Man Utd 0-0 Chelsea: The transformation of the 'Red Devils'

Man Utd dominated Chelsea but it was not enough to end a winless streak that had stretched to eight matches.

Martial hit the post in the first half. Photo: Reuters.

The final Premier League match of 2015 witnessed the shadow of the old giant Man Utd. Throughout the 90 minutes, Man Utd forced Chelsea to huddle together with continuous attacks and only bad luck prevented the ball from penetrating the visitors' net once. Mata and Martial hit the woodwork while Rooney and Herrera missed from close range.

Chelsea also had great opportunities in the second half, the most regrettable of which was Matic's "bird shot" when only De Gea was in front of him.

A good match against Chelsea is not enough to keep Van Gaal safe at the moment but it certainly reduces a lot of pressure on the Dutch coach. This is the eighth consecutive match that Man Utd have not tasted victory and if they do not improve their performance soon, the dismissal notice will come to the 64-year-old strategist sooner or later.

Man Utd are stuck in sixth place and nine points behind leaders Arsenal. Meanwhile, Chelsea have moved up the table to 14th place with 20 points.

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Before the match, items with Jose Mourinho and Man Utd's image were being sold outside Old Trafford. This made many people think that coach Van Gaal might leave if Man Utd got another bad result against Chelsea.

This did not happen in a match where Van Gaal had the strongest Man Utd squad at the moment. The appearance of the duo Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger has completely controlled Chelsea's midfield, cutting off communication between Hazard and the players behind. This pair is clearly the most important part of Van Gaal's philosophy and it is no coincidence that Man Utd's decline coincided with Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger being out.

Up front, Ander Herrera returned to his usual attacking midfield position and Martial replaced Memphis on the left wing, bringing a change to Man Utd's style of play. Martial had more space to make dribbles that tormented Ivanovic, while Herrera knew how to push forward to finish inside the 16m50 box. Confidence in attacking from both sides made Man Utd more dangerous than slow passing. The proof was that the number of chances Man Utd created against Chelsea was more than in the previous six matches.

However, the defense is still a concern for Man Utd. The central defenders Smalling and Blind exposed a gap that only De Gea's brilliance could fill. The Spanish goalkeeper reacted brilliantly to block Terry's header before diving to block two consecutive shots from Pedro and Azpilicueta.

Matic's unbelievable miss was Chelsea's best chance. Photo: Reuters.

On the other side, Coach Hiddink was unlucky to be without the duo Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas on the day facing his compatriots. Without this pair, Chelsea lost control of the midfield and had no destination in the final phases. Poor finishing ability caused Chelsea to miss the opportunity to defeat Man Utd with rare counter-attacks.

What Chelsea need to do now is give Hiddink enough money to go shopping in January. The defence needs a reliable stopper as Terry is at his limit and Cahill is inconsistent. A quality striker to compete with Diego Costa would also solve the deadlock in attack.

According to VNE