Key events
22 min Another yellow for United as Garnacho is booked for dissent. That’s two silly booking already, both down the United left. Reguilon and Rashford may be coming on earlier than they expected.
20 min That was a lovely move, after Jackson was dispossessed by Amrabat. Fernandes slipped Garnacho through. He pulled back to Maguire, whose shot was blocked, before McTominay, near the penalty spot, stepped in – flicking the ball up with his right foot and volleying with his left. Classy!
GOAL! United 1-0 Chelsea (McTominay 19)
There it is!
18 min Big chance for United! Fernandes to Dalot, back to Fernandes… Antony should score.
17 min Fernandez has a shot from distance and it’s Onana’s turn to make a comfortable save.
16 min Yet another shot, from Antony this time. Easily saved by Sanchez, who has been the player of the match so far.
14 min Garnacho’s shot brought another good save from Sanchez. Now Shaw goes into the book for kicking the ball away after conceding a free kick. The ref didn’t give the card at first, then seemed to be swayed by some Chelsea protests. That’s supposed to be a card too, isn’t it?
13 min It’s end to end now. Garnacho is free down the left and should score. Then suddenly Jackson is in and should score. Spoiler: neither does.
12 min Chance for Chelsea! Mudryk, slipped through by Jackson, hits the side netting after some good delaying tactics from Maguire.
11 min Another good move from United, who have been well on top. Fernandes, unfazed by his failure, sends a gorgeous ball across to Antony, whose cross is hopelessly overhit.
10 min Sanchez did well there, ignoring the stutter and waiting for the shot. He palmed it out towards Hojlund, who shot into Row Z.
MISSED PENALTY!
Fernandes tries to pass it into the corner, and fails.
Bruno Fernandes can’t give this one to Marcus Rashford, so he steps up himself.
Penalty to United!
It was Enzo Fernandes, dashing in from midfield. Antony had already played the ball, so it was doubly silly of Fernandez.
Possible penalty!
The VAR sends the ref to the monitor … because Antony was trodden on by someone … Likely to be given.
6 min Another United attack … sabotaged by Antony, who should shoot with his right foot rather than wiggle onto his left.
5 min In the battle of the full-backs, United are winning hands down. Dalot’s cross is uncomfortably bundled out by Cucurella. What is he doing on the right, with James on the bench?
Close! Hojlund for United
4 min More good work from a United full-back, Shaw this time. He feeds Hojlund, who takes an early shot from a tight angle. Saved by Sanchez with a big left paw.
3 min Half-chance! Fernandes hits a long shot over the bar after some neat work by Dalot on the right.
2 min Levi Colwill sends Nicholas Jackson down the left. He nutmegs Harry Maguire. Colwill is at left-back, Cucurella on the right, Disasi in the middle.
1 min Chelsea kick off and head deep into their own half, where United’s pressing keeps them for now.
“I suspect that Varane back injury has been caused by studiously avoiding eye contact with Ten Hag after those reports earlier in the week,” says Jamie O’Sullivan. “It says here ‘They’ve spoken to him about their other experiences of playing for big clubs, and they feel that the manager should be a little bit more touchy-feely’ – ‘Raphael I know this was you, literally no-one else has played for a big club’.” Ha… Not Casemiro? Or Mount?
The teams emerge from the tunnel. United are in their classic red, Chelsea in their classic blue. It’s as if nobody had ever invented a ridiculous away strip.
“Juan love,” says the subject line of the next email. “It’s unfortunate,” Peter Oh continues, “that a certain Spanish technician is no longer at United to compete for a place in midfield. I would have loved to make a ‘Mainoo over Mata’ quip.”
An email! “From the glory days of superweight sparring,” says Krish Krishnamoorthy, “this has been reduced to a sideshow. A mid-table skirmish far from the race to the title. I anticipate a terrible game probably ending in a 1-1 draw with a couple of comic goals.”
It’s certainly a possibility. United have been strangely constipated at home this season, scoring only eight goals in seven league games. But then Chelsea are just as likely to draw 4-4 as 1-1.
Raphael Varane is missing tonight, apparently with a sore back. Possibly caused by spending long hours on the bench. Jonny Evans, who has been out for a month, is fit enough to replace him among the subs.
This might suit Rashford
Say what you like about Rashford, he’s a very good sub. He’s done the job many times for England and every so often for United (rather too often under Jose Mourinho). If he does get on the pitch tonight, he will be able to dovetail with Luke Shaw – the winger’s favourite wingman – for the first time since August.
It’s rotation, says Erik
Erik ten Hag is talking to Amazon Prime, and introducing them to his magnificent grey roll-neck. He is asked whether Martial and Rashford’s demotion reflects their performance. “No, we played bad as a team, not as individuals,” he says. “It’s part of rotation.”
Teams in full
Manchester United (probable 4-1-2-3) Onana; Dalot, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; Amrabat; McTominay, Fernandes; Antony, Hojlund, Garnacho.
Subs: Bayindir, Wan-Bissaka, Reguilon, Evans, Mainoo, Van de Beek, Pellistri, Martial, Rashford.
Chelsea (probable 4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sterling, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson.
Subs: Petrovic, James, Badiashile, Maatsen, Gilchrist, Castledine, Washington, Matos, Broja.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Teams in brief: Reece James on the bench
Reece James is fit again but only on the bench. Poch brings Cole Palmer in to replace the suspended Connor Gallagher at No 10. Marc Cucurella comes in too, so Levi Colwill moves in the opposite direction to Luke Shaw, from left-back to centre-back.
Teams in brief: Martial and Rashford dropped
Yes, Rashford is among the subs and Anthony Martial too. Aaron Wan-Bissaka also drops to the bench, along with Kobbie Mainoo. In come Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Sofyan Amrabat and Victor Lindelof, which means that Luke Shaw can return to left-back.
Rashford ‘benched’
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to a clash that was once the biggest thing in British football. These days, it’s more a case study in how are the mighty fallen.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea can be very good or very bad, but at least they seem to be going in the right direction. They even managed to beat Brighton with ten men. While that was only their second win in six league games, their performances tend to be better than their results. And they make things happen: in those six games they have scored 14 goals and conceded 15.
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United can be good, bad or ugly, sometimes all in the same match, and are going nowhere at the moment. Their performances tend to be worse than their results. United make things happen in the Champions League but not in the Prem, where their last six games have yielded only 12 goals (seven for, five against). According to reports from four separate news outlets, Ten Hag has lost about half the dressing-room. The club’s response was to ban the messenger – never a good look, or a wise move.
The most damning fact about United is that they have yet to manage a point all season against a club in the top half of the table. This morning Chelsea were 10th.
Will Ten Hag drop Marcus Rashford, or give him a helping hand by restoring him and Luke Shaw to their natural habitat on the left flank? We shall soon see. Kick-off is at 8.15pm GMT and I’ll be back about 7.20 with the teams.