Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United
A Premier League battle which used to be THE match in the Premier League with title contenders on multiple occasions, both slugging it out for top spot and to be crowned kings of England.
That is far from the case nowadays. Indeed, this was a contest between the sides which started the day in first and ninth place respectively.
One team which had avenged last season’s FA Cup Final defeat in some style at Leicester last weekend, on the same afternoon as the other was shipping four at newly-promoted Watford to finally part company with its manager.
However, despite being second best for long spells, a combination of doggedness and determination – and a bit of good fortune – ensured the team seemingly in turmoil returned home with a point.
Highlights of the game
With Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell out after suffering a knee ligament injury, and N’Golo Kante also missing after twisting his knee in midweek, Marcos Alonso and Ruben Loftus Cheek were handed starting berths.
Likewise, in came Eric Bailly for United for suspended captain Harry Maguire, while Fred shook off a knock to start in a three-man midfield alongside Scott McTominay and former Chelsea man Nemanja Matic.
Both the meetings between these two ended goalless last season, the most recent in late February in the corresponding fixture, but any chance of a repeat was almost over inside three minutes as awful defending by Victor Lindelof allowed Callum Hudson-Odoi through on goal but David de Gea made himself big to pull off the save.
From that moment on it was all Chelsea and it took a combination of De Gea’s brilliance, defensive doggedness and the woodwork to keep out the league leaders. The latter came into effect after half an hour when in-form centre back Antonio Rudiger hammered a fierce effort from outside the box and only the crossbar denied what would have been a superb goal.
As they headed into the break still level, United would have known they were frustrating the table-toppers without ever threatening themselves.
That changed five minutes after the restart as the Sbotop Premier League betting odds got a jolt.
There appeared little danger when the ball was cleared from a free kick only for Italian midfielder Jorginho to fluff his clearance and the composed Jadon Sancho did the rest, racing through and finishing neatly for his first Premier League goal.
It proved to be one of only two efforts on target all afternoon for United, but their confidence was certainly up.
That was dented midway through the second half when Thiago Silva went down inside the box after being caught by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the home side were awarded a penalty.
That gave Jorginho the chance to atone for his earlier mistake and he did just that, coolly bringing the hosts level.
If redemption was the theme, Wan-Bissaka did his bit 10 minutes from time with a great block when Timo Werner was set to score from point-blank range.
There was still time for a bit more drama as, deep into stoppage time – five minutes in fact – Rudiger was left unmarked at the back post but rushed and fired high over the bar, much to his and the home fans’ frustration.
And so, a contest that has produced so many Premier League highlights over the years ended all square.
Make no mistake, Chelsea were the better side and stay top, yet United had proved a point and, while there is still some way to go, they have a little bit of momentum.
Key statistics
Chelsea haven’t beaten United in the past eight Premier League meetings (drawn five, lost three).
Sancho (21 years, 248 days) is the third-youngest player to score for United at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, following Paul Scholes in 1995 (20 years, 339 days) and Phil Neville in 1998 (21 years, 38 days).
Thirteen of Jorginho’s 15 Premier League goals have been penalties (87%), the highest ratio of any player with 10 or more goals in the competition’s history.
Interim boss Michael Carrick became the first Englishman to manage a league game for United since Ron Atkinson in 1986.
What’s next?
The hectic schedule continues for both clubs.
Chelsea are at Watford on Wednesday night before a quick turnaround as they travel to neighbours West Ham on Saturday lunchtime (December 4). United have two home matches in under four days with Arsenal the visitors to Old Trafford on Thursday (December 2) before Crystal Palace arrive a week today.
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