The true face of the 'Red Devils'

(Baonghean.vn) -Just when it seemed like Manchester United were gradually regaining their form, Jose Mourinho and his players suffered a crushing defeat on their return to Stamford Bridge. People began to doubt the Portuguese manager's glowing words after the humiliating 0-4 loss to Chelsea.

The irony

When Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC, sacked Mourinho and hired Antonio Conte, it meant the Russian owner was considering a sustainable solution. Meanwhile, when the owner of Manchester United brought the "Special One" to Old Trafford, he was hoping for Mourinho's ability to salvage the situation.

But yesterday's match at Stamford Bridge showed that only Abramovich was right, while the Glazer brothers don't know when they'll see Mourinho's first fruits in his career.

Following the 0-3 defeat against Arsenal at the end of September, the former Juventus and Italy national team coach boldly switched from the traditional 4-4-2 formation to a 3-4-3. The 4-0 victory against Manchester United was his third consecutive win, scoring nine goals and conceding none. An incredible performance, even though Conte had only recently assembled his team.

Coach Conte has "revived" Mose and Alonso, two wingers who had been cast aside by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Real Madrid respectively. They did an excellent job of neutralizing Manchester United's young wingers Lingard and Rashford, limiting Valencia and Blind's attacking contributions. Furthermore, Antonio Conte used Pedro to replace Willian brilliantly, allowing the Brazilian player to carry the ball and attack directly through the center.

It took Pedro just 30 seconds to open the scoring and ruin his former manager Mourinho's plan to "park the bus" at Stamford Bridge. In the 70th minute, he played a beautiful one-two with N'golo Kante before the French international sealed a 4-0 victory for Chelsea.

Despite being brought to Chelsea by Mourinho himself, Pedro only scored one goal in four months, but in his reunion with his former manager, he managed to score one goal and provide one assist. It's truly a bitter and ironic situation. Coach Antonio Conte was very shrewd in leaving Willian on the bench for this match and only bringing him on to replace Hazard when the game was already decided.

Graceless

To be honest, MU wasn't weak; they still controlled the ball 56%, took 17 shots, 5 of which were on target, and their technical statistics were all better than the home team Chelsea. But the most anticipated thing – a goal – didn't come; the Red Devils' strikers were too tame.

Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who arrived at Old Trafford at the start of the season, had a dream start with 4 goals in his first 3 games, but has gone goalless in his last 5 Premier League matches.

The 34-year-old striker has taken 24 shots but failed to find the net even once, a sign of instability in Manchester United's attack.

The 4-2-3-1 formation with Ander Herrera and Fellaini in midfield meant Mourinho had freed Pogba from defensive duties, but the French midfielder still played inconsistently. Mourinho positioned Pogba as an attacking midfielder just behind Ibrahimovic, but when facing Luiz and Cahill, he became more clumsy and awkward than ever.

Is Mourinho out of ideas? (Image from the Internet)

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Kante not only did a good job of saving shots but also scored a goal himself, leaving people wondering: Where is Pogba's true value? If Pogba "chooses the right games"—playing listlessly against Liverpool, then brilliantly against Fenerbahce, and then disappearing completely against Chelsea—then he will forever remain just an "expensive kid" and never a big star.

While the attack failed to score, the defense couldn't withstand the onslaught of the trio Pedro, Costa, and Hazard. Blind's flank was constantly exploited, and center-back Smalling appeared disoriented against Chelsea's technically gifted players.

Epilogue

Within the Premier League, as of yesterday, the two teams had met a total of 49 times. The results show Chelsea winning 17, Man Utd winning 13, and the remaining 19 matches ending in a draw – nothing to be ashamed of. However, what worries MU fans is that while Mourinho is still boasting about winning the Premier League this season, they have already suffered 3 defeats in their first 9 matches. Besides the fact that they lost directly to title contenders like Arsenal and Chelsea, statistics show that any team that loses more than 6 matches in a season struggles to even think about finishing second, let alone winning the championship.

Another worrying aspect is that, apart from Rojo replacing center-back Bailly due to injury, Mourinho made no impact when bringing on Mata and Martial. Could it be that the Red Devils have lost their claws and this is their true face?

Goals: Pedro 1', Cahill 21', Hazard 61', Kante 70'.

Starting lineup:

Chelsea (3-4-3):Courtois 6.5; Azpilicueta 6.5, Luiz 6.5, Cahill (c) 7.5; Moses 6.5, Kante 7.5, Matic 7, Alonso 6.5; Pedro 7 (Chalobah 71, 6), Costa 7 (Batshuayi 78), Hazard 8.5 (Willian 77)

MU (4-2-3-1):De Gea, Valencia, Bailly (Rojo 52), Smalling, Blind, Ander Herrera, Fellaini (Mata 45), Lingard (Martial 65), Pogba, Rashford, Ibrahimovic."

An Thanh