Chelsea haven’t won at Old Trafford since 2013, and they will still be waiting to break that duck, as the two sides shared the points with a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening.
A relatively cagey game saw the first goal scored by Manchester United in the 70th minute when Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot after Robert Sanchez gave away the penalty.
But Moises Caicedo struck back with a thunderbolt volley in the 74th minute, equalising the game and making for an interesting final 15 minutes.
Chelsea had more of the ball, managing 54% possession during the game, whilst taking 12 shots, and only fashioning one big chance. Meanwhile, Manchester United had 46% possession, and managed 11 shots, but did create four big chances, more than the Blues managed.
Whilst this isn’t a great result for Enzo Maresca’s men, Chelsea now sit fourth in the Premier League after ten matches played, winning five times, drawing three, and losing just twice – to Manchester City and Liverpool. Thanks to Caicedo’s goal, Chelsea now have 18 points in the league, with a complete performance from the Ecuador international.
Moises Caicedo's amazing performance in numbers
As well as his brilliantly taken goal, Caicedo was generally imperious in the middle of the park, making 36 successful passes out of his 43 attempted.
He completed one key pass, made 2/3 of his long balls, won eight of his 16 ground duels contested, won his only aerial duel contested, and made three tackles in the game.
The 23-year-old has made 12 appearances for Chelsea this season, scoring one goal, providing two assists, and totalling 997 minutes played. He is clearly one of Maresca’s most trusted men, and his consistent performances have been a highlight for the Blues so far this campaign.
Unfortunately, Caicedo’s goal was an equaliser, rather than a worthy winner. Despite his excellent performance, there were some other Chelsea players on the pitch who weren’t quite at the races, and one of them was Noni Madueke.
Noni Madueke's performance in numbers
The 22-year-old winger has had a great start to life under Maresca, being the preferred choice on that right-wing so far this season, playing to his strengths, allowing him to get 1v1 with the fullback, be direct, and attack the box on every given opportunity.
In his 12 appearances so far this campaign, Madueke has scored five times across 752 minutes played. However, his performance against United was below par, failing to provide that usual directness he has done in other games this term.
Goals
0
Assists
0
xG
0.75
Touches
34
Accurate Passes
16/20
Crosses
0/2
Shots
2
Successful Dribbles
1/3
Ground Duels Won
2/8
Dribbled Past
2
Madueke is important on both sides of the ball for Maresca’s system, and he failed to deliver in both aspects today. Only completing one of his three dribble attempts was unlike him, and it felt the ball wasn’t making its way out to the right side quickly enough in transition to get the best of Madueke.
But the England international also lost six of his eight ground duels and was dribbled past twice, which shows not only was Madueke relatively ineffective going forward against United, but also off the ball, he was exploited on a few occasions.
On that evidence, it was hardly a surprise that the i’s George Simms handed him a 4/10 rating, describing how ‘Mazraoui and Martinez got the better of him.’
Despite not having his best performance, it is clear Maresca values his profile and work ethic for the team, and therefore Madueke’s spot probably isn’t at risk, but many Chelsea fans will be hoping to see him return to his best in their next game against Noah in the Conference League on Thursday.
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