MAGUIRE IS THE HEAD BOY
Harry’s on target to seal it for Solskjaer
Bruno Fernandes is a dead-ball specialist. So too, in a different way, is Harry Maguire. one imagines they are going to grow into quite a formidable partnership for Manchester united.
Almost as formidable as VAr Chris Kavanagh last night in keeping Chelsea at bay.
He wrongly disallowed a goal that should have been Chelsea’s equaliser at 1-1, he wiped out another that would have brought Chelsea back into the game at 2-1 and he looked kindly on an incident involving Maguire that might have seen the defender play no further part in the game midway through the first half.
This is not the only reason that Manchester united won, but only a fool would argue it didn’t help.
united were good, certainly in the second half when required to defend a single-goal lead. They showed more defensive urgency than Chelsea, snapped into tackles, closed down and harried.
Whatever their misfortune, Chelsea lacked the momentum to wrest control from united, and would not have relinquished it had they taken a succession of chances in the first half. Michy Batshuayi was the main culprit there. Shorn of Tammy Abraham through injury, Chelsea’s weakness up front was painfully apparent.
They had by far the best of the early exchanges. Manchester united forged one opportunity of note and scored from it.
Anthony Martial has rarely looked like filling the gap since Marcus rashford’s injury but he did here. His leap to head united into the lead as half- time approached was quite magnificent, powerful and strong, exactly the type of positive action that Chelsea lacked.
Martial had been quiet until then, but that does not matter if a striker takes his chances. Batshuayi, by contrast, had plenty of involvement but only confirmed why he is so seldom relied upon. united’s opening goal came after Aaron Wan-Bissaka got the better of Willian on the right, whipping in a cross which Martial met by beating Andreas Christensen and steering the ball into the far corner, past Willy Caballero.
Christensen had recently received treatment and did not reappear after half-time, replaced by Kurt Zouma, but by then the damage was done.
It rather summed up Chelsea’s first-half fortunes that no sooner had united gone ahead than they squandered the chance to equalise. Pedro put Batshuayi through but his finish was scuffed wide.
Chelsea had by far the best of the half, until the ball reached the final third, with Mateo Kovacic, in particular, excellent at first. He was ably supported by Mason Mount, who came on as a 12th-minute substitute after n’Golo Kante was lost to an off-the-ball injury. By then, Chelsea could have been two clear, reece James and Willian going close. After that, all roads led to Batshuayi, sadly.
He could not adjust his body shape to do more with a ball as it sped across united’s area, then in the 26th minute made a complete hash of a chance set up by Mount.
By contrast, united’s moments in front of goal were for the most part clinical. Fernandes had a very good game and the precision of his dead-ball deliveries demonstrates enormous promise.
It was a superb corner from the Portugal midfielder that settled this, Maguire meeting the ball with the slabhead power made famous at the 2018 World Cup and leaving Caballero with no chance again.
It was a vital victory because it takes Manchester united within a win of fourth place, which would guarantee Champions League football next season regardless of developments at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
And so, alas, to VAr, which chalked off two Chelsea goals — the first appallingly, the second accurately, but neither happily.
Add to that the Maguire incident and a penalty appeal that saw Willian booked for diving and Chelsea will feel rightly aggrieved.
First, the travesty. Zouma thought he had equalised on 55 minutes from a corner, but Manchester united defender Brandon Williams had tumbled to the floor.
Kavanagh’s VAr’s antennae was, of course, twitching furiously. no goal. Williams, Kavanagh said, had been pushed to the ground by Cesar Azpilicueta, although it looked as if Azpilicueta had been pushed into him by Fred in the first place.
The official explanation was that Kavanagh felt Fred and Azpilicueta’s contact was natural, but Azpilicueta had both hands out when he went into Williams.
of course he did, it’s the natural protective position when faced with a collision. It seems VAr does not do benefit of the doubt to any players but defenders these days. Fred’s involvement was ignored, Azpilicueta’s wiped Chelsea’s slate clean.
The irony is that in ruling on Maguire and Batshuayi, Kavanagh must have taken a protective stance into account. The united defender ended up on his back in the Chelsea technical area, tussling with Batshuayi.
As the Belgian’s momentum carried him towards Maguire’s upturned studs, the united man instinctively took action and seemed to straighten his leg towards his opponent, catching
him in a sensitive area. This time context was applied and it was decided there was no violent conduct.
After 36 minutes, Willian went down on the cusp of the penalty area trying to get past Fernandes. Chelsea appealed for a penalty, referee Anthony Taylor booked Willian for diving. The replays were hardly conclusive. Again, the coin toss went United’s way.
Finally, after the visitors had scored their second, substitute Olivier Giroud looked to have pulled one back with a lovely diving header. His toes, however, were offside when the ball was played. It was ‘letter of the law’ right but rather stuck in the craw.
If Odion Ighalo had taken the best chance of the match late on, it would have added insult to injury and made for a highly unrepresentative scoreline.