MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 CHELSEA; UNITED AND CHELSEA IN A STALEMATE AT OLD TRAFORD, AS RONALDO SCORES EQUALIZER.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored Manchester United’s last five Premier League goals after the 37-year-old rescued a point for his side with a 62nd-minute equaliser to deny Chelsea a first league win at Old Trafford since 2013.
Following protests by a section of the home support against the Glazer family, the contest began under the backdrop of a slightly strange atmosphere. The visitors, who have ownership issues of their own, began the contest on the front foot, with Reece James forcing David de Gea into early action before Timo Werner saw his right-footed effort comfortably gathered at the near post.
A shaky home defence continued to offer Chelsea opportunities, while in the final third, United weren’t faring much better, with a tame Bruno Fernandes header representing their only shot on target in the first half. The ‘Blues’, however, persisted in their efforts to find the opener, and the best chance of the opening period fell their way in the 28th minute, when Kai Havertz drifted off the United centre-backs to latch onto N’Golo Kanté’s precise pass before drilling the ball straight at de Gea.
Although they were unable to find the opener in the first half, Chelsea are still the only side yet to trail at HT in the Premier League this season, and they continued to dominate after the restart. Their overwhelming dominance eventually paid dividends on the hour mark, when Marcos Alonso powerfully volleyed the ball home after meeting Havertz’s neat flick-on.
However, the old adage of a team being at their most vulnerable when they have just scored rang true at Old Trafford as the hosts offered an instant response. A superb lobbed pass by Nemanja Matić presented Ronaldo with the opportunity to level, and the Portugal international made no mistake in firing past Édouard Mendy, marking his first league goal against Chelsea.
Despite being pegged back, the ‘Blues’ searched for a winner, but it was a quest that was to prove fruitless, with James denied by the post in the closing stages. However, the draw did extend Chelsea’s unbeaten away league run to six games.
