A makeshift Manchester United defence did not even have to resort to hair pulls to keep out a goalshy Chelsea. The unfamiliar pairing of Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui grew into a tepid game after a shaky start, making the full-time boos inevitable. Stamford Bridge was an unhappy place again, the unrest in the stands growing as a fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League approached, and the only time the home fans stopped pining for the old Chelsea was when Mason Mount came on to help United protect their 1-0 lead.
Think back to Porto in May 2021. Back then, long before anyone in west London had heard of BlueCo, it was Mount who created the winner when Chelsea became kings of Europe for the second time. Five years on, though, this is a club that cannot even be sure that they will be in the Champions League next season.
Michael Carrick's verdict
I can’t play that one down – that was massive for us. They had some chances but I thought Ayden and Nouss were incredible really. Ayden’s such a young age and [Noussair Mazraoui] doesn’t really play centre-back in a back four.
[What was the first thing you had to do when you became manager?] Make the players feel good. Make them appreciate playing for this great club, which is easy to forget sometimes. And then try to put them in a shape that we thought suited everyone. I think we can play better, there are loads of layers to come. But results build momentum and give us a foundation.
[On Bruno Fernandes] His impact has been immense since the first time I was here. He’s a bit personality, he’s the captain for a reason. He’s vocal and he’s just a big presence on the pitch.
We haven’t had a great record here over the years. We can play better but some games are about getting a result; there’s no shame in that. Having that moment with the fans at the end, the boys enjoyed that one.
[On his future] I love being here, I love what I’m doing and I want to be part of nights like this. I understand the situation; it’s a little bit out of my hands. We’ll see what happens.
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Bruno Fernandes’ reaction
Obviously it’s an amazing feeling for us. We had to bounce back after two games without a win. Chelsea are a very good side. Our aim is to get in the top five and they are the closest ones, so to create some distance is perfect for us.
The fans were amazing – even in the warm-up I felt they were on. Every away ground we go to, we feel at home, and today was no different.
[On his 18th assist of the Premier League season, two short of the record] Every time I want to do better than the season before. I need to improve every week and I want to end my career as the best player I could possibly have been.
Ayden [Heaven] was amazing again. Young kid, he transforms himself when he comes on the pitch.
We are three points closer [to Champions League football]. That’s it. Now we have another game to win.
Full time: Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd
The free-kick is cleared and Michael Oliver blows the final whistle. There are loud boos from the home fans and giddy celebrations among the away players, with Bruno Fernandes giving the teenager Ayden Heaven a heartfelt, almost paternal hug. That’s such a sweet gesture.
United rode their luck at times but this result moves them within touching distance of Champions League football. It also make it extremely tough for Chelsea – who have lost four league games in a row without scoring a goal – to qualify for next year’s competition.
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90+4 min Neto’s cross is headed away by Casemiro, but then Mainoo fouls Garnacho on the other side. He’s booked and Chelsea have another last chance. This time Sanchez is forward.
90+3 min Mount is penalised for handball just outside the area on the Chelsea right wing. This is Chelsea’s last chance…
90+1 min Mount is booked for kicking the ball away.
90 min Four minutes of added time.
89 min Ayden Heaven was slightly jittery in the first half but he’s been excellent in the second. It’s easy to forget he’s only 19, and a clean sheet tonight would be a nice little landmark in his burgeoning career.
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88 min A substitution apiece.
Chelsea Romeo Lavia for Enzo Fernandez.
Man Utd Joshua Zirkzee for Bryan Mbeumo.
85 min Caicedo receives a square pass 25 yards from goal, gets it out his feet and hits a violent shot that whistles fractionally wide of the far post. It almost took out a steward behind the goal.
You don’t need some AI-generated xG to tell you that Chelsea have been pretty unlucky tonight.
83 min “On the subject of AI,” begins James Humphries, “there’s a joke here about people who don’t understand a field spending loads of money in an attempt to approximate skilled endeavour in that field only to churn out an unconvincing simulacrum, but it’s been a long week, so just plonk in Chelsea or United as preferred.”
82 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Josh Acheampong and Trevoh Chalobah replace Malo Gusto and Wesley Fofana.
81 min: Double substitution for Man Utd Amad Diallo and Mason Mount replace Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. Mount is booed onto the field.
79 min A United break is superbly thwarted by Hato, who makes excellent challenges on both Mbeumo and Fernandes.
76 min Mazraoui leans into a bouncing ball at the same time Cucurella tries an overhead kick. Mazraoui is caught and United get a free-kick. Even 20 seconds’ respite is valuable because a Chelsea equaliser feels increasingly likely.
