Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s perfect win record at Stamford Bridge came to an end as Chelsea held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw in the Barclays Premier League.
It was a very anticlimactic game in the Barclays Premier League as Chelsea and Manchester United played out a hard-fought draw at Stamford Bridge in West London.
The game saw both teams struggling to create much in their final third because of some mediocre passing and crossing that just lacked quality.
Both goalkeepers, David de Gea and Edouard Mendy had barely anything to do as both defenses were not really tested.
The game did not lack entertainment as there were chances for both sides but the poor incisive passing by both teams was pretty shocking. Chelsea needed a win to get into the top 4 of the league whereas United needed all 3 points to stay within 10 points of leaders and neighbours Manchester City who are on top of the table and have now won 20 games in a row across all competitions with their win against 4th placed West Ham United.
Chelsea had 18 shots in the game but most were simply wasteful as only 6 hit the target and none of them really troubled de Gea. On the other hand, United had 11 shots with 4 on target, of which only 2 really tested the Senegal international (Mendy) in Chelsea’s goal.
Penalty or not? Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi (R) seemingly handles the ball when vying for it against Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood (L) (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
The game has been marred with controversy after a handball by Callum Hudson-Odoi was reviewed by VAR who asked the on-field referee to visit the tv screen and decide on whether it was a handball or not as the VAR disagreed with the referee’s decision of it not being a penalty.
To many, it came as a shock that the on-field decision stood and that was not given as a penalty to Manchester United, which left manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer angry at the end of the game. This was the first time that Solskjaer failed to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge since taking chance.
United have failed to beat a top 6 side this Premier League campaign, which is very contrasting to last season and these are the points that they have dropped that have cost them a chance to close the gap on their city rivals.
The best chance fell to Manchester United after a counter attack from a Chelsea freekick with less than 10 minutes to go in the game as Fred picked out Scott McTominay on the right flank, perfectly.
An animated Thomas Tuchel during the game. (Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
McTominay had yards of space and two to pick out in Chelsea’s 6-yard box and played his pass behind them instead of just in front of them. This extremely poor pick out pretty much summed up the game.
No team really deserved to win the game or did enough for the 3 points and at some point it seemed like both teams were more concerned about losing than going all-out for the win.
The result sees Manchester United sitting 1 point ahead of Leicester City as they retain the 2nd spot but the gap to Man City is now 12 points and with just 12 games to go in the season, it seems all but over already.
Chelsea failed to break into the top 4 with the 1 point, keeping them 1 point behind West Ham United who occupy the last UEFA Champions League spot, currently. The Blues, however, continued their unbeaten run under new manager Thomas Tuchel and they will be hoping to kick on from here.
Manchester United face Crystal Palace next followed by Manchester City over the weekend and Chelsea have a big game against Liverpool on Friday. The race for the remaining 3 spots of the Champions League is definitely heating up in England’s top flight.
