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Manchester United travelled to Stamford Bridge to take on rivals Chelsea in yet another crucial Premier League clash.
United headed into the game on the back of an undeserved draw against Brentford last weekend. Erik ten Hag’s men produced a pitiful performance at the Gtech Community Stadium and by the manager’s own admission, his side were lucky to escape with a point. He would therefore have been hoping for a more spirited display from his players against Chelsea.
Ten Hag started Andre Onana in goal. With Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof ruled out of action for up to a month due to injury, the Dutchman gave the nod to a centre-back pairing of Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire. Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka started in the full-back positions.
The usual trio of Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes was tasked with patrolling the midfield area of the pitch.
There was a surprise inclusion in the forward line. Marcus Rashford was dropped from the starting XI and replaced by Antony. The Brazilian started on one wing with Alejandro Garnacho starting on the other flank. Rasmus Hojlund led the line for United.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 4-3 defeat against Chelsea.
Garnacho growing in importance and stature at the club
This season has been a huge one for Garnacho, who has made incredible strides in his United career. While the 2022/23 campaign was the one in which the young Argentine introduced himself to the football world, it’s this term that he has really taken off and shown his true potential.
Garnacho has cemented his place in the first team and is now undoubtedly one of the first names on the team sheet when Ten Hag makes his selection.
The 19-year-old’s start against Chelsea was his 30th consecutive start for the Red Devils in all competitions!
Even more significant is that when Ten Hag felt he had to make a change in the attack to facilitate Antony, the United boss deemed it more palatable to drop Rashford rather than Garnacho. This is despite the fact that Rashford boasts significantly more experience than his younger teammate.
Garnacho rewarded the faith Ten Hag put in him with a very important goal against the Blues.
Chelsea raced to a two-goal lead within the opening 19 minutes courtesy of Connor Gallagher and boyhood United fan Cole Palmer, who scored from the penalty spot to give the London outfit a commanding advantage.
However, United got back into it in the 34th minute when Garnacho reacted the quickest to intercept a poor pass from Moises Caicedo. The Carrington academy graduate ran towards the Chelsea goal and expertly struck the ball into the bottom-right corner, past the reach of Đorđe Petrović.
Bruno Fernandes restored parity for the 20-time English champions just five minutes after Garnacho’s goal when he made a late run into the far post to head in a sublime cross from Dalot.
Garnacho was easily one of United’s better performers during an evening in which most of the other players on United’s ranks struggled to make an impact.
He was dangerous and every time he got on the ball, looked to take on Malo Gusto. He was defensively sound and tracked back diligently to help out Dalot.
The United winger completed his brace 12 minutes after the interval to give United the lead. Antony produced a spectacular cross with the outside of his foot to find an incoming Garnacho inside the box, who delicately headed the ball into the back of the net. Garnacho celebrated by sitting on the advertising boards at Stamford Bridge.
Garnacho’s double vs. Chelsea was his seventh goal this season in 28 Premier League appearances. No teenager has been directly involved in more top-flight goals than him this term.
The sky is the limit for Garnacho and it’s important that United do everything possible to ensure his development progresses well. If well-nurtured, he can develop into a world-class star and one of the best in the business.
Casemiro is a liability to the team
One of United’s poorest performers was Casemiro.
The Brazilian has been a far cry from the sensational best he displayed last term and has for some time now been on a gradual decline.
Against Chelsea, Casemiro was below-par to say the least, especially in the opening 45 minutes. He just seemed unable to keep up with the frantic pass of the game and was constantly bypassed by the Chelsea players with laughable ease.
In the 29th minute of proceedings, he let Nicolas Jackson just breeze past him while he watched and slowly jogged. The result was that Jackson had a go at Varane and subsequently an attempt at Onana’s goal.
On more than one occasion, Casemiro’s tendency to recklessly dive into challenges reared its ugly head. The 32-year-old has previously been criticised harshly for his propensity to delve into tackles, only to be taken out of the game completely when a rival player skips past him.
Casemiro’s struggles carried on into the second half.
His passing was erratic and he constantly gave the ball away even when under little pressure. This greatly hindered United from keeping possession and sustaining meaningful spells of pressure.
Fortunately, Casemiro was hooked in the 74th minute, though many would argue that the personnel change took place later than it needed to. He was replaced by Scott McTominay.
United’s injury crisis in the defensive department worsens
Earlier this week, United confirmed in a club statement that Lindelof and Martinez will be unavailable for action for around four weeks while they recover from a muscle issue and calf strain respectively.
Lindelof picked up his injury during United’s last game against Brentford while Martinez sustained the physical setback in a training session at Carrington.
Against Chelsea, United lost two more central defenders – Varane and Jonny Evans.
Varane seemed to be in pain just before the break and Maguire was spotted by cameras signalling to the bench to substitute the Frenchman.
Unsurprisingly, Varane didn’t come out for the second period of the match. He was replaced by Evans.
In keeping up with United’s rotten luck this season, Evans also suffered an injury of his own. The veteran centre-half managed just 20 minutes of action before he was forced out of the match. Willy Kambwala came on for him and slotted next to Maguire.
As it stands, Kambwala and Maguire are the only fit senior centre-backs on United’s payroll.
🚨 Manchester United have lost Evans and Varane tonight due to injury!
📋 The list of Man United’s injured defenders:
Lisandro Martínez
Jonny Evans
Raphaël Varane
Victor Lindelöf
Luke Shaw
Tyrell Malacia pic.twitter.com/NnOFx7zp8H— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 4, 2024
Even more disastrous for Ten Hag is that Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are also currently sidelined as they recover from long-term setbacks. Both left-backs are facing a race against time to play again this season.
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