20-time English champions Manchester United were troubled by a lot of issues this 2023/2024 Season, but this did not prevent them from putting on an excellent Old Trafford performance against Chelsea for their Matchday 15 fixture last night. The Red Devils were able to bounce back from their defeat to Newcastle United last weekend and return to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over the Blues despite their equaliser at Old Trafford, making it their sixth win in the previous eight league encounters this year.
Let us take you to go through the full details for this English top-flight football clash at Old Trafford last night right away!
Bruno Missed an Early Penalty
The home side almost went ahead at the Theatre of Dreams, when they received a penalty due to Enzo Fernández’s clumsy challenge on Antony in the sixth minute. Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes stepped up to take the subsequent spot kick upon VAR’s verified decision, but the Portuguese’s choice of direction was correctly guessed by Chelsea’s Robert Sánchez, meaning things remained all square during the early stages of the game.
The Red Devils did break the deadlock about ten minutes after Bruno’s missed penalty, thanks to McTominay’s effort. Sofyan Amrabat retrieved the ball in Chelsea’s own half for Erik ten Hag’s man, before the Moroccan found his captain Fernandes, who then gave it away for Alejandro Garnacho for a cross into the dangerous area. The delivery was met by ex-skipper Harry Maguire, whose shot was blocked by Marc Cucurella, followed by McTominay’s superb control and a strike into the bottom right corner. The goal was the Scottish midfielder’s fifth for his club, in addition to his seven goals scored for Scotland in the calendar year of 2023.
Things were going all fine for United at their home ground of Old Trafford, until Cole Palmer decided to spoil the party with his strike just before the first added minute in the opening 45 minutes. The Blues started their movement from the back, and Mykhailo Mudryk was able to find the 21-year-old England attacker after he received the ball from veteran defender Thiago Silva. Palmer then showed his sublime dribbling, and fired a pinpoint shot into the same corner that McTominay scored his goal at in the Chelsea goal. The former Manchester City man and a lifelong United fan showed no mercy against the home side in this case with the equaliser.
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McTominay Saved the Day Again for Manchester United at Old Trafford
Ten Hag’s United became desperate in finding their winning goal in the game, and the statistics definitely showed their hunger in it, having managed a total of 28 shots in the 90 minutes plus added time, with nine of them hitting the target. Fortunately to them, United were rewarded for their efforts at Old Trafford yesterday, as McTominay went on to give the home side the winner in the 69th minute.
Maguire fed the charging substitute Sergio Reguilón the ball, and the loanee from Tottenham Hotspur was a willing passer in this case, sending it wide to Garnacho, who then sent in a delicious cross into the close range of the Chelsea goal. With his scoring ability displayed in the entire year, McTominay could do no wrong in front of goal for his teammate’s delivery this time around, regaining United’s lead with his header. The 2-1 score line would stay until the final whistle of this Old Trafford match, allowing Manchester United to be within 3 points from the Top Four of the English Premier League table.
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🗣️ “DU DU DU DU DU DU SCOTT MCTOMINAY!” pic.twitter.com/mWPHprFtTx
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 6, 2023
McTominay on the 2-1 Old Trafford Victory Over Chelsea
McTominay spoke about the importance of this Old Trafford victory against Chelsea in the Premier League and their endeavours in the 2023/2024 Season. He said: “To come here (Old Trafford) tonight and win is something we can build on. Obviously, I thought we started really well in the game. We’ve got to show that consistently, which has not been the case of late. We just have to take it a game at a time. We’ve got Bournemouth on the weekend which will be another tough test. We’ll just go step by step – we can’t get too carried away because we played well tonight. It’s the next game that is important.”
With his brace versus Chelsea at Old Trafford yesterday, the 26-year-old is currently the top scorer for Manchester United in 2023/2024, and the midfielder was not shy away from commenting about his delights to score goals for his club. “I’ve always enjoyed getting in the box. Maybe on a different night I could have had one or two more, if I’d calmed down for my last one on a hat-trick. That’s football. I’m obviously delighted to score two.”