Fernandes Strikes as 10-Man Chelsea Struggle at Old Trafford
It was another dramatic evening at Old Trafford as Manchester United hosted Chelsea in the Premier League, and this one had everything from early red cards to frantic substitutions. The match was barely five minutes old when Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, was sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. That decision forced Chelsea into immediate chaos, with an early substitution required to bring in replacement keeper Filip Jorgensen.
Playing with 10 men for almost the entire game was always going to be an uphill battle for Enzo Maresca’s side. And sure enough, just nine minutes later United capitalized. Bruno Fernandes, who has been the heartbeat of this United midfield for years, found the net in the 14th minute. Assisted by young P. Dorgu, his strike gave the hosts a deserved lead. From that moment on, United held the momentum firmly in their hands.
The stats told the story of the first half. Manchester United dominated possession with nearly 70 percent of the ball, and they created chance after chance. By contrast, Chelsea could only muster one attempt in the opening exchanges, and none of those were on target. The Blues were penned back, relying on deep defending and hurried clearances, while United pressed high and probed constantly.
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Chelsea’s evening went from bad to worse when star man Cole Palmer, who had carried a groin issue into the game, signaled that he couldn’t continue. He trudged straight down the tunnel after only 21 minutes, replaced by Andrey Santos. It was a huge blow to Maresca’s game plan because Palmer has been Chelsea’s creative spark this season. Losing both their goalkeeper and their best playmaker before the half-hour mark left them scrambling.
Maresca was forced into more substitutions than he would have liked, making three within the first 21 minutes—the quickest any side has had to do so in Premier League history. That alone summed up the disruption Chelsea faced. United’s fans at Old Trafford could sense the control their team had, and even though their side wasn’t clinical with every chance, the feeling was that the game belonged to them.
The Chelsea players fought hard defensively, with Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, and Wesley Fofana constantly under pressure. But United’s control of the midfield, led by Fernandes and Casemiro, ensured the visitors rarely ventured forward. At one stage, Chelsea had no touches inside United’s penalty area, which highlighted just how isolated João Pedro and Estêvão were up front.
As the first half drew to a close, it was clear that the night was slipping away from Chelsea. The atmosphere at Old Trafford remained electric, with United fans sensing that their team’s unbeaten home run against Chelsea—stretching back to 2013—was on course to continue.
So far, the score stood at Manchester United 1, Chelsea 0, but the real story was how quickly Chelsea’s night had unraveled. A red card, an injured star, and wave after wave of United pressure meant this was always going to be a backs-to-the-wall job for Maresca’s men. And unless something dramatic changed, the home side looked destined to walk away with all three points.
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