Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea: Four Things We Learned

Manchester United start the Premier League 2019-20 in style, hammering Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. Marcus Rashford led the attack with two goals, with Anthony Martial and Daniel James adding the misery to Frank Lampard’s managerial Premier League debut.

The Result Is Flattering

The Devils have done a magnificent job to defeat their big rival with such a great margin, but we have to be honest and admit that there were many things that point out to the fact Man United did not deserve such a big victory. In fact, Manchester United were probably inferior to Chelsea in the first 60 minutes of the match, despite the 1-0 lead. Kurt Zouma’s penalty definitely helped, but United’s display was not a convincing one, until Chelsea’s defence broke apart in the last half hour and the Devils bombed them with counter-attacks whenever they wanted.

Pogba Shows A Mix Of The Good And The Bad

Paul Pogba could be the prototype of such performance today, as his two assists in the second half came after a quite poor performance in the first hour of the match. Prior to the cannonade that happened later on, Pogba lost possession nine times and not through trying to break the lines of opposition, but mostly by being lackadaisical with the ball at his feet.

However, he showed why he is so important for the Devils, with two really good assists to seal the game for Man United. It can be frustrating when he has matches like this one, but the last 30 minutes of the match are the way for him to go forward.

Zouma Adds Panic To Chelsea Defence

Kurt Zouma made an unnecessary penalty in the first half and has looked awful ever since. He was shaky in virtually any situation he was in, insecure about his passing and decision-making. It definitely did not help Chelsea to have him ‘freeze’ for a big part of the match, but it is a problem Lampard will have to find a way to solve. David Luiz was sold on the last day of the window and he will have to get the best out of what he has at disposal.

Devils Will Have A Midfield Problem

Manchester United scored four goals today and all four of them came after counter-attacks. One of those attacks led to a penalty, the other three to open-play goals. Why is that important? In a way, it highlights United’s lack of structural play and the biggest reason for that today – and last season, too – was the lack of quality in midfield. Sure, Pogba is a great player, but he is just one player. Man United do not have many midfielders in their squad this season and those they have, like Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic and Fred, are not exactly what you would call creative midfielders that can get your attacking play to a higher level. Man United had all the space they wanted today, as Chelsea were naive, but what will happen when that space is taken away from them?

Tomorrow, we will take a closer look at Man United debutants.

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