Same Old Chelsea?

Earlier today Chelsea faced Man united in the premier league. The clash is usually one of the matches everyone wants to watch especially here in Nigeria where both clubs' fans have formed a sort of rivalry. But recently it's not been as enthralling as it always seems to find a way to end as a draw irrespective of form. The last four meetings before today all ended In a draw, but upon that, I was hopeful that that would end today.

The match started and Manchester United was dominating. They constantly put pressure on Chelsea, and It looked like they might have taken the lead as they had some good chances to score, but they squandered them. Most notably the ones by Marcus Rashford which was saved by Kepa, and a bad miss by Anthony with his weaker foot.

Graham Potter was quick to realize his tactics weren't working (something I love about him by the way) and he had to bring on Kovacic for Cucurella as early as the 35th minute. From that moment onwards the pendulum began to swing in Chelsea's favor and Manchester United didn't have any significant attack all through the rest of the first half

The second half pretty much continued where the first half left off. Chelsea started holding the ball more, and United had to play on the counter. But as is the norm with Chelsea nowadays they couldn't find the final pass, and Kudos to Man United defenders who did a good job making it harder for them.

The longer the game went on the more frustrating the game was to watch because it looked like It would end as a draw once. As a Chelsea fan, it was starting to look like another Nil-Nil draw

But then, in the 87th minute, Mctominay who was just brought off the bench gave away a reckless penalty. Jorginho calmly converted the penalty with ease and it looked like we'd finally not draw against Manchester United. But then as a Chelsea fan, you know not to trust these players to grind out such results. Somehow in the 90+6 minute (heartbreaking fashion), Casimero nods the ball, and Kepa who's been spectacular these last few weeks gets a hand to it, but it only ends up hitting the inside of the post and just about crossing the line for a United equalizer.

Yet another draw against United. 5 draws In a row. I thought the introduction of Potter who has had a good start to life as Chelsea's manager would help, but It just wasn't enough. It seems no matter the difference In form Chelsea just can't seem to beat united. It's Crazy to think the last time we beat United was 2020, and If we're only considering the premier league then we'd have to go as far as 2018.

I'm not going to criticize the players (except Sterling who was frustrating to watch) as Man United are a good team when they're playing against other top teams. They've played all the big 5 top teams and they've beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham this Season. Meaning only us and City have taken points from them among the big clubs. Though they seem to have problems facing smaller clubs and that's where they lose a lot of points.

One thing I however will criticize is their ability to string great attacks. Right from when Tuchel was boss this was the problem, and till now this is still the problem. It's really annoying, In the past we could defend them for not having played together much, but now there's been enough time. And even with change of managers the attacking system is more of the same, so they should be a relative understanding, atleast among players like mount, Havertz, and the midfielders who've been together a while. Oh well, as fans we can only watch and hope that there's an Improvement under Potter.

Posted using SportsTalkSocial