Facing the Red Devils

VAR DISGRACE AT OLD TRAFFORD AS MENDY SAVES CHELSEA A POINT

 

This year, the Premier League has been crazy in all sorts of ways, with crazy transfers and even crazier results! On Saturday, newly-reformed Chelsea faced Manchester United at Old Trafford. Both teams played out a lacklustre 0-0 draw, with Lampard’s draw streak continuing. Rashford came close to scoring twice, only to be kept out by Edouard Mendy, by far Chelsea’s best man. 

I would regard this result as a negative one, considering how dodgy United have been at home. They conceded six goals at home to Tottenham and three from Crystal Palace, who we managed to beat!  

 

“I genuinely thought this mindless defensive formation we played today (3-4-3) was a thing of the past. But seemingly it wasn’t a thing of the past.”

 

As a Chelsea fan, I have a lot of mixed emotions about this game. There are things to be happy about, disappointed about, and outright frustrated about! Defensively, we were extremely strong. Edouard Mendy put on a spectacular performance, and so did Thiago Silva. Both were very commanding, and, to an extent, the wing-backs created minimal clear-cut chances, especially Reece James. If Kepa was still in goal, we’ll have conceeded two or even three goals.

But United had the evident momentum throughout the game. They were more comfortable offensively than we were, and found pockets of space at the back even when we were so defensive! Rashford was an ongoing threat, testing Mendy every now and then.

The formation we played was very adventurous. I genuinely thought this mindless defensive formation was a thing of the past. But seemingly it wasn’t. Offensively, this formation provided nothing, meaning that Werner was very isolated at the front, and Havertz seemed so out of position. To add on, the VAR decision where Maguire headlocked Azpilicueta is an absolute disgrace! It was a simple decision to make, which the referees managed to mess up! 

 

Despite the offensive advantages the 3-4-3 had, Lampard could have, and definitely should have made early substitutions. Havertz was almost invisible today, and Werner definitely needed more support up top. Maybe Lampard should have reverted back to the 4-2-3-1, subbed off a defender, and used Mount a lot earlier, subbing him for Havertz. Ziyech could have played on the right, and instilled the width we lacked all game. Kovacic should have replaced Jorginho or Kante, which would have helped create the balance between offence and defence. 

 

In conclusion, Chelsea had a decent game, the defence being the strongest since Lampard’s arrival at Chelsea I feel. We can expect great things from the Senegalese Superstar, and Silva was solid at the back, and commanding in the air. I hope to see an improvement in the attack, and more consistency from Lampard, by using the 4-2-3-1 more often.