Ten Hag sees United struggling again with new points loss


Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 10:37 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme

Manchester United and Chelsea balanced each other in the Premier League on Thursday evening. After a disappointing first half, the second company provided considerably more spectacle, but there was no winner: 1-1. Marcos Alonso opened the ball, followed by an answer from Cristiano Ronaldo two minutes later. United were most fortunate with the division of points, as Chelsea created the best opportunities. The Londoners now have a six-point lead over Arsenal. United are in sixth place with 55 points from 35 games.

Manchester United are in bad shape, having won just once in their last five league games. Chelsea, which went down at home this month against Brentford FC and Arsenal, has also seen better phases. United were missing Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho, while Chelsea could count on the return of Reece James and Antonio Rudiger. The first feat of arms of the match came from the foot of the same James. On a pass from Alonso, he tried with a shot from the edge of the box, but his effort was turned by David de Gea.

On the other hand, Bruno Fernandes was dangerous. The midfielder was served by Alex Telles, after which his header was easily caught by Edouard Mendy. A bicycle kick from Ronaldo could not be promoted to a goal. Both teams played a mediocre first half, with United in particular being lucky that it did not go into halftime behind. Kai Havertz was stopped twice by De Gea. Chelsea’s long-awaited breakthrough followed after an hour of play. After an unintended assist from Havertz, Alonso was ready at the far post to suddenly take the ball out of the air in the far corner. This time De Gea had no chance: 0-1.

The answer from the home team was not long in coming. Barely two minutes later, Mendy had also been knocked. After a bounce from Nemanja Matic on Ronaldo, the Portuguese star player only needed one assumption to get the ball right in front of his right to drive the ball against the ropes: 1-1. Matic was unscathed not much later, as referee Mike Dean overlooked an action by the midfielder. After a duel with James, Matic apparently deliberately stepped on the buttock of the Chelsea defender. The two then struggled a bit as they lay off the pitch, but watched as Dean let the scuffle without consequence.

Chelsea had the best opportunity to win the game in the final phase. After a charge across the left side of the field, Mason Mount put the ball on a silver platter for James with a grand kick. The right wing defender left De Gea without a chance, but saw his shot bounce back into the field through the outside of the left post. Due to the division of points, United again spills expensive points. Only one of the last six games has been won.

No. Team m W G V † Pnt
1 Manchester City 33 25 5 3 59 80
2 Liverpool 33 24 7 2 63 79
3 Chelsea 33 19 9 5 40 66
4 Arsenal 33 19 3 11 12 60
5 Tottenham Hotspur 33 18 4 11 18 58
6 Manchester United 35 15 10 10 2 55
7 West Ham United 34 15 7 12 8 52
8 Wolverhampton W. 33 15 4 14 4 49
9 Newcastle United 34 11 10 13 -15 43
10 Leicester City 32 11 9 12 -4 42
11 Brighton & Hove Albion 34 9 14 11 -11 41
12 Brentford 34 11 7 16 -8 40
13 Southampton 34 9 13 12 -16 40
14 Crystal Palace 33 8 14 11 2 38
15 Aston Villa 32 11 4 17 -4 37
16 Leeds United 33 8 10 15 -30 34
17 Burnley 33 6 13 14 -16 31
18 Everton 32 8 5 19 -21 29
19 Watford 33 6 4 23 -36 22
20 Norwich City 33 5 6 22 -47 21