Man United vs Chelsea Tactical: Carrick general will be the key to victory
Man United vs Chelsea Tactical: Carrick general will be the key to victory Manchester United travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend to face Chelsea in a season-defining showdown in the hunt for Champions League qualification. However, they will have to do so with a gaping chasm at the heart of their defence, and are still smarting from the humiliation of suffering their first loss to Leeds United at Old Trafford in 45 years. The Red Devils had the chance to effectively wrap up a return to Europe’s elite competition against the Yorkshire side on Monday night.
United are currently third, seven points clear of their London rivals, with both teams sharing the same goal difference of +12. Victory over the club’s arch-nemesis earlier would have afforded a 10-point cushion over the Blues heading into Saturday night’s clash, with the Premier League’s coefficient ranking ensuring the race for ‘top four’ is now for ‘top five’. Instead, they produced one of the poorest performances of the campaign and undoubtedly the worst of Michael Carrick’s caretaker tenure.
Leeds blew the home side away in a frantic opening 45 minutes, establishing a 2-0 lead – a scoreline which flattered United – heading into half-time. Bizarrely, Carrick opted against making any substitutes during the interval, sending the same unchanged XI back out for the second half, with little change in performance as a result. A red card for Lisandro Martinez in the 55th minute sparked a transformation, however, with United improving almost out of spite at a VAR decision Carrick called “one of the worst” he had seen.
This resurgence led to Casemiro pulling one back, courtesy of Bruno Fernandes’ 17th assist of a stellar individual campaign. The pair then went close to levelling proceedings late on, only for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to clear the Brazil international’s header off the line. Truthfully, Daniel Farke’s men deserved all three points, securing a pivotal 2-1 win in their push to avoid relegation in a dogfight with Nottingham Forest, West Ham and, hilariously, Tottenham Hotspur.
However, the loss cranks the pressure up on United – and Carrick, whose long-term future has been called into question by the performance – ahead of the crucial clash with Chelsea. The lingering effects of the match will also be felt this weekend, as Martinez will be ruled out alongside the experienced duo of Harry Maguire, also unavailable through suspension, and Matthijs de Ligt, who is still recovering from a long-term back injury. This means the youthful partnership of Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, yet to start a match under Carrick, are in line to start against Chelsea in a match United can ill afford to lose.
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