Manchester United defeated a poor Chelsea team easily at Old Trafford to secure their Champions League spot with one game remaining.Casemiro gave the home team the lead with a header, and Anthony Martial doubled their advantage by sweeping in a pass from Jadon Sancho at a close range.
Wesley Fofana was fouled by Bruno Fernandes, who then added United’s third goal from the penalty spot. Marcus Rashford added a fourth goal as a result of another Fofana mistake, while Joao Felix provided a late consolation for the Blues, who suffered their 16th defeat overall and eighth under Frank Lampard in 10 games.
Due to the outcome, United will play in the Europa League instead of longtime rival Liverpool.With the FA Cup final against Manchester City less than two weeks away, it was not all good news for the home team as Brazilian winger Antony was taken out on a stretcher in tears after sustaining a lower leg injury in an innocent collision with Trevoh Chalobah.I can tell you that it’s a significant injury, but we need to wait at least 24 hours before learning more, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
Chelsea’s miserable campaign—their worst in over two decades—cannot come to an end soon enough, but at least their supporters haven’t lost their sense of humor, as they sang “we’ve scored a goal” in celebration of Felix’s achievement. Ten Hag made it clear in his programme notes that he preferred to have the Champions League spot secured right away rather than letting the situation linger and make the weekend’s last game against Fulham difficult.
Once Casemiro was given the opportunity to meet Christian Eriksen’s free kick unopposed in a packed penalty area to give the hosts a lead in the sixth minute, it never seemed conceivable that they would fail to collect the point they needed. The Brazilian midfielder sent a chipped, no-look ball through the Chelsea defense during a brilliant second for the home team, allowing Sancho to set up Martial for a simple tap-in. 17 minutes from time, Fernandes was fouled in the box and took the penalty kick himself after hitting the crossbar and having a previous penalty appeal denied.
Nothing summed up Chelsea’s season more than United’s fourth goal, which somehow saw the visitors taking their own goal kick and presenting the ball to Fernandes, who then squared for Rashford to score at the second attempt after Kepa Arrizabalaga had saved his first attempt.
At that point, United was poised to record their biggest victory of the year as Chelsea suffered their worst loss. Despite Felix’s efforts, the hosts remained the superior squad. Regardless of the outcome of the FA Cup final, 2017 has probably been a good season at Old Trafford since the EFL Cup has already been won.
There is still a lot of work for Ten Hag’s team to do before the season is out, though, given that a loss to Manchester City at Wembley would put their rivals halfway to accomplishing a Treble that has only ever been accomplished by United. Lampard and Chelsea’s suffering goes on.
The TV cameras panned to Lampard as he sat on the bench, his arms folded, in silence, between Martial’s goal and the halftime siren. When he was asked to replace Graham Potter for the remainder of the season at the beginning of last month, it must have appeared like a no-risk opportunity. However, it has now seriously jeopardized his chances of finding employment in the future.
Eight losses in ten games, with little indication that he has found a way to assemble a team from the, on paper, talented group of players at his disposal. Lampard selected Chelsea’s youngest-ever Premier League lineup at Old Trafford. Lewis Hall, a fullback for England’s Under-20 World Cup squad in Argentina, delivered an outstanding performance as his reward. Two outstanding crosses from Hall were placed into the United box. Mykhaylo Mudryk’s initial attempt was unsuccessful.
When fully unmarked, Kai Havertz headed the second wide from a central position. Hall made the decision to go solo in the second half, but David de Gea stopped his ferocious drive. Conor Gallagher was set up by a deft Enzo Fernandez through pass, but the Englishman was equally wasteful and pulled his attempt wide of the far post. Chelsea will finish last in the league for the first time since 1994, thus the season must conclude as soon as possible and Mauricio Pochettino takes over.
If there is any solace for Chelsea fans who have stuck by their team despite their current struggles, it comes from the knowledge that United was in a similar predicament a year ago, with their own interim manager Ralf Rangnick failing to turn around the club’s fortunes after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired.
