4) Conte gets Chelsea’s substitutions wrong
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Antonio Conte is usually a very animated figure on the touchline but this game saw a Conte we haven’t seen since the back-to-back losses to Liverpool and Arsenal early in the season. While he shouted instructions a couple of times to his players, most of the time he was in a pensive mood – trying to figure out how to best Mourinho.
While he did have his thinking cap on (he wore a baseball cap to protect him from the elements), the truth was that he had been outclassed by the former Chelsea manager.
Firstly, Conte did not bring on a substitute at half-time when it was sorely needed. Nemanja Matic and Kante were unable to move the ball forward and they badly needed a ball carrier to build up their attack.
Cesc Fabregas was the obvious choice but he came on only after the second goal. Surprisingly, the Spaniard came on for Victor Moses – meaning Fabregas had two midfielders behind him and no player on the flank as an outlet for United’s pressure in the middle.
Realising this, Conte then took Matic off for Willian to provide an attacking influence. But by then Mourinho had brought on Michael Carrick for Jesse Lingard to shore up the midfield and leave Rashford (and later Ibrahimovic) as the lone forward.
As a result, Chelsea failed to create chances in the final third. They ended the game without a single shot on target and without completing a single pass in United’s box.
