- April 28, 2022
- Olaoluwa Nwobodo
Chelsea, as usual, made things difficult for themselves. Again. Against Manchester United. Again. Chelsea did many things right against Manchester United but the forwards made sure that every chance to do something good went to waste. Chelsea has now failed to win against Manchester United in the last three seasons, in fact, the last time Chelsea won against them was in November 2017. Thomas Tuchel’s frustration was glaring as he watched Chelsea waste chances and make silly errors. Here’s how we think the players performed individually.
Goalkeeper: Mendy, a victim of consequence
Edouard Mendy did nothing wrong for the goal that Manchester United scored. When that kind of chance falls to someone like Cristiano Ronaldo the goalkeeper is the last person that should answer questions. That said, his distribution was a bit shaky at some point in the match
Defenders: Average defending
The defenders, especially Thiago Silva, were very good in distribution. Chelsea dominated the game, but the one time the defense was needed they were asleep. Silva had an admirable performance. Cesar Azpilicueta made more tackles than anyone else and no one had more interceptions than him. The defenders played their part in helping Chelsea control the game. Rudiger was underwhelming, opting to shoot a number of times rather than spray it wide. Chelsea did not have that much defending to do, unfortunately, the few times they were called upon, they fell short.
Midfielders: Best players on the pitch
Jorginho and N’Golo Kante were very good. They passed the ball around nicely and won it back the few times it was lost. Kante’s driving of the ball was so good that he created three chances, including a clear-cut chance that Kai Havertz missed. Reece James and Marcos Alonso were also very good. James’s crossing was top of the line. It’s a pity that no one turned any of his beautiful crosses into a goal. Alonso’s volley was superb in every sense of the word. His ball-striking technique really should be studied.
Forwards: Frantic performance rife with horrendous decision-making
The forwards were rubbish. It’s as simple as that. Chelsea got a lot of space in favorable positions in the Manchester United half. There was one particular scenario Chelsea was on the break with three Chelsea forwards running at one Manchester United defender. Kai Havertz was driving the ball toward the goal with Timo Werner to his right and N’Golo Kante to his left. The pass to Kante looked like the more difficult pass, especially from the position and angle Havertz was coming from. The pass to Werner was an easier one and gave Werner a clear sight of the goal. In the end, the Germany International opted to try to squeeze the ball to Kante but it was intercepted. This was how Chelsea lost a 3-on-1 counterattack that was in their favor. Mason Mount was also guilty of making air-headed decisions in the final third. With the space Chelsea got, they should have created way more big chances and therefore scored more goals than they did. This problem has dragged on for several years.
Substitutes and Manager
Lukaku did nothing when he came on. He was mainly subjected to long balls nearly throughout his time on the pitch. Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were equally ineffective. A lot of these struggles seem self-inflicted as Tuchel continues to select players that are no longer in good form, in addition to being tired. Mount and Havertz need to be rested.