Chelsea and Man United played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in Stamford Bridge this evening. The calls for coach Louis van Gaal’s immediate sack have reduced in the last couple of weeks due to good performances but this was a big game and both sides treated it as such.
Chelsea started the match with star man Eden Hazard on the bench while Diego Costa led the line alongside Oscars and Willian. Louis Van Gaal started the match with the same line up he used in the last two matches against Derby County and Stoke City,starting with youngsters Borthwick-Jackson, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial with other experienced stars like Rooney and Carrick complimenting the line up.
Manchester United had the first 20 minutes of the half, Chelsea what remained. Another corner from Willian, this time from the right was met by Nemanja Matic and forced an excellent save from David De Gea. Soon after, he was flat footed after Willian and then Oscar combined to put Costa in, only for his shot to fly across the face of goal.
United had the first thirty minutes of the first half to themselves, but Guus Hiddink’s men combined perfectly to attack United in the last 15mins test of the first half.
Chelsea captain John Terry felt his side should have had a penalty on the stroke of half-time after his shot struck Daley Blind on the arm but the referee was having none of it.
Youngster Borthwick-Jackson crossed from the left wing which was placed on the path of Jesse Lingard through Martial,which resulted in a wonderful acrobatic effort from Jesse Lingard resulting in the team’s first goal. Lingard celebrated the goal with his trademark salute much to the delight of the United fans on the away section. But it didn’t end there. Chelsea were in for some real action.
DE Gea showed why many see him as the world’s best Goalkeeper by making two stunning saves first from Ivanovic and secondly from Cesc Fabregas.
United started playing defensively, giving Chelsea more and more time on the ball.
Chelsea brought in Eden Hazard and Pedro while Man Utd replaced Lingard, Mata, and Fellaini with Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Chelsea brought in Eden Hazard and Pedro while Man Utd replaced Lingard, Mata, and Fellaini with Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Six minutes of extra time was given because of the serious injury sustained by defender Kurt Zouma and the time wasted and Chelsea capitalized on that.
With five minutes of extra time left, Diego Costa made a mazy run through the United defence and after rounding off David De Gea slotted into the net to equalize for the home team.
Rooney tried to rally the away team and after dribbling through Ivanovic at the left hand side made a chip shot that hit top of the bar.
Both teams tried to snatch three points at the end but will be both happy to have grabbed a point just like they did in the first leg this season.
Such was the battle between this two wealthy clubs. While in previous seasons this clash could be seen as a title decider, this game was merely seen as an entertainment epistle, a drag for the upper echelons of glory, name and power tussle, and at the end but teams could have a smile about the result, especially the blues!!
