Manchester United’s season is alive and well now thanks to a 2-0 win at Chelsea that brought them within three points of the top four. United were extremely lucky, to say the least, as the hosts saw not one, but two goals overturned by VAR.
Harry Maguire, who scored the second goal for United, should have also been sent off in the first half, but VAR got the ruling in his altercation with Michy Batshuayi wrong too. Chelsea had every right to be angry with the officiating, but the result is the result and now the Red Devils have their first-ever Premier League double over Chelsea; outscoring them 6-0 on aggregate in the two fixtures.
United also eliminated Chelsea from the League Cup back in October. In fact, there is just something about this match-up that really works in their favor right now as United are undefeated (four wins, two draws) in their last six against the Blues. United haven’t lost to Chelsea since the 2018 FA Cup Final and have now extended their all time series lead to 81-54, with 51 draws.
It’s more than just Chelsea, as United have performed very well against the top six this season. While United are just three points outside the top four, they still sit seventh, with Sheffield United sixth and Tottenham Hotspur fifth. Let’s take a look at how United have done against the teams currently in front of them this year.
Sheffield D 3-3 away Nov 27
Tottenham W 2-1 home Dec 4
Chelsea (covered that already)
Leicester City W 1-0 home Sept 14
Manchester City W away 2-1 Dec 7
Liverpool L 2-0 away Jan 15, D 1-1 home Oct 20 (the only league match where Liverpool have dropped points this season)
Now, for their sake, if only United didn’t suffer losses to Crystal Palace, Watford, Arsenal, West Ham, Bournemouth….well, you get the idea. If only they didn’t drop points against Aston Villa, Southampton..we’ll just stop.
United’s next match is on Thursday night, the road leg of their round of 32 tie with Club Brugge. Chelsea hosts Tottenham Hotspur in league play on Saturday.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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