Manchester United vs Chelsea: The Red Devils and Blues traded goals, only not in that order, as the hosts stole a point they didn’t deserve in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Thursday.
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Marcos Alonso fired Chelsea ahead right on the hour mark, but Cristiano Ronaldo hit back in Manchester United’s only truly dangerous moment two minutes later.
The draw sees Chelsea (66 points) move to six points clear of 4th-place Arsenal (60 points) as everyone in the top-five, including Tottenham (58 points), has now played the same number of games (33) once again.
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Manchester United vs Chelsea final score, stats, results
Final score: Man United 1, Chelsea 1
Goal scorers: Man United (Alonso 60′), Chelsea (Ronaldo 62′)
Shots: Man United 6, Chelsea 21
Shots on target: Man United 3, Chelsea 6
Possession: Man United 35%, Chelsea 65%
3 things we learned – Manchester United vs Chelsea
1. Fight drained from Man United players: To call Manchester United’s squad and tactics disjointed would be an incredible understatement. The players are not playing for interim manager Ralf Rangnick, so much as they appear to be playing in spite of him. They are not playing for one another either, and some don’t even appear to be motivated to perform for their own self-interests. There is only apathy and disdain. One player would press the ball while three others stood and watched, failing to rotate and fill in any space and/or passing lanes by which the opposing player might try to escape. There’s not a player in the Premier League who can’t successfully play his way out of a one-man “press,” and the Blues sliced through the Red Devils like warm butter. Scott McTominay — bless his heart — tried to want it enough for seven or eight of his teammates currently on auto-pilot, all of whom are paid exponentially more than him, but he was no match for N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Alonso and Kai Havertz. And, still…
2. Chelsea can’t get out of their own way: In the first half, it was lackluster finishing amid 45 minutes of total dominance which kept the Blues off the board and frustratingly level with their disinterested opponents. In the second half, it was Kante losing focus with one lazy pass 120 seconds after Chelsea went 1-0 ahead. Nemanja Matic lifted a nice ball over the top and Ronaldo took the chance as well as he always does, but Chelsea didn’t force Manchester United to create their own way back into the game, they handed it to them for no discernible reason.
3. The toughest is still to come for Man United: Ralf Rangnick has been a lame-duck manager since the moment he was appointed interim boss, and the players have played as if that was the case. Ronaldo has scored plenty of timely goals this season, but does that make him someone you want to build around with an extensive rebuild required and allegedly undertaken five years ago beginning in the summer?
Manchester United vs Chelsea highlights
Marcos Alonso volleys Chelsea into lead (goal video)
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Cristiano Ronaldo fires over Edouard Mendy for 1-1 (goal video)
Manchester United vs Chelsea: Red Devils steal a point at Old Trafford originally appeared on NBCSports.com
