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The so-called powerhouses' confrontation often exudes tension like a thriller movie, but the first game of the season between Manchester United and Chelsea was quite far from the thriller genre.
Manchester United's 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the fifth round of the English Premier League (EPL) at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on the 21st (Korea time) was close to a crazy drama that was difficult to predict the story's development.
Chelsea goalkeeper Roberto Sanchez's direct exit in 4:01 of the first half was a factor that could significantly boost viewership from the beginning. Forward Brian Mbomo touched the ball that Manchester United's tall striker Benjamin Seschko dropped with a header toward the back of the defense, and Sanchez, who ran out at that moment, walked Mbomo's leg as a tackle. Judging that it was a clear goal blocking, the referee ordered Sanchez to leave. This was Chelsea's shortest ever exit from the EPL.
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Faced with an unexpected situation, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca suddenly entered 'locking' He called Esteban and Pedro Netu, two second-line attacking resources, to the bench in the 6th and 7th minutes, and put in goalkeeper Philippe Jorgensen and center back Tosin Adarabioyo. It was a natural choice to put in a backup goalkeeper without field players, but the additional center back was a plan to stabilize it first.
However, in the 14th minute, Maresca's plan was twisted when Manchester United captain Fernandes scored the first goal on Patrick Dorgu's header pass. The video reading system (VAR) was operated to determine whether Fernandez was offside, but the score was recognized as onside.
To make matters worse, Maresca had to replace Andre Santos in the 21st minute after Cole Palmer had a problem with his groin muscle. Sanchez's exit, Palmer's injury, and tactical judgment were added to the game, which led to an unprecedented situation in which the second-line trio of offense was replaced 21 minutes into the game. There was only one João Pedro left on the field after Palmer headed to the bench.
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Unlike Chelsea, which has twisted steps, Manchester United continued its offensive in numerical advantage. In the 37th minute, Manchester United's Casemiro scored an extra goal with a header. Harry Maguire's header soared high in front of goal, and Casemiro smartly pushed it to his forehead as Chelsea players scrambled.
In the 5th minute of extra time in the first half, when the light of victory slowly shone on Manchester United, Casemiro, the main character of the additional goal, was sent off for the worst judgment. Casemiro, who had received a warning earlier, received an additional warning for intentionally stopping Santos' breakthrough. British public broadcaster 'BBC' introduced that this is the first time in EPL history that more than two goals, more than two exits, and more than two replacements occurred at the same time. After all, two goals can be scored, but the second and third replacements are not easy scenes to see. Casemiro scored and sent off in the first half of an EPL game for the first time in Manchester United's history. It has been 13 years since Emmanuel Adebayor, a former Tottenham player, was sent off after scoring against Arsenal in November 2012.
United manager Ruben Amorim left out striker Seschko at half-time and put defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte in. The plan was to keep the two-goal lead. Chelsea, which lacked offensive resources, increased its second-half possession, but failed to easily target Manchester United's goal. Chelsea made only five shots and one effective shot on the day. The expected score was 0.39. Alejandro Garnacho, who moved to Chelsea last summer from Manchester United, was included in the replacement list but was not included in the game. Garnacho, who transferred after controversy, was booed by some Manchester United fans in the pre-match warm-up situation.
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In the 35th minute of the second half, Trevoh Chalobah header Reece James' cross to score a valuable additional goal, but Chelsea's counterattack stopped there. The game ended in a 2-1 victory for Manchester United. The `Jinks' which has never won Old Trafford since 2013 when former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was in charge of the game, continued in the match that Per Ki-kyung watched. The BBC wrote that the chaotic downfall is typical of Chelsea at Old Trafford. Palmer's injury left Chelsea in many ways 'worst game'.
On the other hand, manager Amorim set the stage for a rebound by collecting three valuable points while facing great criticism after suffering a 0-3 crushing defeat in the Manchester derby just before. In five games, the ranking jumped to ninth place immediately after the game, with two wins, one draw and two losses and seven points. Chelsea finished sixth with eight points. Coach Amorim, who drew attention at the pre-press conference by saying, `My (3-4-3) tactics can't even change the pope,' was a jock that you'll like after the game. Today's victory was very important. If we win again, I'll throw another joke then." This last drama was Manchester United's happy ending.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
