Manchester United and Chelsea are two of the topmost sides in the country's history. They share quite a number of titles between them. But this season hasn’t been worth remembering for either of the sides. They have failed to meet their expectations and are placed fourth and sixth in the League rankings, well 14 and 15 points behind leaders Manchester City respectively. Both the sides are coming on the back of some heartbreaking defeats. Manchester United lost 2-0 to PSG in the UEFA Champions League to see an end to their 12 games unbeaten run. And Solskjaer himself admitted that his side wasn't at that level to compete with the best in the world.
But the team went into this game to show that the PSG defeat was just a blip in their programme. And they are all set to finish the season on a high. With Liverpool, PSG, Manchester City and Arsenal to come in the subsequent weeks, United needed to get this result to have that belief running. On the other hands, Blues were on the back of humiliating defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City. They lost 4-0 and 6-0 respectively. Sarri’s lack of rotation in the squad has finally started taking a toll on the players. He is just not ready to adapt to the pace of the Premier League. The blues were undefeated in the initial 12 games but has lost six of the next 14. Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba were on target as the red devils claimed their third victory in 23 matches at the Bridge. Their last victory at Stamford Bridge came under the great Sir Alex.
The last year’s finalists locked horns in the fifth round of the FA Cup this time. Here are the top 4 talking points from the game:
Paul Pogba will be a major miss against PSG: A lot has been said about the Paul Pogba red card in the first leg against Chelsea. It wasn't much of a cynical challenge. Any other referee and it wouldn't have been a foul. But he is set to miss the return leg against PSG. Paul Pogba is their highest goalscorer with 14 goals already this season. He scored one and set up another to see his side above the line. He is that kind of a player who gets the entire team going. There is a different swag about this team when he is on the field.
A one-man show for Chelsea: This has been the story of most of the recent outings for Chelsea. Eden Hazard is the only player in the team which looks threatening and creates something. The duo of Jorginho and Kovacic doesn't have that impact in the game. The only thing they do is to pass the ball to a teammate. No real vision, not looking for setting someone through. They didn't have a single clear cut opportunity in the whole game. Just when the blues were starting to get their noses in front, United scored with Herrera from a cross from Paul Pogba. And after the Paul Pogba goal at the stroke of halftime, they simply gave up.
A Manchester derby could be on the cards: With only two of the top 6 remaining in the FA Cup, a Manchester derby could be on the cards. After Manchester City won 4-1 at Newport County, they will face Swansea City in the quarter-finals. While the Reds will travel to Wolves for the quarter-finals. The two clubs from Manchester are favourites to go through to the semi-final. A derby could be really on the cards!
Sarri is running out of time at Chelsea: Sarri could soon be shown the gates if this kind of performances continues. They lacked creativity in the final third. Even more intriguing is his substitutions. Having a like-for-like substitution even when they are 2-0 down to your arch rivals. Ross Barkley for Mateo Kovacic is his preferred substitution and he has swapped Kovacic in every game he has started. One could hear the Chelsea fans literally shouting the name of Callum Hudson-Odoi.
With one Champions League position up for grabs in the Premier League, the fight is going to go right down to the wire with Chelsea, United and Arsenal all in the race!