75 min “I’d suggest that a goalkeeper relying on great saves to build his/her reputation has issues with positioning and reading the game,” writes Gary Naylor. “Get those quiet elements of the job right and your highlights reel will be thin, but your clean sheets will be high.”
You can tell that to Peter Bolesław Schmeichel. But you definitely have a point. There was a fine recent interview with Edwin Van der Sar on The Overlap in which he talked about how much pride he took in his ability to organise a defence, and that his ideal game involved him making no saves.
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74 min I’m a bit surprised Man Utd haven’t brought on Amad, whose ball-carrying ability would be valuable right now. It keeps coming back at their makeshift defence.
72 min Another Chelsea corner leads to a volley from Garnacho, 15 yards out, that bounces up and is headed away. Lots of pressure on the United goal now.
70 min Cucurella is fouled on the edge of the D by Mazraoui. Chelsea are having a very good spell.
69 min Replays show that Fofana’s outstretched hand touched the ball onto the head of Mazraoui, after which it hit the crossbar, so any goal wouldn’t have counted.
68 min “Sesko doing little to dispel the impression that he is best employed as an impact substitute,” toughcrowds Adam Roberts.
67 min: Fofana hits the bar!
Neto curls an outstanding deep cross from the right that is headed against the bar by Fofana, six yards out. On TNT Sports, Ally McCoist thinks it might have been a handball – by Fofana or somebody else, because there were a load of players jumping for the ball at the far post. Either way, it was a gorgeous ball from Neto.
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66 min “How do you compare a goalkeeper who is solid if unspectacular against one who is less reliable but can make saves that they really shouldn’t be able to make?” wonders David Wall. “I agree that Lammens has been excellent since he joined United and i can’t remember a mistake he’s made that has led directly to a goal. But also i can’t remember him making any jaw-droppingly incredible saves.
“Contrast that with Andre Onana who gave up plenty of goals through his mistakes but was also capable of making the kind of save that leaves centre forwards looking silly because they’ve already assumed that they’ve scored (a double save in a 0-0 draw at Palace at the start of last season comes to mind but there were many others). Given that United’s entire defence looks much calmer with Lammens at the back of it, it suggests the negative impact of conceding unexpected goals is greater than the positive impact of preventing expected ones.”
This is such an interesting subject. It’s the Schmeichel v Van der Sar debate, isn’t it? I’d say it also depends on the context: how good and dominant the team area, the type of characters you have in defence (for example, Peter Schmeichel and the Arsenal Back Four might not have worked because they hated loud keepers) and much else besides.
64 min: Fine save by Sanchez! Another really dangerous break from United. Fernandes’ disguised pass to Cunha is cut out by Fofana – but his touch spins towards goal and is clawed round the post by Sanchez. That’s a terrific save, not least because it was so unexpected.
62 min Gusto’s flat cross is volleyed wide by Palmer, an imaginative effort from about 12 yards.
61 min Fernandes wastes a four-on-four United break with an unusually loose pass into the area.
59 min Chelsea appeal for handball when Enzo’s scoop hits Mazraoui right on the edge of the area. Nothing given on the field, or in Stockley Park.
58 min Delap, who hasn’t scored since early January, has looked hangry all night and that was a terrific effort. It has changed the mood at Stamford Bridge, where the radgeometer was starting to rise.
56 min: Delap hits the bar!
Pedro Neto clips an angled cross into the area, where Delap rises majestically and flicks a superb header that hits the crossbar and bounces out. Lammens didn’t move.
54 min “Sneakily, the long-term importance of this game for United might be the potential damage to Chelsea,” writes David Howell. “A win here could not only all but lock in that extra revenue stream for them for next season, they could take out a key rival indefinitely and help smooth the path to maintaining that revenue stream. It’s sad that this is the framing for so many big matches these days, but here we are...”
52 min Caicedo rakes a long-range shot that deflects behind off Casemiro. It’s a poor corner, I think from Enzo, and United break. Fernandes collects a dainty flick from Cunha and cracks a left-foot shot from 25 yards that bounces wide. Close enough, but Sanchez had it covered I think.
51 min Nothing is happening on the field. Chelsea are having most of the ball; United are poised for any opportunities on the counter-attack.
50 min “Ernest Hemingway mentions ‘a hill to die on’ in ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, published in 1940,” says Andrew Goudie. “But Remus (of Romulus and Remus fame) died on a hill a bit earlier than that. So who knows?”
AI knows, or at least it thinks it does, which is half about nine-tenths of the battle these days.
