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It’s a handshake and a hug for the two friends Mourinho and van Gaal, but Old Trafford is heaving with delight after Manchester United escaped with a point against league leaders Chelsea.
United rescue a point at the death, after Ivanovic’s sendoff, and then di Maria, who had a quiet game all morning, finally came good with a cracking delivery. The initial shot was saved, before van Persie applied the crucial finish!
This came after Didier Drogba’s first Premier League goal for Chelsea since his return, and in his 350th game for the club. But in the end, Manchester United save a point!
FULLTIME:
Manchester United 1
Chelsea 1
High-flyers Chelsea travel north to face Manchester United in the weekend’s headline English Premier League fixture. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3:00am (AEDT) on Monday morning.
Neither Jose Mourinho nor Louis van Gaal know how to take a backward step. Regardless of where the respective teams sit on the Premier League ladder, or indeed, the European food chain, both men of ego manage clubs of great prestige.
Where Chelsea’s grandeur has been a postmodern feat, Manchester United’s accomplishments have spanned generations. However, even the recent past serves as distant memory, as van Gaal attempts to redeem the club to its former heights under Sir Alex Ferguson.
These are the type of games Manchester United have historically relished. van Gaal will show little meekness in attempting to inflict the season’s biggest upset to date.
The ability to boast an attack of Manchester United’s without Champions League football can attributed to the club’s historic lustre and its modern marketing successes.
No question that the likes of Rooney, van Persie, Falcao, di Maria and Mata all boast massive wage packets as they attempt to lead the Red Devils back to their former glory. Yet how much it counts against Jose Mourinho’s obdurate nature is a question that begs to be answered on Monday.
As a rule, Mourinho has preferred to approach fixtures at the home of their rivals with a chiefly defensive framework in mind. Think of Liverpool at Anfield last season, where a wrecking job was completed with supreme precision.
Think only last month, where Manchester City kept prying for an opening until Andre Schuerrle delivered a potential knockout blow. Though City were spared their home blushes by Frank Lampard (oh, the irony), there is no question Mourinho knows how to gain favourable results in such fixtures.
Fresh from their 6-0 mauling of Maribor in the Champions League, the Blues have endured numerous issues up front, with all three of Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba unlikely to feature at Old Trafford.
Mourinho will likely turn to the German Schuerrle to play in an auxiliary striker role, thus keeping Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard at the fulcrum of the team’s attack. The job to nullify the Manchester United wealth of offensive talent will fall to Nemanja Matic, while Mourinho may also turn to the Brazilian Ramires to further blunt the home side.
Following the 2-2 draw at West Brom, Manchester United may be spared slightly via the absence of Costa, who has been prolific since his arrival from Atletico Madrid. Yet failure to gain at least a point from this game will likely determine an inability to return to the Champions League places – this is United’s first game against a top four team from last season.
With concerns emerging over Falcao’s form, and with Wayne Rooney still suspended, van Gaal will have an easier time in deciding his attacking line. Di Maria remains central to the offensive threat the home side will pose, but in equal importance lies the figure of Daley Blind.
The Dutchman had a wonderful composed finish to earn United a point at the Hawthorns, but his role is likely to sit back and shield Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones from Chelsea’s on-song attacking talent.
Traditionally, these games have finished as low scoring affairs. Yet Chelsea’s ability to grind points out of games like this cannot be underestimated, and neither will United’s porous defence.
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