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It’s the statistic that undermines the good Manchester United have done in the Premier League this season: they haven’t managed to score a single goal in open play against rivals from the so-called big six.
His only comeback in what are now seven attempts came from a Bruno Fernandes penalty in a 6-1 home loss to Tottenham. This was their fifth 0-0 draw and while it was more visible than some of the others, it illustrated why they are so far behind Manchester City. In the decisive games they have not only lost their creativity and avant-garde, but they have seemed averse to risk.
The draw extended the United club’s unbeaten record in the top flight to 20 games and, more importantly, kept them six points ahead of fifth-place Chelsea. A Champions League finish is the most likely prize for United’s efforts in the league and remains within their grasp.
Chelsea might be the most unhappy with the result, though they continued Thomas Tuchel’s undefeated start at the club. His streak is now nine games in all competitions, with six wins and only two goals conceded.
The problem for the new coach has been in front of goal. Your team is not scoring enough because it is not creating enough. Hakim Ziyech was denied by David de Gea in the 48th minute, when he should have scored and it was difficult to remember anything more important to them. Tuchel has a great deal of attacking talent on his team, but he can’t accommodate it all, nor has he been able to find the right combinations. It seems like the emphasis for him so far has been on forcing opposition mistakes up the field rather than creating openings in a more proactive way. One thing is clear: it has not been exciting.
Tuchel made a change from 3-4-2-1 to 3-4-1-2 when he replaced Olivier Giroud with Christian Pulisic in the 65th minute and his reason for doing so was revealing. “We defend with two forwards to block them so they can’t come in with the ball,” Tuchel said.
The big talking point came in the 10th minute, when Stuart Attwell decided not to award United a penalty despite his video assistant suggesting that he review an incident Callum Hudson-Odoi appeared to be handling. United were outraged, and Ole Gunnar Solskjær later murmured gloomily about Attwell’s motivation for choosing not to reverse his original decision and the pressure he believed Chelsea had put on the referee.
Mason Greenwood challenged for the ball after Édouard Mendy parried a deflected free kick from Marcus Rashford, leaning toward him with his shoulder, at which point Hudson-Odoi appeared to wade it away. Attwell went to the court monitor and felt the penalty was unavoidable. Not so.
United’s strategy was also to win the ball in the last third and it was noticeable how high Solskjær asked his four forwards to push. The visitors were determined not to let Chelsea take possession and dictate the pace. It was extremely tactical; systems and ideals about individual matches without any forward-thinking player leaving much of a mark.
That said, the pace was consistently high and players’ technical prowess was put to the test in tight spaces and with little time. Defensively, the levels were impressive, the strength and impeccable decision-making on both sides.
Tuchel gave starting opportunities to a trio of players he did not yet have in the league – Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kanté and Ziyech – and his team’s best moment before the break came when Antonio Rüdiger changed the play with a long diagonal from the left. right for Hudson-Odoi. His whipped cross was right in front of Giroud. Ziyech also fired at De Gea as Hudson-Odoi lunged wide.
Hudson-Odoi did not reappear in the second half, he was spotted with a knee strap, and Ziyech’s golden opportunity came when Chiwell’s low cut tore through him. The connection was clean but De Gea, who was moving in the opposite direction, drew back a strong hand to save. Ziyech needed to choose a corner. On the rebound, Hudson-Odoi’s replacement Reece James saw his shot blocked by Luke Shaw.
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It was clear that a moment or a mistake would probably be decisive. Could either team force it? United was a bit more threatening in the second half, with Fernandes out of color missing a pass to Rashford on the counter, Greenwood throwing a shot too high, Scott McTominay shooting Mendy and Fred past the angle of the post and the crossbar.
Mason Mount had a darts race for Chelsea that ended when McTominay did a challenge, but it was a day when excitement was in short supply.
