At times, we saw some marvellous moves and terrific chances, and at times, it was terribly uninteresting. At times, Chelsea were better and seemed to want a win more, and at times, Man United looked like a team that knew how to break the deadlock. In the end, the impression is that neither rival was better, with a fair result to testify to it – 1-1.Yet, one thing’s certain – the derby failed to meet the expectations. United wasted the first half on defending, while Chelsea lacked creativity to do something more. After the break, we’ve seen more action and two goals, after all, but those two moments will probably be the only memorable things from this game. Bruno Fernandes finally “opened the tab,” netting from the spot for United’s lead in the 70th minute, whereas Moises Caicedo annulled his effort with a leveller Chelsea undoubtedly deserved.After 30 shots without scoring in the Premier League this season, Bruno Fernandes finally opens his account for 2024-25. pic.twitter.com/rtWhgJVm6J— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) November 3, 2024 The crowd expected fireworks from a duel between Man United and Chelsea, but got only a few sparklers in the first half. Chelsea were in charge of possession throughout the first 45 minutes and seemed to be more motivated and keen on scoring. However, the Blues domination gave little results, given that they created only one massive chance in the entire half, in the 14th minute when Noni Madueke’s header after a corner-kick crashed against Andre Onana’s left post.‘I was told it‘s now or never‘Conversely, the Red Devils seemed pretty disheartened and without a clear idea of how to exploit Chelsea’s defensive lapses. Still, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men managed to make more chances than the visitors. In the span of two minutes, between 22nd and 24th, Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho threatened. The captain’s close-range rebound flew way over the bar, whereas the Argentinian’s effort from the edge of the area was easy prey for Robert Sanchez.In the added time, Marcus Rashford wasted the last opportunity to change the result before the break, but his powerful first-touch attempt hit the bar, and thus the teams were level at the break – 0-0.After the break, United started waking up, although Chelsea missed the first opportunity through Pedro Neto in the 55th minute. Ten minutes later, Garnacho embarrassed himself after ruining Fernandes’ ideal assist and practically passing the ball to Sanchez instead of firing it powerfully.However, the home team’s fans had little time to be angry with the Argentinian given that only three minutes later their lads were awarded a penalty! Casemiro sent a fantastic pass for Rasmus Hojlund who tried to dribble the ball past Chelsea’s custodian and went down, leaving no choice to the referee Robert Jones. Bruno was impeccable from the spot as the Portuguese finally managed to net his first goal of the season – 1-0!The Red Devils’ joy lasted only four minutes when the Blues equalized! Moises Caicedo used a rebound after a corner, unleashing a first-touch volley straight into Onana’s bottom right corner for 1-1! At that point, the momentum was entirely on Chelsea’s side given that Enzo Fernandes wasted a great chance minutes later.The final impression is that a draw was a just result as neither team was better enough to deserve the triumph. For United and Van Nistelrooy, it’s important that they avoided defeat, while Chelsea did the same at a challenging away turf. Yet, the Red Devils are still way below the place they should be – in the 13th spot – and Ruben Amorim will have a lot to work on. On the other hand, thanks to Aston Villa’s earlier defeat to Tottenham, the Blues remained fourth.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 10SaturdayNewcastle – Arsenal 1-0 (1-0)/Isak 12/Bournemouth – Manchester City 2-1 (1-0)/Semenyo 9, Evanilson 64 – Gvardiol /Ipswich – Leicester City 1-1 (0-0)/Davis 55 – Ayew 90+4/Liverpool – Brighton 2-1 (0-1)/Gakpo 69, Salah 72 – Kadioglu 14/Nott. Forest – West Ham 3-0 (1-0)/Wood 27, Huddson-Odoi 65, Aina 78/Southampton – Everton 1-0 (0-0)/Armstrong 85/Wolverhampton – Crystal Palace 2-2 (0-0)/Larsen 67, Gomes 72 – Chalobah 60, Guehi 77/Sunday Tottenham – Aston Villa 4-1 (0-1)/Johnson 49, Solanke 75, 79, Maddison 90+6 – Rogers 32/Man.Utd. – Chelsea 1-1 (0-0)/Fernandes 70 pen – Caicedo 74/Monday23.00: (2.00) Fulham (3.50) Brentford (3.70)***odds are subject to change***
