Manchester United Easily Defeats Chelsea and Secures Return to UEFA Champions League

[골닷컴] Correspondent Kang Dong-hun = Manchester United easily defeated Chelsea and confirmed their return to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after two seasons. In particular, with this victory, they continued their 11-game undefeated streak (4 wins, 7 draws) against Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL).

Manchester United scored consecutive goals from Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford in the 2022-2023 EPL round 32 match against Chelsea at Old Trafford in Manchester, England at 4:00 am (Korean time) on the 26th. and won 4-1.

With this victory, Manchester United climbed to 3rd place on the leaderboard (22 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses, 72 points) while running a three-game winning streak, and confirmed their advance to the UCL regardless of the final round result. On the other hand, Chelsea, which was defeated, failed to add a win in its third game and stayed in 12th place (11 wins, 10 draws, 16 losses, 43 points).

The home team, Manchester United, came out in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Martial was at the forefront. Jaden Sancho, Bruno, and Anthony were located in the second line to fire support. Christian Eriksen and Casemiro teamed up in midfield.

From left, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Rafael Baran and Aaron Wan-Bissaka made up the back four. The goalkeeper’s gloves were worn by David de Gea. Rashford, Boot Verhost, Scott McTominay, Alejandro Garnacho and Fred started off the bench.

The visiting team, Chelsea, against this, came out with a 4-3-3 formation. With Kai Havertz at the center, Mikhailo Mudrik and Noni Madueke were at the forefront on the left and right. The midfield was made up of Conor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez and Cani Chuquemeca.

From left, Lewis Hall, Trevo Chalova, Wesley Popana and Cesar Azpilicueta formed the back four. The goalkeeper’s gloves were worn by Kepa Arrizabalaga. David Dartro Popana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Joao Felix, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech were included in the shortlist.

Manchester United took the lead with an early goal. In the 6th minute of the first half, Eriksen’s free kick was rushed to the front of the goal, and Casemiro shook the net with a head shot. At the end of the video reading (VAR), onside was declared, and the goal was finally recognized.

Chelsea swallowed regret as they missed successive opportunities. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Havertz, who was flooding the door with a cross from the hall, hit it in the head, but it missed the goal by a wide margin. In the 45th minute of the first half, Enzo stabbed a forward pass, and Gallagher’s shot missed.

The first half ended with a two-goal lead as United widened the gap with an additional goal. In the first half extra time, Sancho, who received Casemiro’s forward pass, calmly connected a cross in front of the goal, and Martial, who was rushing in, pushed it lightly.

Manchester United missed a golden opportunity to put a wedge in the game. In the 2nd minute of the second half, Sancho, who received Lindelof’s forward pass, calmly passed it back in the penalty box, and Bruno, who was rushing quickly, tried to hit it hard, but hit the top of the goal post.

Chelsea pulled the reins of the attack and went in pursuit, but it was futile. In the 5th minute of the second half, Mudrik’s shot from the front of the penalty arc was saved by goalkeeper De Gea. In the 14th minute of the second half, both Hall and Gallagher’s consecutive shots were blocked by De Gea.

Manchester United secured victory. In the 28th minute of the second half, Bruno earned a penalty kick (PK), and as a kicker, he succeeded lightly. In the 33rd minute of the second half, Bruno intercepted a pass miss in the penalty box and connected it directly to the door, and Rashford finished it. The match ended in a 4-0 victory for United.

Youngpae escaped as Chelsea scored a comeback goal. In the 44th minute of the second half, with a counterattack opportunity, Felix quickly dug into the penalty arc area and hit the net with a direct shot. The match ended in a 4-1 victory for United.