Chelsea 0, Manchester United 2
Goals by Anthony Martial and Harry Maguire saw Manchester United complete a rare double over Chelsea in the Premier League thanks to controversial VAR rulings which saw Maguire escape a red card.
Embed from Getty ImagesMartial’s first half goal put the Reds in charge while rusty Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi couldn’t hit the target after several chances were laid on for him.
But the spectre of VAR will hang over the game at Stamford Bridge as Maguire should have been sent off for a wild kick at Batshuayi early on while goals by Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud were ruled out with Chelsea becoming only the second team to have two goals struck off by VAR in the same game.
Bruno Fernandes had been excellent and hit the woodwork with a curling free kick but United added insult to injury when the Portuguese crossed and Maguire’s header doubled the Reds’ lead with a header from 15 yards out.
Mason Mount also hit the post with a free kick but it was too late for Chelsea who will feel robbed by decisions during the game.
United took full advantage of the result to go seventh in the Premier League, just 2 points behind Spurs in fifth and three points behind Chelsea in fourth.
The game was overshadowed by a social media post by Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola on Instagram an hour before kick-off but it wasn’t long before that was quickly forgotten thanks to VAR.
Refreshed after a 16-day Winter break, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made three changes from the side that drew a blank against Wolves as the Reds lined up wearing black armbands after the death of Munich air crash survivor Harry Gregg was announced today.
Eric Bailly made his first start of the season after recovering from a serious knee injury and was joined in the side by Brandon Williams and Nemanja Matic as United persisted with a five man defence with wing backs that beat the Blues at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup last October.
Victor Lindelof, Andreas Pereira, and Juan Mata stepped down while Odion Ighalo was named on the bench for United as their hosts named an experienced side for the game with Tammy Abraham out with an ankle injury and Michy Batshuayi making only his fifth Premier league start in four years for Chelsea.
But Reds midfielder Paul Pogba was omitted from the match day squad, with his agent Mino Raiola reacting angrily to Solskjaer’s reaction on Friday to Raiola’s suggestion that Pogba could go to Juventus.
Raiola said: “Solskjaer should just remember things that he said in the summer to Paul. I hope he [Solskjaer] does not want to suggest that Paul is his prisoner.”
Reece James and Willian had early attempts go wide but the Blues were hit by an early injury blow that saw N’Golo Kante come off after just 12 minutes to be replaced by Mason Mount.
Harry Maguire escapes red card after challenge on Michy Batshuayi
Harry Maguire was lucky to escape a red card for a wild challenge that connected with Batshuayi in a painful area but was deemed accidental by VAR.
Batshuayi poked wide the best chance of a scrappy game after 28 minutes after Mount put the Belgian through on his weaker left foot against David De Gea and will rue a poor finish before half time.
Willian was cautioned for diving after a Chelsea corner routine despite contact with Bruno Fernandes while Anthony Martial shot wide after good work from Fernandes.
Both sides were shot-shy until United took the lead on the stroke of half time with the first shot on target in the game with Martial rising to glance home his 13th goal of the season from a delicious cross by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
It was Martial’s fourth goal in his last three Premier League games against Chelsea and his goal ended a run of 56 goal attempts without scoring since Mason Greenwood scored United’s fourth goal against Norwich City on January 11.
Andreas Christensen took a blow to the nose during United’s goal, and was replaced at the break by Kurt Zouma.
Batshuayi was penalised for handball as De Gea was forced into a save at last while Pedro saw his effort deflected away by Harry Maguire before Wan-Bissaka cleared.
VAR rules out Kurt Zouma equaliser for Chelsea
VAR ruled out a 55th minute Zouma volley after Brandon Williams appeared to have been pushed but Fred’s push on Azpilicueta caused the Chelsea man to fall into Williams just before that was not assessed for a penalty as the cross initially came in.
Bruno Fernandes bent a free kick around the Chelsea well and hit the woodwork before sending a cross in for Maguire to double the lead with another header.
Cesar Azpilicueta repelled another Maguire header with Fred waiting for the rebound as Fernandes picked out his man yet again for a possible third goal.
Olivier Giroud made his long awaited appearance for the misfiring Batshuayi and his neat backheel released Mateo Kovacic but his shot was blocked by Bailly just when he thought he had scored.
Giroud thought he had pulled one back with a header with 13 minutes to go but VAR ruled it out for a marginal offside to the disgust of hundreds inside Stamford Bridge who decided to leave.
Mount hit the post with a late free kick which left De Gea grounded as he got across to try and push the ball away.
Odion Ighalo became the first Nigerian to play for United and became the 200th player to make his Premier League debut for the Reds for Martial as the game went into five minutes of added time and forced a save from Willy Caballero after Fred put him through.
United’s last substitution saw Diogo Dalot replace Fernandes as the Reds saw out their first league double over Chelsea since the 1987/88 season.
GOALS – Chelsea 0, Manchester United 2
Chelsea 0, Man Utd 1: 45. Anthony Martial’s glancing header from Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s right wing cross saw United take the lead just before half time.
Chelsea 0, Man Utd 2: 66. Bruno Fernandes’ cross was headed home by Harry Maguire.
MATCH STATS – Chelsea 0, Manchester United 2
Chelsea: Caballero, James, Christensen (Zouma 46), Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante (Mount 12), Jorginho, Kovacic, Pedro, Batshuayi (Giroud 69), Willian
Chelsea Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Barkley, Tomori
Bookings: Willian 36 (diving after challenge by Bruno Fernandes), Rudiger 48 (foul on Bruno Fernandes), Zouma 59 (foul on Anthony Martial), Pedro 65 (foul on Bruno Fernandes)
Man Utd: De Gea, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka, Fred, Matic, Williams, Fernandes (Dalot 90+2), James (Pereira 80), Martial (Ighalo 90+1)
Man Utd Subs not used: Romero, Jones, Mata, Greenwood
Bookings: Fred 59 (tangling with Kurt Zouma), Williams 76 (foul on Willian), Wan-Bissaka 79 (tangling with Cesar Azpilicueta)
Goals: Martial 45; Maguire 66
Referee: Anthony Taylor