49 min “Google seem to have switched over to AI generated liveblogs last year and they’re wildly inaccurate,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I’ve noticed them crediting goalscorers from wrong teams. I just checked this match, and the google liveblog described Estevão as ‘writhing in pain’ when he was calmly sitting, waiting for the physios.”
I can’t really criticise mistakes in liveblogs, not lecause because I once announced a vital goal by typing WICKET! I’d been doing a lot of cricket that month, but even so.
48 min A quiet start to the second half, on and off the field.
46 min Peep peep! Chelsea begin the second half, and Joshua Keeling has news:
According to Google, ‘The phrase “this is a hill I will die on” is an idiom originating from military jargon regarding the defence of high ground at all costs, with its first recorded usage often attributed to the 1940s.’
Half-time reading
At half-time in the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal’s hopes of a quadruple remained strong. They were unbeaten in 14, 11 of them won. They were drawing 0-0 against Manchester City and it wasn’t unreasonable to think that if the second half carried on as the first half had, they would eventually find a winner – quite possibly from a corner.
They had drawn a Championship side in the sixth round of the FA Cup and a Portuguese side in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They held a nine-point lead in the Premier League. This was shaping up to be the greatest season in Arsenal’s history.
That was four weeks ago. There remains a possibility of a Premier League and Champions League double, which would be remarkable enough, but the mood is very different now. This could become the most disappointing season in Arsenal’s history, if only because
Half time: Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd
A few half-hearted boos when Michael Oliver blows for half-time. Chelsea were the better team for much of the first half, only to be caught out by a terrific finish from Matheus Cunha.
45+3 min “It’s been a good half from United,” writes Joshua Keeling. “Chelsea looked the likelier scorers for most of it, but United did well to score late on. Fernandes will surely be the player of the season.
“A hill I will defend to the end, though, is that Amorim did a good job at United. He inherited a a shambles, and instilled structure and discipline, some of which has been lost since he left.
“PS how good is Senne Lammens?! It’s so nice to have a proper goalkeeper.”
I wonder who was the first position to die on a hill, or at least use that phrase.
45+1 min Fofana was off the field when the goal was scored – he received treatment which meant he had to go off for 30 seconds.
45 min Five added minutes.
Man Utd have taken the lead against the run of play. Bruno Fernandes ignored a challenge from Garnacho on the right, got to the byline and angled a cutback towards the penalty spot. Sesko was wrestling with Caicedo, which allowed Cunha to run onto the ball and sidefoot emphatically past Sanchez.
That’s a cracking finish from Cunha, and an 18th assist of the Premier League season for the magnificent Bruno Fernandes.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd (Cunha 43)
Now that’s a first touch from Matheus Cunha!
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41 min Fofana is down and in obvious discomfort. He was accidentally caught by his teammate Sanchez, who came flying out to punch a free-kick clear.
40 min “Forty-odd years ago, nobody knew what Hafnia was, but there they were on Everton’s shirts,” writes Gary Naylor. “I’m as clueless now about IFS.AI emblazoned on Chelsea’s kit and perimeter adverts. However, I’m prepared to hazard a guess that they are not a Danish meat processing company. I think, on LinkedIn, they call it progress.”
Wait until AI starts writing these live blogs. That’ll redefine progress.
39 min Neto’s cross from the right hits the unsighted Enzo six yards from goal. Delap jumped in front of him and couldn’t reach the ball, which meant Enzo had no time to adjust his body.
United break and Hato is booked for fouling Mbeumo.
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38 min: Disallowed goal for Chelsea! Enzo’s awkward shot from the edge of the area is spilled in front of goal by the diving Lammens. Palmer squares the loose ball for Delap to walk it in, but they were both offside when Enzo had the original shot.
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36 min Possession so far: Chelsea 65%-35% Man Utd.
35 min A beautifully judged tackle by Casemiro on Palmer sparks a United break. They move the ball smoothly through midfield but then Mbeumo and Cunha are on different wavelengths and the danger passes.
33 min: Just wide from Enzo! A Chelsea throw-in reaches Enzo, 12 yards out to the left of centre. He wriggles away from Mazraoui and Fernandes and curls a shot this far wide of the far post. He’d done the hardest part by escaping the two United defenders.
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31 min Chelsea are playing like a team who really need to win, United like a team who would be happy with a draw. It hasn’t been one-way traffic but Chelsea are attacking with much greater urgency and purpose.
30 min Enzo clips the free-kick into the wall.
29 min Heaven dangles a leg and fouls Palmer in the D. It was a lovely bit of skill from Palmer, who dragged the ball one way and the the other, but a bit of a naive tackle from Heaven.
