Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United: 3 Things We Learned As Costa Saves Chelsea’s Blushes

Chelsea and Manchester United turned back the clock and helped their fans forget about the respective poor seasons they have had this season so far in a thrilling 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. The atmosphere was electric as this was the first game John Terry played in front of the home crowd after announcing that his Chelsea playing career would be coming to an end this season.

However, just like the reverse fixture at Old Trafford earlier in the season it was Manchester United who did all the early running and had the better chances in the first half, where the Red Devils also had a shout at getting a penalty due to handball, though many did agree that referee’s decision not to give the handball was the right call.

Manchester United did take the lead thanks to a wonderful turn and volley from Jesse Lingard in the second half but that only brought Chelsea back to life. United were content at dropping back and hitting Chelsea on the counter and they did hold on till the 90^th minute.

A slip in the defence and Diego Costa was through to just about round the excellent David de Gea and slot in the equaliser thus maintaining Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign. This however did not help either team in their quest to somehow make it into the Champions League.

There was some bad news for Chelsea fans as Kurt Zouma had to be carried off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly in the second half and he could be out for a considerable amount of time. We look back at a rather entertaining game and share the three things we learned from Stamford Bridge.

1. Manchester United’s attack swerve is back

While the stats do show both teams had an almost equal number of shots on goal, it was Manchester United who did a lot of the early running. The trident of Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard were functioning to great effect, especially Martial who was making life really difficult for Branislav Ivanovic.

The duo of Rooney and Martial also pulled out a couple of great saves from Thibaut Courtois in the first half and it was the industry of Cameron Borthwick-Jackson that created the chance for Lingard to open the scoring. This attacking intent might have been missing earlier in the season but if United play all their games like this, they should win more games than lose.

2. Chelsea weren’t going to throw in the towel that easily

It wasn’t that long ago when Chelsea conceded a goal, well at least this season, and would just capitulate. We have seen it happen against Liverpool, Everton, Bournemouth, Watford and Crystal Palace, just to name a few games but this Chelsea do look a little different under Guus Hiddink.

Maybe it is the Dutch manager’s ability or just the fact that Jose Mourinho isn’t coaching them but Chelsea do not want to give up all that easily and they battered the Manchester United defence in the last 15 minutes which ultimately gave them an equaliser and only a fine save from David de Gea in the last few minutes of extra time ensured that United left Stamford Bridge with justone point.

3. United could make it to the Champions League

Apart from the last minute goal that Manchester United conceded, it was a pretty good display from a team that has often been criticised for not playing good football this season. Manchester United were good value for the point and should have gotten more had it not been for an unfortunate slip which let Costa through.

This performance should lay a platform for the remainder of the season and with Manchester United just six points behind free-falling Arsenal; this could just be the start for their climb to the Champions League position.