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Manchester United kicked off in a deluge and 17th place, and ended soaked-through and jubilant at a benchmark victory that lifts them to ninth. The win is notable as it can be used as the calling-card performance for the Ruben Amorim project. In the first half Chelsea were pummelled mercilessly by his United unit that was quicker, stronger, more menacing and just plain better than the club world champions.
After this, the conditions and Casemiro’s sending off at the end of the first half matched Robert Sánchez’s own early shower, and the teams levelled each other out.
An 80th-minute Trevor Chalobah header made it 2-1 – the defender rising between a dozing Leny Yoro and Amad Diallo to meet Reece James’s cross – but United passed the test of closing out the three points, and will be boosted sizeably by the evening’s work.
Four minutes in and Chelsea’s plan was torn asunder. An Altay Bayindir hoof took a Benjamin Sesko flick, Bryan Mbeumo ran on to the ball, eluded Sánchez, and the visiting No 1 took the Cameroonian down. Even before Peter Bankes raised the red card, Sánchez knew, as the last man, that he was off. This forced a rejig from Enzo Maresca that had Estêvão hooked for the new keeper, Filip Jörgensen, and Tosin Adarabioyo brought on for Pedro Neto, so the contest was over for both of Chelsea’s wide men.
United were a whir of red, tumbling relentlessly at Chelsea, and they breached Jörgensen. Noussair Mazraoui skipped along the right, chipped in, Patrick Dorgu headed to Bruno Fernandes and he tipped home. A lengthy Var inquiry ruled Chalobah kept United’s captain onside.
This was 13 minutes in. A torrid opening 20 for Maresca’s men closed with their A-list act, Cole Palmer, having to be replaced by Andrey Santos, so here, already, was a third Chelsea substitute.
From United’s 3-0 humbling at Manchester City had gone Manuel Ugarte and Yoro, for Harry Maguire and Casemiro, and Amorim’s side were far slicker. Chelsea’s sole threat came when the isolated João Pedro bobbed and weaved into the home area and Mazraoui stuck a leg out and the forward went down, but Bankes was not interested.
Then came United’s second, which was a tale of Luke Shaw’s desire, James’s clownish defending and Enzo Fernández’s timidness. When Mazraoui spiralled a ball to the far post from the right, James had the chance to clear Dorgu’s misdirected header. Instead, the captain sliced the ball straight up, Shaw came crashing in to head on as Fernández watched, and Casemiro headed beyond Jörgensen.
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Chelsea were a dizzied boxer staggering up at the eight-count due to United’s constant haymakers. Fernandes slipped Sesko in but he could not control. The ball was bounced to Mbeumo who tried to put his often lethal left boot through it, and missed. Marc Cucurella chopped down Mazraoui and Bankes booked him. United cruised. So, as is the way of this post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, they made life harder than it should have been.
In the fifth minute of the added nine, Casemiro took down Santos and the Brazilian received a red after a second yellow. It seemed as harsh as Casemiro’s decision to grapple with Santos was folly.
At the free-kick United slept and Cucurella went close, and for the second period Sesko was sacrificed for Ugarte to fill in for Casemiro. More yellows were shown – for Fernández and Chalobah: on a surface causing the players and ball to aquaplane, there was scant surprise at niggle creeping in.
A Maguire arm on Santos’s chest was the next to cause Chelsea ire and when Fernandes released Dorgu down the left the contest, again, had some actual football.
Ten versus 10 was the glimmer Chelsea needed and a James cross which Diallo hooked away, then a later James cross Matthijs de Ligt crashed out for a corner, were warnings. As was a Wesley Fofana header correctly ruled offside.
By the 69th-minute Yoro, Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha were on for United, Maguire, Mbeumo and Mazraoui the trio who exited.
Chelsea rallied and United had to defend their box, and did. Amorim stated his side had to be better in both areas: today they were.
