Chelsea beat 10-man Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 31 October, as second-half goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer lifted Xabi Alonso’s side to fourth in the Premier League and left Michael Carrick’s United in 17th, clear of the bottom three only on goal difference.
For 45 minutes, United were the better team and had nothing to show for it. Bruno Fernandes fired over with only Mike Penders to beat after Bryan Mbeumo released him on the break. Amad Diallo was twice stopped by Penders, then had a shot blocked by Wesley Fofana before spinning the defender and firing over when clean through.
Ten minutes before the break, Harry Maguire headed a corner back across goal and Matheus Cunha nodded the loose ball in. VAR caught him offside.
Chelsea had their own scares and their own disallowed goal. Estevao Willian tucked in the rebound after Senne Lammens saved from Pedro Neto in the 14th minute, but the flag was up. Later, Moises Caicedo met an Estevao corner and struck the base of the post. It was 0-0 at half-time.
Rogers breaks it open
Alonso made no changes at the interval, and five minutes later he had his lead. Romeo Lavia won the ball in midfield and found Rogers 35 yards from goal. Nobody closed him down. Rogers ran past Maguire and Lisandro Martinez and lifted a delicate finish over Lammens.
From there Chelsea had control, and the game turned for good just after the hour. Martinez, already booked in the 59th minute, tangled with Fofana as Estevao swung in a corner, and Fofana went down holding his face. Referee Peter Bankes went to the pitchside monitor, awarded a penalty and showed Martinez a second yellow card in the 63rd minute.
Palmer drove the spot-kick through Lammens’ hand a minute later.
Estevao thought he had a third when he drilled a Palmer pass into the roof of the net, but a delayed VAR check found him marginally offside. Lammens then needed a full-length save to keep him out again. United’s last real threat came in the 10 minutes of stoppage time, when Mbeumo hit a 20-yard shot that Penders tipped onto the crossbar.
Where it leaves both clubs
Chelsea had lost their previous two matches in the league and the Carabao Cup. The win takes them to 16 points from nine games with a goal difference of plus four, a point ahead of Liverpool and five behind leaders Manchester City and second-placed Arsenal, who are level on 21.
United have one win in nine league games and seven points. They sit level with 18th-placed Crystal Palace, kept out of the bottom three by a goal difference of minus five against Palace’s minus 12, and are still waiting for their first away win of the season.
What’s next
Chelsea go to Sunderland on Sunday 8 November, with kick-off at 10pm SGT. United host Aston Villa at Old Trafford at 12.30am SGT on Monday 9 November. Before then, Liverpool can climb back above Chelsea when they host Arsenal at Anfield, with kick-off at 12.30am SGT on Monday 2 November.
