Unbeaten life in a post-Erik ten Hag world continued for Manchester United following their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Chelsea. There have been exciting games in the 4:30pm slot this season, yet a final, action-packed 20 minutes ensured it did not end up as the dire 0-0 it seemed destined to be.
United took the lead in the 70th minute, with Rasmus Hojlund cleverly winning a penalty, brought down by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Red Devils skipper Bruno Fernandes made no mistake from 12 yards to give United a lead.
There were just four minutes and 19 seconds between United’s goal and Chelsea’s equaliser, which came courtesy of Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian midfielder struck a volley sweetly from the edge of the penalty box, and it nestled into the back of the net past Andre Onana.
There were some chances to win it late on for both sides, but the game eventually petered out in a 1-1 draw. Although the standard of the game was quite underwhelming on the whole, there were still some standout performers for United.
United’s best performers vs. Chelsea
Undoubtedly the standout player for the Red Devils at Old Trafford was defender Noussair Mazraoui. The Morrocco international has played at right-back for much of the season but started on Sunday at left-back and did not look out of place. He defended well against the dangerous Noni Madueke and was impressive going forward.
He received a 7/10 rating from the Manchester Evening News’ chief United correspondent Samuel Luckhurst, the highest of the day. He was praised for being the Red Devils’ ‘only good performer’ in a poor first half overall.
Another player who stood out against Enzo Maresca’s side was Fernandes. It has been a poor start to the season for the talismanic United midfielder, but he has been much more his usual self in the last two games, scoring a good penalty and showing his creative side.
The Portugal international has some impressive stats, courtesy of Sofascore. The 30-year-old created four chances against the Blues and won an impressive nine from 14 ground duels. It was certainly a good showing from the United skipper.
As good as both Mazraoui and Fernandes were against Chelsea, there were some disappointing performers in a United shirt. Alejandro Garnacho was one player who struggled.
Garnacho’s stats vs. Chelsea
After a fast start to the season for Garnacho, he put in a lacklustre performance against the West London side. It was not for lack of trying. The 20-year-old’s effort cannot be faulted. However, his decision-making was frustrating at times, and he wasted some big chances.
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The Argentina international had two huge opportunities which could have snatched all three points for his side. The first one saw him well teed up by Fernandes, with lots of time and space to pick his spot. However, Garnacho could only send a soft shot into the gloves of Sanchez.
The second was tougher, a first-time volley which sailed over the bar, but perhaps a pass would have been the better option.
His stats show just how poor Garnacho’s performance was. The youngster had just 42 touches, fewer even than Onana. He managed to complete just 76% of his passes and completed one of four dribbles. Off the ball, the winger won just one from nine attempted duels.
Touches
42
Pass accuracy
76%
Passes completed
19/25
Dribbles completed
1/4
Ground duels won
1/6
Aerial duels won
0/3
Possession lost
11x
Shockingly, Luckhurst gave him a 4/10 rating for his efforts against the Blues. He described Garnacho’s afternoon as ‘possibly his weakest performance of the season’, criticising him for the underhit chances he had.
It was a tired performance from the winger, who has played lots of football this season already. With two games left of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s interim spell, he may well decide to rotate the 20-year-old out of the side.
The likes of Amad Diallo are knocking on the door for a start, and that is something the legendary Dutchman might do to freshen things up.
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