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Ander Herrera’s man-marking job on Eden Hazard was key to Manchester United’s victory over Antonio Conte’s Chelsea and was straight out of the José Mourinho coaching manual.
Ander Herrera’s man-marking job on Eden Hazard was key to Manchester United’s victory over Antonio Conte’s Chelsea and was straight out of the José Mourinho coaching manual. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Ander Herrera’s man-marking job on Eden Hazard was key to Manchester United’s victory over Antonio Conte’s Chelsea and was straight out of the José Mourinho coaching manual. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea: five talking points from Old Trafford

This article is more than 6 years old
Mourinho puts one over on Conte, Rashford and Lingard offer United vision of post-Ibrahimovic era and Hazard’s lack of hunger whets Spurs’ appetite

1) Mourinho casts Conte into the shade

At times José Mourinho has been cast as a fading force. Not after this. By the end Antonio Conte stood in rain in the technical area looking clueless. Manchester United’s victory derived from Mourinho’s tactical masterclass with the attacking axis of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, and Ander Herrera’s man‑marking of Eden Hazard. It is the ideal boost before the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Anderlecht on Thursday, with the tie poised at 1-1. Before this match Mourinho posited there was “no emotion” in meeting his former club despite two previous defeats and the abuse received during those visits to west London. Do not believe him.

2) Tottenham will be licking their lips after this

The defeat cuts Chelsea’s advantage over Tottenham Hotspur to four points and with only six games left for each side the title race is alive. Spurs are the next opponents for Conte’s team, in the FA Cup semi‑final at Wembley on Saturday, and Mauricio Pochettino’s men can administer a psychological blow by knocking them out. Chelsea’s run-in includes Southampton, Everton, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Sunderland, while Spurs face Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester United, Leicester and Hull. The highest-placed team Chelsea will face are Everton, in sixth, and after that only mid-table clubs. But it does not feel over just yet.

3) Youthful pair offer vision of post- Ibrahimovic era

Marcus Rashford’s eye-catching display came when he dovetailed with Lingard, who operated virtually alongside him in a quasi-4-4-2. This is a blueprint of how United can move forward over the coming years as the pace of each created a type of football that eschews the static Zlatan Ibrahimovic-based style. The speed of Rashford and Lingard allowed United to threaten Chelsea either by quick counterattack or instant ball forward (as in the Herrera-Rashford combo for the latter’s opener), transforming United from a lumbering team to a quicksilver one. By the end of the game they had the first league victory against Chelsea since the Sir Alex Ferguson era, a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge in October 2012 of which only Ashley Young, David de Gea and Antonio Valencia were survivors.

Mourinho praises Rashford after Manchester United's win over Chelsea – video

4) Hazard goes quiet under Herrera’s close attention

Gary Neville stated Herrera’s man‑marking of Eden Hazard was the ultimate compliment. In Chelsea’s FA Cup victory against United last month the ploy led to Herrera being sent off after he felled Hazard and was shown a second yellow card. Here Hazard spent the contest stifled by Herrera’s close attention and the Belgian appeared to have no idea of how to disrupt his shadow, who had it too easy all afternoon. Neville’s advice to Hazard was to move out wide and stay there to put the Spaniard in an area he would not want to be. The Chelsea No10 did this but too rarely. At the close the sense was Hazard failed to pose Herrera enough problems to break the match open for Chelsea.

5) Rashford is starting to make up for lost time

“He’s tired – very tired,” Mourinho said as he stood Ibrahimovic down to the bench. “Over-tired, some might say. I’ll try to protect him. Maybe second half for 45 minutes but let’s see the result. He’s on the bench and ready to help.” By the interval United were 1-0 up thanks to Rashford’s opener as the teenager seized a rare chance at centre-forward, in what was his best game for the manager. Five minutes in Rashford scuffed his first chance, just as the No19 spurned a golden opportunity in the Cup defeat at Stamford Bridge. But next time he made no mistake to grab a second Premier League goal in two outings after previously enduring a drought in the competition since September. Herrera, who scored the second, was man of the match but Rashford also deserved it.

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