The last match of this Sunday's Premier League schedule saw Jose Mourinho return to his old hunting ground, with Chelsea taking on Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. The Blues took full advantage of many of the top teams dropping points as they put in an incredible performance, demolishing the Red Devils 4-0.
Pedro scored after 30 seconds to get Chelsea off to the perfect start, and Gary Cahill hammered home from a corner to double the lead early in the first half. Stamford Bridge was rocking in the second half as Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante added a third and a fourth respectively to cap off a superb performance.
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Let’s take a look at how the players performed.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 8.5/10
The keeper came up with an incredible reflex save after spilling the first shot to preserve Chelsea’s two-goal lead in the first half. He was absolutely in control throughout the game, always coming up with the saves when required, including a superb save off Zlatan Ibrahimovic even after Chelsea went 4-0 up.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 8/10
The full-back converted to a centre-back provided an amazing block against Rashford’s shot shortly after the Blues went two goals up. He continues to show that he is one of the most versatile defenders in England today, performing more than admirably no matter where he is played.
Gary Cahill – 8/10
The Englishman hammered home from a corner to put Chelsea two goals up early in the first half and followed that up with some staunch defence to keep United out time and time again. As United racked up the pressure early in the second half, he was resolute in keeping them out.
David Luiz – 8/10
The Brazilian teetered between amazing and reckless in the first half and was very lucky to escape a red card for a high leg on Fellaini. Luiz was up to the challenge of handling Ibrahimovic, and performed his duties with minimal fuss.
Marcos Alonso – 7.5/10
A solid performance yet again by the wing-back. Alonso remains an integral yet understated part of Chelsea’s revival as he continues to prove his worth both offensively – linking up with Hazard – and defensively – stopping attackers in their tracks.
Nemanja Matic – 8/10
The big Serb was a mammoth presence in the Chelsea midfield as he continually destroyed United's attacks. He was also extremely tidy in possession, providing a fabulous assist for Hazard's third.
N'Golo Kante – 8.5/10
He has quickly become indispensable to Chelsea as he runs the midfield with an energy which still defies belief. From the starting whistle to the full-time whistle he was constantly on the move, and he scored the goal of the night with a sublime fourth.
Victor Moses – 8/10
Victor Moses looks like a player reborn as he put in a tireless display up and down the right flank, including a superb interception in the first half. He kept the United left flank in check all night long. The Nigerian has really made the most of his opportunity under Antonio Conte.
Pedro – 8/10
The winger displayed great anticipation to capitalise on Smalling’s errors and provided a terrific finish after rounding De Gea. He then squandered a great chance to square to Costa after picking a United defender’s pocket. Pedro was subdued in the second half as Chelsea focused their efforts down the left, and was eventually subbed off for Chalobah.
Diego Costa – 7/10
While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Costa was an imposing presence up front, leading the line and linking up extremely well with Hazard and Pedro. He had a few glimpses at goal before he was brought off for Michy Batshuayi.
Eden Hazard – 9/10
Hazard’s speculative ball ended up being the assist for Chelsea's opener. He buzzed around with intent throughout the game and was very unlucky to not have been given a penalty after a delightful give-and-go with Costa. He made his mark on the game with a superb third to pit Chelsea well out of reach of United. He was brought off towards the end, to a well-deserved standing ovation.
Substitutes
Nathaniel Chalobah – 6/10
The 21-year-old replaced Pedro in the second half for the second game running. While he didn’t have a spectacular assist to his name this time around, he had a decent time in midfield.
Michy Batshuayi – NA
The young striker was given just a quarter of an hour as he replaced Diego Costa.
Willian – NA
The Brazilian made his return from compassionate leave following the death of his mother and was brought on for Hazard towards the end of the game.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 4/10
The Spaniard was left stranded for Chelsea’s opener. He made a couple of decent saves, but was given no help from the United midfield and could only watch as Chelsea racked up goal after goal.
Antonio Valencia – 4/10
He could not deal with Eden Hazard and was tormented all game long. Valencia was equally ineffective in attack, failing to make an impact except for a couple of decent crosses.
Eric Bailly – 5/10
The youngster was the better centre-half in the first half but still ended up in the book as he took out Costa. He sustained an injury early in the second half and was brought off for Marcos Rojo.
Chris Smalling – 3/10
A massive lapse in concentration from Smalling allowed Pedro to nip in behind to score the opening goal. He was left absolutely bamboozled by both Hazard and Kante for Chelsea’s third and fourth goals respectively.
Daley Blind – 4.5/10
The Dutchman had his hands full in the first half as Moses and Pedro ran him ragged. He was forced to shift over to centre-back due to Bailly’s injury but was helpless as Chelsea turned on the style.
Marouane Fellaini – 4/10
It was a lacklustre performance by the big man; he did very little of note except be subject to a high boot by Luiz which left a mark on him. He was hauled off at half-time for Juan Mata.
Ander Herrera – 6/10
The only man to have had a good game from the United midfield, Herrera was a lone wolf. He playe a great box-to-box game but in the absence of any sort of help from his colleagues, there was very little the Spaniard could do.
Paul Pogba – 3/10
It was an absolute stinker for the world’s most expensive player, as he was completely outrun and outfought all across the pitch. Though he was given the freedom to make his mark on the game, the Frenchman was off the pace, even losing track of Kante – who showed him how things are done. Pogba even picked up a booking.
Jesse Lingard – 5/10
Lingard had a fairly anonymous performance on the wing and made very little impact going forward. It was an impotent performance by the winger and he was brought off for Anthony Martial in the second half.
Marcus Rashford – 5.5/10
The youngster was one of the few bright spots for United, although most of his efforts went in vain. It was a lot of running with very little results for Rashford, and he must be wishing he had that little extra bit of quality in the final third.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 4/10
The Swede looks a shadow of the man who proclaimed himself as “the God of Manchester.” He dropped deep much too often and was comfortably dealt with by the Chelsea back three. He had an effort which was saved brilliantly by Courtois.
Substitutes
Juan Mata – 4.5/10
The former Chelsea favourite was brought on for Marouane Fellaini at half-time as United looked to get back into the game. He had some neat touches but his bad marking left Hazard open to slot in Chelsea's third.
Marcos Rojo – 5/10
Rojo was brought in to play left-back as Eric Bailly was injured and Daley Blind moved over to centre-back. His first notable contribution was giving the ball away cheaply, which almost led to Chelsea’s third. He improved after that and offered another option for his team when they went forward.
Anthony Martial – 5/10
The Frenchman has been marginalised by Mourinho and he did very little to change that after coming on. To be fair though, Chelsea were already 3-0 up and in cruise control by that point.
