Cristiano Ronaldo took the headlines once again as the legendary striker struck again to spare Manchester United's blushes against Chelsea, and the result will leave Erik ten Hag in no doubt over the club's priority for the transfer window.
Ralf Rangnick's side were once again outplayed by another of their 'Big Six' rivals but managed to earn a 1-1 draw on Thursday night. The Blues dominated the contest and took a deserved lead on the hour-mark through Marcos Alonso, only for Ronaldo to equalise minutes later.
The Red Devils now require a miracle in order to secure a place in next season's Champions League with both West Ham and Wolves now in a position to pull level on points. United's recent performances against their top-four rivals and title-chasers Liverpool has highlighted the scale of the task facing incoming manager Erik ten Hag.
The Ajax boss will need to lead a significant rebuild both on and off the pitch at Old Trafford, with a host of first-team stars set to depart in the summer. United avoided defeat against Chelsea, but it was another limp display which will undoubtedly lead fans and commentators to question the futures of the majority of the squad.
Thomas Tuchel's side enjoyed 65% possession as the away side, and were rarely pressed in possession as the hosts seemed content to sit back. United's midfield struggled to impose themselves on the contest, and there was one post-match stat in particular which caught the attention of supporters on social media.
Scott McTominay has been a first-team regular with United for several seasons now, despite fans and pundits alike regularly criticising the 'McFred' partnership alongside Brazil international Fred. However, the passing stats from the draw suggests the 25-year-old did not enjoy his best performance in possession.
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Statistics website FBref recorded just 22 successful passes from McTominay all match, with a success rate of 85.7%. To put that in perspective, Liverpool maestro Thiago completed 105 passes against the Red Devils and was substituted in the 79th minute of the four-goal rout.
Digging further into this performance, McTominay's influence on the ball dropped even further in the second half. Stats Zone indicates that following the interval, the Scotland international remarkably did not make a successful pass to a team-mate until the 84th minute, with three failed attempts.
McTominay was by no means the only United player guilty of lacking composure and quality in possession. Chelsea enjoyed the lion's share of the ball and made a total of 628 passes in comparison to United's return of 345.
It was a performance which left Rangnick admitting it was a 'lucky' draw, although the interim boss believes his side coped well in the absence of a host of injured first-team regulars. He told the club's website: "I think in the second half we showed a good reaction, a good reaction from the team. Even more so when we conceded the goal after 60 minutes.
"It was good to have an early reply to that goal two minutes later - a great assist by Nemanja Matic and a fantastic finish by Cristiano. In the first half we had problems to close down the spaces, we needed a few great saves from David and a few last-second tackles.
"In the second half, to start with, we pushed back Anthony Elanga almost like a left wing-back and in the last 15 minutes played with a back five with three central defenders. That gave us more control of the game."
