Martial form a rare reason to cheer for Mourinho
Three things we learned from Chelsea-Manchester United game
Manchester United emerged undefeated at Stamford Bridge for the first time in Jose Mourinho’s four visits to his old club, but Chelsea were the more grateful of the two sides for a point in a thrilling 2-2 draw on Saturday.
However, there were also positives for Mourinho as the visitors showed plenty of heart and no little skill to fight back from a goal down thanks to Anthony Martial’s double. A look learned: at three
Martial firing
things we
Mourinho’s struggles at Old Trafford are encapsulated in his troubled relationship with Martial, with the Frenchman failing to deliver on his rich potential over the past three seasons.
However, the 22-year-old cannot be accused of failing to play for his manager in his time of need. Martial’s composed equaliser transformed a game in which United had been outplayed for the first 55 minutes.
“Martial is improving, he is doing different things than before,” said Mourinho. “He is a more complete player than before but he needs to improve. He ■ has a huge talent and he wants it, which is a good thing.”
Hazard warning
Sarri complained that Chelsea stopped playing “his football” after Martial levelled, and were too easily panicked into playing long balls. On this evidence, Hazard can expect more bruises in the coming weeks as it becomes clear that if you stop him, the rest of the Chelsea attack is pretty blunt.
Pogba zones out
Unlike against Brighton, Tottenham and West Ham this season, United did not lose, but in common with those games they did once again concede from a corner.
Paul Pogba was at fault as Antonio Rudiger was given a free run to power a header past David de Gea and give Chelsea the perfect start.