LONDON — Chelsea secured a dramatic late 2-2 draw against Manchester United, as Ross Barkley scored a 96th minute equalizer at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Maurizio Sarri‘s unbeaten record in charge of the Blues remains intact, while Jose Mourinho’s United side performed well but will be disappointed to let in a late goal which cost them their first win at Chelsea since 2012.
Sarri’s men took the lead through Antonio Rudiger‘s header but United struck twice through Anthony Martial‘s in a much-improved second half display from the Red Devils. Barkley then equalized as wild scenes on the touch saw one of Chelsea’s assistants, Marco Ianni
Here’s what we learned from a dramatic encounter in the sun in west London.
MARTIAL ISSUES TIMELY REMINDER
Anthony Martial scored twice to remind everyone of what he’s truly capable of. With his contract set to expire this summer (although United have an option to extend it for a further year) and talks not progressing, his agent will be waiting by the phone intently over the next few days. Martial’s clinical finishes reminded us of the teenager who burst onto the scenes in 2015 after United signed him from AS Monaco. That season he scored 17 times and he now has four in his first nine games of this campaign in all competitions. Martial is still just 22 years old and just as impressive as his cool finishes was his tracking back. That earned him a pat on the back and a warm embrace from Mourinho when he worked back on the left flank in the second half.
DEFENSIVE ERRORS CONTINUE TO HAMPER CHELSEA
It is something Maurizio Sarri has stressed time and time again since he took charge in July, but Chelsea do not seem to be improving defensively. With limited time to work with his squad on defensive shape they have instead focused of possessing the ball and getting the best out of Eden Hazard. That has worked well all season but without Olivier Giroud as the targetman they seemed to lose a cutting edge to their attacking play on Saturday with Alvaro Morata shackled and bullied by Chris Smalling. But it was a sense of panic in the box which saw Chelsea come unstuck, as they failed to clear on numerous occasions for United’s first goal and were then completely caught on the counter for the second.
As much as David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger are comfortable on the ball, they need to stop being turned around so easily as United’s powerful midfield ran at them time and time again in the second half. If Sarri’s Chelsea are to be serious title contenders this season in the Premier League, they need to shore things up defensively.
MOURINHO FIGHTS BACK WITH MORE BANS LIKELY
As Barkley equalized in the 96th minute to keep Chelsea’s unbeaten run intact, a member of Chelsea’s coaching staff, Marco Ianni, celebrated in Mourinho’s face and that of the United bench.
What came next was an huge melee as Mourinho stood up for himself and his team. It would be a shock of Ianni isn’t banned for this.
As Mourinho came off the pitch he then responded to jeers from Chelsea’s fans by reminding them how many titles he had won in charge of the Blues. Classic Jose.
POGBA REMAINS INFURIATING
The way Pogba threw his arms in the air and stamped his feet after Antonio Rudiger scored the opener for Chelsea told the whole story. Pogba lost Rudiger from the corner and he looked to be blaming Victor Lindelof as David Luiz blocked his run slightly. Instead of putting his hand up and taking responsibility for a lapse in concentration Pogba launched a tantrum a toddler would be proud of. In the second half Pogba was again at his infuriating best as he hurdled clear of two Chelsea challenges and was running at the heart of their defense. He then tried a clever flick which went straight to a Chelsea defender when an easy through ball to Marcus Rashford was on. It is a moments like this when you realize why Pogba must enrage Mourinho so much. Yet as the game opened up late on he got on the ball more and did cause problems with his slaloming runs but his passes were off. This was a display full of flaws from Pogba as he proved how infuriating he can be.
