Chelsea and Manchester United played to a score draw on Sunday in what was the Premier League’s headliner match of the weekend. Jadon Sancho opened the scoring, netting his second goal with United.
The scoring strike was set up by a gaffe from Chelsea midfielder Jorginho; who later redeemed himself by converting a PK to equalize, and thus rescued a point for the Blues. Let’s take a closer look at this marquee fixture, focusing on the Chelsea side. For the United side, go here.
While Jorginho was the most consequential player of the game, for both the best and worst reasons, Chelsea’s man of the match was arguably Antonio Rudiger, who really kept some United forwards in his pocket during this match.
He also hit the crossbar, from distance, with a shot. His central defense mate, Thiago Silva, was also spectacular, but it just wasn’t enough to take all three points.
Manager Thomas Tuchel felt his side played well enough to win, but were very unlucky. He played the chess match of this game by having a lot of key pieces be super-subs.
Christian Pulisic, Romelu Lukaku, and Mason Mount all came off the bench, instead of starting with the rest of the first team. Up next for Chelsea, who remain top of the table, is a Wednesday night trip to Watford.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.