Why Man Utd Are Primed to Get Another Big Result Against Chelsea
As far as ‘big’ games go in an upcoming run of them, Manchester United could not have asked for a more favourable one this weekend than to face Chelsea at Old Trafford.
United managed to put the embarrassment of losing 6-1 to Tottenham behind them with a much needed victory, albeit a late one, over Newcastle after the international break.
It was ultimately a significantly improved performance and fed into Tuesday night’s statement win over Paris Saint-Germain, a game which highlighted tactical adaptability.
Already lacking confidence, United’s weaknesses were ruthlessly exposed by a well drilled Tottenham side last month. The international break then provided some necessary breathing space and the Newcastle game saw key individuals like Harry Maguire, David de Gea and Marcus Rashford in particular stand up and be counted at what was effectively a time of crisis.
Heading to Paris, credit must be given to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for understanding that a back-three system would give his team the greater defensive resilience they needed to get a positive result.
Maguire was injured, but Axel Tuanzebe stepped into the team for his first game in 10 months after finally returning to fitness. Luke Shaw did an admirable job as the third centre-back, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka was at his best and there was an impressive debut for wing-back Alex Telles.
With United able to nullify PSG’s obvious attacking quality, they were able to get at the rest of an otherwise largely average team in midfield and defence, particularly countering at speed.
A similar tactical setup and performance against Chelsea on Saturday evening should play to United’s strengths, mask their own weaknesses and take advantage of Chelsea’s in a way that facing none of the Premier League other big clubs necessarily would right now.
United beat Chelsea 4-0 on the opening day of last season by absorbing attacks and sucker punching a week back-line on the break. Frank Lampard’s team often don’t get the same level of widespread criticism as Solskjaer’s United, but they had the leakiest defence in the top half of the Premier League last season - conceding 54 times - and are already on a similar path in 2020/21.
Chelsea’s attack, which has been boost by the £120m investment in Timo Werner and Kai Havertz is their obvious strength. But a 0-0 Champions League draw against Sevilla, in which greater focus was placed on not exposing themselves defensively and therefore limited creativity higher up the pitch, highlighted that they still haven’t found the right balance between attack and defence.
3-3 draws against both West Brom and Southampton in recent weeks tells a story and Chelsea aren’t defensively good enough to keep United out unless they clip their own wings.
As far as United are concerned, morale is high after the trip to Paris. Maguire, boosted by his performance against Newcastle, could be back, while there may also be a debut for Edinson Cavani in light of a few more days of crucial training and Anthony Martial’s domestic suspension. Watch out for a blossoming relationship with Telles if the Brazilian continues to put quality balls into the box.
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