Chelsea and Manchester United shared the spoils as both teams played out a goalless Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues survived a penalty scare in the first half of the closely-fought encounter after a Marcus Rashford free-kick was saved by Edouard Mendy and seemingly hit Callum Hudson-Odoi’s hand inside the box. But, a VAR review, no penalty was awarded.
The tempo of the game remained high, with both teams matching each other for most of the game but none of the sides were able to break the deadlock after 90 minutes after all.
Manchester City are now 12 points clear of Manchester United at the top, with Chelsea a further four points adrift the top four.
On that note, let’s take a look at the five key talking points from the game.
Bruno Fernandes failed to meet expectations against a big six team
Bruno Fernandes has been consistent for Manchester United since he joined the Old Trafford giants in the summer of 2020. But, nogainst a top-six team.
The Portuguese star has scored 15 goals and 11 assists in the league this season but the midfielder has only scored once in seven cumulative games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, with that strike coming from the penalty spot against Spurs.
It’s glaring that the midfielder is being relied on to work magic for the Red Devils, and when he fails to deliver, the team struggle to get favourable results.
Manchester United set new club record as unbeaten run continues
Manchester United away form in the league has been top notch. Following the goalless draw at Stamford Bridge, Ole Gunnar’s men are now 20 games up unbeaten away from Old Trafford.
United last league defeat on the road came in January 2020 to eventual champions Liverpool.
This has ushered in a new club record for the Red Devils but a long way off the all-time record held by Arsenal, during the ‘Invincibles’ era.
Chelsea still lacking a killer instinct in front of goal
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has introduced a possession based style since he came on board as the gaffer of the West London club. However, the Blues have failed to make do with clear chances in crucial games.
Under Tuchel, the Blues have found the net 10 times in nine games in all competitions.
The Blues enjoyed the majority of possession against Manchester United. With 58% possession, they also managed to have more shots on goal than Manchester United, but only four of them were on target.
Chelsea completed 594 passes, 150 more than that of United, doing so with almost 90% accuracy. But most of these exchanges happened near the kickoff line with only Mason Mount looking to move the ball forward at times.