26 min For a player as good as Cunha, that first touch was almost bizarrely bad. He tried to retrieve the situation, fouled Hato and put his hand up in apology straight away.
24 min Fernandes plays a majestic long pass to release Mbeumo on the right. He gallops into space and picks out the unmarked Cunha on the edge of the area – but Cunha’s first touch is dreadful and his second is an agricultural foul on Hato for which he is booked. That was United’s best opportunity so far and Cunha cagged it.
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22 min Dalot is caught painfully by Cucurella as the pair compete for a bouncing ball. The resulting free-kick from Fernandes is underhit and headed away on the edge of the area.
United haven’t really got going.
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18 min Chelsea look the more dangerous team. After another excellent pass from Enzo to start the move, Pedro Neto scoops a clever ball that the sliding Garnacho can’t quite keep in play on the far side. The away fans, who are not full of love for Garnacho, enjoyed watching the ball dribble behind for a goalkick.
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15 min: Chelsea substitution Garnacho comes on to face his old club. Estevao is able to limp off the field but it looks like he’s pulled a hamstring.
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13 min An inept pass from Shaw is collected by Delap, who plays an early pass through to Estevao. He stumbles slightly, is forced wide by Shaw and eventually shoots straight at Lammens.
In fact, Estevao may have injured himself when he stumbled. Looks like either a hamstring or knee problem, and Alejandro Garnacho is warming up.
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11 min Estevao cuts inside from the right and whips a left-foot curler just wide of the far post. Excellent effort. In fact, replays suggest it shaved the outside of the post.
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10 min VAR have decided the contact was fractionally outside the area, so Heaven gets away with it. It wasn’t a good tackle, not against a player as clever and fleet-footed as Palmer.
9 min Palmer runs on a fine angled pass from Enzo Fernandez, lifts the ball over Heaven and seemed to have be fouled right on the edge of the area. Nothing is given on the field but this could be a penalty. It was certainly a foul; the issue is whether it was inside the area.
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7 min Sesko has a long-range shot blocked by the outrushing Hato.
6 min “Cole Palmer just seems like a good guy, doesn’t he?” writes Matt Dony. “Brilliantly watchable footballer, and doesn’t appear to have been media-trained into robot-hood. It can’t be easy to be that young, that talented, that rich and famous, and still come across like a ‘nice bloke’ in the most ‘normal’ way. Similar to James Maddison, who we’re (hopefully) all glad to see returning to fitness. If I were an England fan, I’d be proud to have both of those players as potential choices.”
A very generous sentiment, although I suspect that ‘if’ is doing some seriously heavy lifting.
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5 min Delap charges into the area from the right and is well tackled by the stretching Heaven. Nothing comes of the corner. That was a pretty good challenge from Heaven because it looked like Delap was away from him.
3 min Dalot is flattened by Caicedo, which gives United a free-kick 40 yards from goal. Fernandes’s ball in is headed clear.
3 min As expected, it’s Mazraoui and Heaven in the centre of defence for Man Utd.
2 min “After more than 40 days without internet here in Iran; I finally managed to get online,” writes Karen Asad. “You can’t imagine how difficult that is! anyway I’m looking forward to my first live blog in almost two months. I can testify that football is a great distraction from the raging war surrounding us. Here’s hoping a United win!”
1 min Man Utd kick off from left to right as we watch.
There was a joint protest by supporters of Chelsea and Strasbourg against their owners Blueco. before the game. Things could get moody if tonight’s game goes against Chelsea.
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A reminder of the teams
It looks like Noussair Mazraoui will play centre-half for Man Utd rather than Luke Shaw.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Delap.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Chalobah, Tosin, Andrey Santos, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Dalot, Mazraoui, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko.
Subs: Bayindir, Malacia, Mount, T Fletcher, Thwaites, Ugarte, Amad, Lacey, Zirkzee.
Referee Michael Oliver.
Today's Premier League results
Brentford 0-0 Fulham
Leeds 3-0 Wolves
Newcastle 1-2 Bournemouth
Tottenham 2-2 Brighton
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The Joy of Six: Chelsea v Man Utd
This archive piece, written by the great Scott Murray, is well worth reading.
United were newly crowned champions of Europe – finally – and the world appeared to be their oyster. But of course they wouldn’t pick up another trophy until winning the Second Division championship in 1975. This was the first sign that a mild complacency had set in at Old Trafford. “Chelsea surely will never gain two points so easily again,” reported the Guardian, “and at the same time it is difficult to visualise United being so abysmally poor.”
