Chelsea and Manchester United played out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge last night (November 28). The Blues dominated the proceedings but failed to get all three points against an out-of-form Red Devils side.
Chelsea controlled possession, had more shots and limited Manchester United to just two shots on target. However, the visitors sat deep and were dogged in their defense. The Red Devils' ploy was to hit the Blues by running down the channels on the counter.
The strategy worked, with Jadon Sancho opening the scoring by capitalizing on a defensive error from Jorginho in the second half. The Italian went from zero to hero later on when he converted a penalty in the 69th minute to draw Chelsea level.
The match ended 1-1 and Chelsea looked like the more disappointed team after the final whistle. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Thomas Tuchel said:
"It can happen in football [dominating but not winning], unfortunately, it happened twice to us. It also happened against Burnley. I am absolutely happy with the performance. We dominated from the first minute, we were aggressive and never stopped attacking. Unfortunately, we scored two goals, one for each side."
The Chelsea coach added:
"We were very disciplined and sharp. I am happy with what I saw, it was a pleasure to coach on the sidelines. We cannot guarantee results but if we play like this we can increase the chances for results."
Chelsea and Manchester United are in contrasting forms this season
Chelsea have enjoyed a good start to the new season. After winning the UEFA Champions League in May this year, they backed it up with the UEFA Super Cup trophy in August.
The Blues have lost only twice this season and are currently at the top of the Premier League table. They are also through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Manchester United spent heavily this summer. After finishing second last season, they were expected to challenge for the league title this time around. However, they are in the middle of a poor run, having won just one of their last seven league games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was relieved of his duties as Manchester United boss after last week's 4-1 defeat against Watford. Michael Carrick is currently managing the Red Devils, with German football genius Ralf Rangnick expected to take over as the new interim boss soon.
Manchester United are currently eighth in the Premier League table, five points behind the final Champions League qualification spot.