Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea: 5 Talking Points

Manchester United and Chelsea played out a draw that on the surface looked to be a fair result and one that both camps wouldn’t really mind with both teams enjoying some clear cut opportunities to go ahead albeit wasting them all.Manchester United provided a much improved performance on the night with much more characteristic guile and tact however the jury is still out on Louis Van Gaal as manager of the Red Devils while Guus Hiddink added a second successive draw to his second spell at Chelsea, something he will be looking to improve on in the coming weeks.Here are the 5 talking points from the game.

#1 There is still (some) life left in Van Gaal\'s reign

United’s performance last night was testament to the fact that the players still behind their manager

Much has been made of Louis van Gaal's tenure at Manchester United. With the united fans baying for his blood, the Dutchman was facing the axe prior to the game against the Blues. What he needed was an inspired performance from his players and he received just that.

United were much more purposeful than they had been all season, pinning Chelsea into their own half and while United dominating possession has been a regular feature this year, they managed to utilize it for the first time in weeks at Old Trafford.

In a game that was expected to be a dull affair between two teams playing far below their best, United produced a performance that surprised the fans and more importantly Chelsea who weren’t prepared for the onslaught that United produced at times.

#2 Chelsea need Diego Costa

Chelsea sorely missed the Spaniard as they struggled to hold on to the ball in the United hal

Diego Costa has been a shadow of his dominating self this season, and reports of his imminent departure have been flooding the rumour mills. Claims of how the Spanish forward’s aggression is actually more detrimental to Chelsea’s fortunes than being positive were being murmured all over Stamford Bridge. However, from the game against United, it is evident that Chelsea are in dire need of their Spanish forward.

With Costa suspended for the game against United, Chelsea employed a false 9 with Hazard, Pedro and Willian playing interchangeably on the front line. However, the formation didn’t really work wonders for the Blues where the need for a big forward lurking in the box waiting for balls to be swung in was very evident. With Costa’s recent showing against Watford where he scored a couple of goals, Costa could still prove to be Chelsea’s saviour this year.

#3 Martial is a future star

Martial was desperately unlucky not to score as he hit the post in the first half

Anthony Martial has been a breath of fresh air for United fans in a season filled to the brim with stale performances. The young Frenchman’s arrival turned many heads due to the exorbitant transfer fee. However, soon enough, the young Frenchman’s performances on the pitch started to turn heads with the United man setting the Premier League alight.

However, critics did note his lack of consistency for the Red Devils especially during the games against the bigger sides. But his performance against the Blues put any doubts to bed on whether the Frenchman was United’s best player by far and dazzled on the wing with his quick feet and pace and poise on the ball to cause havoc on Branislav Ivanovic.

He is certainly destined for great things in that United shirt.

#4 Willian needs a break

Chelsea’s best player so far this season looked jaded as he came off in the second half

Willian has been Chelsea’s stand-out performer this year and has been the one shining light in an otherwise crumbling Chelsea title defence. The Brazilian almost single-handedly has carried the Blues through this season on numerous occasions with Chelsea relying heavily on his set pieces, assists and work rate both on and off the ball this season.

But as was the case with Alexis Sanchez for Arsenal last year, there is only so much one man can do alone at a club and while Sanchez’s decline was marked by an injury last year, Willian’s evident tiredness has been marked by a sharp drop in performance.

While still remaining one of The Blues’ better players by far, recent game-weeks have seen the Brazilian forward struggle with his set pieces and with his effectiveness in pushing ahead.

This was evident in the game against United where the Brazilian was guilty of giving the ball away far too often and was pulled off during the second half after an injury scare.This is clearly down to Chelsea pinning down too much on his shoulders and the Chelsea staff need to realize that he deservedly needs a break.

#5 The Premier League could do with a Winter Break

What started off as a promising end to end fixture, the game wore out towards the end as the players lost steam

The Premier League has the distinction of being the only top tier league in Europe which does not have a mid-season winter break. Alternatively, the Premier League conducts extra games during this festive year-end period. While this is certainly popular with the fans and merchandising houses, its taxing effects on the players are quite evidently on display.

The Manchester United – Chelsea game started off with so much energy and grit and looked to be a classic only for it to water down to a tedious affair for most of the second half due to the players clearly not having enough in the tank.

Criticism for this peculiar Premier League tradition has come in from all quarters, such as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stating that the English national team would actually benefit from a winter break and so would the Premier League teams competing in Europe given that their cross country rivals have an upper hand in the fact that they begin the next round rested while the English clubs come off a gruelling circuit of games.

The eventual withering out of an otherwise promising United-Chelsea encounter in addition to various other fixtures being played at a much lower tempo following a thrilling Boxing Day run of fixtures should prompt the FA into seriously considering a break not only for the sake of the players but for the quality of football.