The visitors employed a power game – Ron Harris, Eddie McCreadie and David Webb crunching in with hard tackles, winning almost every ball, and shipping it forward quickly. Tommy Baldwin put Chelsea in front within 40 seconds. Bobby Tambling snaffled a ridiculous clearance by Tony Dunne to make it 2-0 on 13 minutes. Baldwin made it three seven minutes before half-time. United made a few “desultory raids” which were easily mopped up before Alan Birchenall added a fourth.
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Marcus Rashford could have a summer of transfer limbo in store despite Michael Carrick admitting the door is not completely closed on the forward playing for Manchester United again. Rashford is currently on loan at Barcelona but it is becoming increasingly unlikely the move will be made permanent, which will obligate a return to Old Trafford where he would receive a wage rise if the club qualify for the Champions League.
The 28-year-old has not played for United since December 2024, spending the past 16 months out on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona, who have the option to purchase Rashford for €30m (£26m). United sit comfortably in third, seven points above Saturday’s opponents, sixth-placed Chelsea, but will not want to see the gap close come full time at Stamford Bridge.
After two seasons without Champions League football, returning to Europe’s top table is vital for United but will result in players’ wages increasing, with Rashford’s salary reaching £325,000 per week on his deal, which runs until 2028. United would be keen to sell him but few could match his earnings.
Exclusive interview: Cole Palmer
There are two sides to Cole Palmer. There is the shy character who can fool you into thinking he has nothing much to say for himself. On the other hand there’s the artist with the ball at his feet. The player with the “Ice Cold” celebration copied by kids in playgrounds everywhere. The improviser who makes the price of a ticket worthwhile.
“I know what you’re saying,” Palmer replies as, on a sunny afternoon at Chelsea’s training ground, we talk about the contrast between his shy conversational style and his ability to make an impact on people when he steps on the pitch. “I don’t really say too much in general but when I’m on a pitch I try to. I feel like it’s two different personalities. Off the pitch it’s quiet. I find it hard to speak to new people. But when I’m on the pitch I feel it just comes freely.”
Chelsea’s No 10 takes a while to open up during our chat. Football is his chosen language. The boy from Wythenshawe admits that he is guarded with new people. Questions about whether the boy from Wythenshawe visualises moves and tried to copy his heroes when he was younger fall flat.
By the end, though, the 23-year-old has warmed up and is nattering away. He is laughing about last summer’s chaotic win against Benfica at the Club World Cup (the game lasted four hours after a delay due to stormy weather in North Carolina) and delivering an update on his views on southern people. He has gone into detail about his injury woes and it feels significant that he has agreed to meet. It is easy to talk during a winning run. It shows character to do it when the world is on your back.
Team news
Enzo Fernandez returns to the Chelsea side after being left out of their last two games. Liam Delap also comes into the side, with Andrey Santos and Joao Pedro dropping out. Joao Pedro isn’t in the squad.
It looks like either Luke Shaw or Noussair Mazraoui will start in the centre of defence for Man Utd. There are four changes from the team that started against Leeds on Monday. Diogo Dalot, Ayden Heaven, Kobbie Mainoo and Bryan Mbeumo come in for Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Amad Diallo.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Delap.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Chalobah, Tosin, Andrey Santos, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Mazraoui, Heaven, Shaw, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko.
Subs: Bayindir, Malacia, Mount, T Fletcher, Thwaites, Ugarte, Amad, Lacey, Zirkzee.
Referee Michael Oliver.
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Preamble
Pop quiz, hotshot: name the last time fixture between Chelsea and Manchester United in which both managers were English? The answer is 28 September 1986, when Kerry Dixon scored the only goal for John Hollins’ Chelsea and Ron Atkinson’s United missed two penalties. United stayed 21st in the league; Chelsea’s win lifted them to the dizzy heights of 17th.
Liam Rosenior and Michael Carrick have loftier ambitions, tonight and for the next month. Both are fighting to quality for next season’s Champions League – not least because, if they fail, there may not be a next season. We might argue that the pressure on Rosenior is premature and unfair, but it exists and it’ll increase if Chelsea fail to win tonight.
Both teams are in the middle of dodgy spells. Chelsea have taken five points from their last seven league games, United four from the last four. But United still have a seven-point Champions League cushion, so a draw would be an excellent result for them – particularly as they are without their four first-choice centre-halves.
A strength of Carrick’s management has been the use of appropriately shaped pegs and holes. Tonight, he may have to get creative.
Kick off 8pm.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Man City | 31 | 35 | 64 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 32 | 12 | 55 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 32 | 5 | 55 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 32 | 10 | 52 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 32 | 12 | 48 |
| 7 | Brentford | 33 | 4 | 48 |
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