The Chelsea vs Manchester United match ended in a 2-0 win for the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, October 31. The defeat made Michael Carrick’s job even tougher, as Manchester United now have seven points in nine matches and are just above the relegation zone on goal difference. The Chelsea vs Manchester United match pointed out two reasons why the Red Devils lost the match. Let us have a look at those two reasons.
Chelsea vs Manchester United: Two Reasons Why The Red Devils Failed To Get The Win
1. The Double Pivot’s Poor Passing Quality
Manchester United started with Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba in the double pivot, leaving Youri Tielemans on the bench. Now, the Red Devils started with a 4-2-3-1 formation and Chelsea with a 3-4-2-1. That meant that the Red Devils had a one-man advantage if their four players in the attacking unit were pitted against Chelsea’s back three. That would have given them an upper hand, especially as Chelsea’s defence is not the strongest in the world.
However, for that to happen regularly, the double pivot of Manchester United should have been able to play long forward passes to the forwards and the number 10. That would have allowed United’s attacking unit to come up against Chelsea’s back three in the final third.
However, neither Santos nor Baleba managed to do that in the Chelsea vs Manchester United match. Tielemans could have done that, but his defensive abilities are not good enough. Incidentally, both Santos and Baleba are the Red Devils’ acquisitions in the summer transfer window, as is Tielemans. As a result, United only looked threatening in the Chelsea vs Manchester United match when their forwards could win the ball back in the opposition half by pressing hard themselves.
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2. Absence Of A Genuine Left-back
Manchester United went into the Chelsea vs Manchester United match with Diogo Dalot as the left-back. Neither Luke Shaw nor Patrick Dorgu were fit to start, which saw Chelsea attack the most through the right side of the pitch, courtesy of Estevao and Pedro Neto.
In such a scenario, the Red Devils needed a proper left-back to marshal that area, and they clearly missed Shaw on the day. As they did not buy any left-back in the transfer window, there was no replacement available. Chelsea’s second goal came from a penalty that resulted from a corner that was earned through the right side of the pitch.
Extra Time Notes
The loss in the Chelsea vs Manchester United match was yet another reversal in Carrick’s tenure as Manchester United manager. His job is clearly on the line, and the United management should be thinking about the likely replacements. Manchester United played well in the first half of the Chelsea vs Manchester United match, but there was a distinct change in approach in the initial phases of the match by playing short passes and trying to build up moves slowly. However, the profligacy of the forwards did not help their cause in the Chelsea vs Manchester United match.
As the two aforementioned issues pointed out, there are some basic shortcomings in the United squad, which should make their job really difficult at least until the January transfer window. One cannot help but fear that the loss in the Chelsea vs Manchester United match has done enough to damage Carrick’s prospect of staying as the manager.
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