The Editor’s View:
For Conte’s Job!!
There were recent claims that former Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti would be replacing Conte in the upcoming days. This was why there was some instability within the club, though the win over the Red Devils would have given the Italian manager a bit more job security.
For The Morale!!
Obviously beating their fierce rivals in such a close contest and pushing towards the top of the Premier League table is something that would have given the morale of the west London outfit a huge boost. Hopefully, they can continue winning now and their desire to reclaim the league title will only grow stronger.
For The Points Table!!
Had United won the match against Chelsea, they would have practically dealt a huge blow to the Londoners’ hopes of retaining their title, though the three points will now open up things to an extent. However, it becomes very crucial for Manchester City to drop points first, if any of the teams want to have real hopes of posing a challenge this term.
