What promised to be an exciting affair was anything but that as the match finished goalless
Solsjkaer took on Lampard today as the two managers aimed to gain valuable points in what has been a disappointing Premier League campaign for both clubs thus far.
Although we’re just a handful of games into the season, United have had a rollercoaster of a season so far. They’ve had low points and high points. For example, they suffered an embarrassing 6-1 loss to Spurs earlier in the season but have also defeated last seasons Champions League finalists PSG during the week.
Chelsea have also had a similarly disappointing season. Despite their big spending during the summer, they’ve failed to live up to expectations. They drew to Schalke midweek and gave up a three-goal lead last weekend as they drew with Southampton.
Both teams could have done with a win today but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. There was an air of excitement before the game, but the fixture certainly didn’t live up to expectations.
There really wasn’t many talking points in the game, but one moment that stood out was an incident between Harry Maguire and Cezar Azpilicueta in the United box. Maguire appeared to grab hold of Azpilicueta and obstruct him from getting a proper header on the ball. VAR apparently took a look although it wasn’t shown on screen. They deemed it wasn’t a penalty. It’s a difficult one because we have seen penalties given for similar incidents in the past. On another day it could have easily been a spot kick.
Arguably, the best opportunity of the match came in the 35th minute – in a match where there wasn’t many chances. Marcus Rashford was slipped in after a good through ball by Bruno Fernandes. He shot low and hard, but Mendy managed to stretch his legs just enough to turn it around the post.
Excellent save by Mendy! 🧤
Rashford was through on goal but couldn’t get his effort past the out-stretched legs of Mendy! 🦵
🔴 0-0 🔵 [35’] #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/C8jzT15wjB
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 24, 2020
There’s a case that Edouard Mendy could have been man of the match. Although he didn’t have an awful lot to come up against, he did he job well as he saved a handful of shots of varying difficulty. There was one shaky moment where a shaky pass from the keeper narrowly avoided going into his own net, but other than that he was very comfortable between the sticks.
Cavani came on for him Manchester United debut in the 57th minute along with Paul Pogba. It was Cavani’s first game of professional football in nearly a year. That didn’t stop him from getting straight into the action, however. Seconds after he came on, he very nearly scored with his first touch after instinctive movement inside the box. Unfortunately for him though, it was the wrong side of the net.
😫 So close to an instant impact!
🔴 @ECavaniOfficial 🔴#MUFC #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/QQlzlHcGgp
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) OCTOBER 24, 2020
Cavani had one more opportunity towards the end of the match but his shot was blocked inside the box by his former teammate, Thiago Silva. The pair had spent 7 years together at PSG so they would have been very familiar with each other.
Other than that, there really wasn’t much more entertainment on show. Both teams failed to hold onto possession for long periods of time and they were generally sloppy.
After tonight’s result, Manchester United sit in 15th while Chelsea move up to 6th for the time being.
United take on Arsenal next Sunday in what is another tough fixture while Chelsea have an away trip to Turf Moor as they are set to face Burnley.
