Football Features

    “The game-changing genius you pay £75m for” – Player ratings as Sancho’s strike helps Manchester United hold Chelsea 1-1

    By Muhammad Butt

    Published: 19:01, 28 November 2021


    In a wild afternoon of football, Chelsea and Manchester United played out a breathless 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

    The result puts Chelsea just one point clear of Manchester City atop the Premier League table but both sides had chances to win it late on.

    Here’s how the players rated at Stamford Bridge:

    Chelsea

    Edouard Mendy – 5 – Could do nothing about the United goal. Shocking pass that should have resulted in a second goal but Fred whelped the shot and spared his blushes. Had so little to do during the game perhaps he fell asleep?

    Trevoh Chalobah – 7 – Had very little to do, but handled himself well against the pace of the United break.

    Thiago Silva – 7 – Definitely struggled at the back whenever United ran at him, even in the first-half Sancho gave him problems. Still, managed to win the equalising penalty with a clever bit of play.

    Antonio Rudiger – 7 – A thunderously intimidating force who terrified and dominated the United attack. Struck the bar from a long way out and was, in general, an impassable object. There’s a reason the only times United looked like scoring were when he wasn’t between them and the goal. Was heading for an 8 but his shocking miss in the last second, what should have been the game-winner, has to knock him down a point.

    Reece James – 7 – A constant menace with his passing, crossing and movement. Was Chelsea’s biggest outlet to create danger.

    Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 7 – A really energetic presence in the middle of the pitch, pushing the United side back.

    Jorginho – 5 – Completely fumbled Bruno Fernandes’ high hoof, gifting United a free run at Mendy and the opening goal. A horrendous error that gave United life in a match where they had been scrambling to survive. Redeemed himself with a cooly taken penalty, so he avoids a 4/10 but honestly, he was lucky to have that penalty.

    Marcos Alonso – 7 – Worked hard up and down the left-flank. Did take the corner that led to Chelsea’s penalty, however.

    Hakim Ziyech – 8 – Electric movement. Even more electric passes. Every time Chelsea needed someone to break the United defence apart, Ziyech would appear with a five yard pass to redirect Chelsea’s movement of play and suddenly, lo, there was space. His reverse pass in the last minute that led to Rudiger’s amazing miss was incredible.

    Callum Hudson-Odoi – 8 – Really sharp, alwas driving the ball forward and creating a game-high 4 chances.

    Timo Werner – 4 – In classic Werner fashion, he wasted two brilliant chances to score. What is wrong with him??

    Substitutes:

    Christian Pulisic (for Hudson-Odoi 78′) – 6 – Had a couple of nice dribbles and his cross should have led to a winner for Rudiger.

    Mason Mount (for Marcos Alonso 78′) – 6 – Some nice movement.

    Romelu Lukaku (for Werner 82′) – 5 – Couldn’t get into the game which was flying end-to-end when he came on.

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    Manchester United

    David de Gea – 7 – Some big saves as per usual. Even came off his line to attack crosses well. A really good display.

    Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7 – A mostly brilliant performance as he was completely unfazed by the pressure he faced. 3 tackles made, 5 clearances and an impressive 3/5 take-ons completed as he, more than anyone, was confident to drive into the Chelsea press. Handled his flank so well and made one colossal block to prevent a surefire Chelsea goal. Unfortunate to concede the penalty that allowed Chelsea to level things bvut it had to knock his rating down.

    Victor Lindelof – 7 – Soft defending to start with but really settled down. Made an impressive 9 clearances.

    Eric Bailly – 7 – Really got into the game as it wore on. Combative 1-v-1.

    Alex Telles – 7 – Worked hard and grew into the game as everyone else did, but looked all at sea in the first-half.

    Scott McTominay – 7 – A really hard-working display from McTominay with 4 tackles, 5 clearances and an impressivce 92% pass completion (albeit some of those passes were lucky to be completed). He continued his impressive streak of never losing against Chelsea and it’s genuinely confusing how such a limited player can always be relied upon to show up in the biggest games.

    Nemanja Matic – 7 – Really solid positionally and showed a confidence on the ball United so sorely lack at the base of midfield. What United wouldn’t give to take five years off him so that he could play like this regularly instead of once a month.

    Fred – 7 – A tenacious performance, snapping into tackles but most importantly making a game-high 4 interceptions. Of course he had the game in his hands when Edouard Mendy passed the ball to him 30 yards out. He could have passed it to Jesse Lingard or Cristiano Ronaldo, or run forward into the box, but instead he lofted a backpass straight to Mendy.

    Bruno Fernandes – 4 – Struggled with his false nine position but in true Bruno fashion, managed to play a big part in the United opener with his tremendous hoof that had enough spin to cause a Jorginho miscontrol. Still, did not play well at all.

    Jadon Sancho – 8- Pressed well all game, especially when he robbed Jorginho and then slotted home to give United a shock lead. That move actually began with his own composed play on the edge of his own box before his stunning run and incredibly composed finish where he gave Mendy the eyes to fool the goalkeeper into expecting a pass before shooting himself. This is the game-changing genius you pay £75m for.

    Marcus Rashford – 7 – Pressed well in the first-half but came flying out after half-time and constantly menaced the Chelsea defence, carrying United forward and providing threat.

    Substitutes:

    Cristiano Ronaldo (for Sancho 64′) – 4 – Came onto the pitch and instantly drained the United counter-attack of the energy and pace it needed to cause problems. Did nothing to help, and in fact he made everything worse.

    Jesse Lingard (for Rashford 77′) – 5 – Tried hard but couldn’t get involved.

    Donny van de Beek (for Fernandes 89′) – 6 – Put himself about and made a couple of big chances that could have made things happen.

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