Bruno Fernandes scored a landmark goal on his 200th Premier League appearance to help Manchester United to a 2-1 victory over Chelsea, with both teams having a player sent off.
Fernandes’ goal was his 100th for United in all competitions, as he handed them a 14th-minute lead after Robert Sanchez had received a straight red card at a rainswept Old Trafford.
Casemiro doubled United’s lead with a close-range header, but two bookings either side of his goal saw him sent off on the stroke of half-time.
Chelsea – who saw Cole Palmer trudge off due to an apparent injury in the first half – had some hope when Trevoh Chalobah headed powerfully home in the 80th minute, but that was their only shot on target as their unbeaten start to their league campaign came to an end.
A much-needed win for United and Ruben Amorim pushes them up to ninth on seven points, just one fewer than Chelsea, who sit in sixth.
How the match unfolded
It could hardly have started worse for Chelsea, who were down to 10 men inside five minutes when Sanchez caught Bryan Mbeumo with a rash challenge just outside the penalty area.
United soon capitalised on their numerical advantage, with Fernandes just about staying onside to poke past Filip Jorgensen from Patrick Dorgu’s header.
With Palmer off the field, Chelsea’s frustration was compounded in the 37th minute as Casemiro headed in after a poor clearance from Reece James.
However, Casemiro did not see out the first half, receiving his second yellow card for a tug on Andrey Santos in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Chelsea thought they had pulled one back just past the hour when Wesley Fofana nodded in from a corner, but he was denied by the offside flag.
The Blues continued to rack up set-pieces, though, and eventually breached United’s defence as Chalobah rose high to thump James’ cross into the bottom-right corner, but the Red Devils held firm to clinch a morale-boosting three points.
Home joy for Amorim
With Amorim coming under pressure in the week following a 3-0 Manchester derby defeat, United needed a big performance this time out, and a fast start helped their cause.
Mbeumo put the pressure on Sanchez from the start, with his run off the back of Chelsea’s defence forcing the goalkeeper into a rash decision.
But it was Fernandes, who scored the winner at Burnley last time out at Old Trafford, who stole the spotlight with another vital goal, marking his milestone appearance with a poacher’s finish by timing his run behind Chalobah to perfection.
United’s wide play in particular caused Chelsea problems, with Dorgu and Amad linking up well down the left, a partnership that could have paid dividends in the second half as James committed himself high upfield, had the end product been better.
However, United’s recent defensive frailties were exposed once again as they were twice caught out on corners, albeit with a reprieve after Fofana’s header from in front of Altay Bayindir was chalked off for offside, though they had no such luck with Chalobah’s goal.
Fernandes almost restored the two-goal cushion late on, forcing Jorgensen into a full-stretch save from range, but United eventually got over the line.
After picking up back-to-back home league wins for the first time under Amorim, the Red Devils will be back on the road next week for a trip to Brentford.
Chelsea's fight fizzles out
Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the 2025/26 season was ended in the UEFA Champions League by Bayern Munich, a result which appeared to be hanging over Enzo Maresca’s side early on.
Sanchez had not looked confident keeping out an early Mbeumo header, and his high challenge on the winger immediately put Chelsea on the back foot as he received their fastest red card in Premier League history.
The Blues struggled to gain a foothold after that, with Palmer’s influence effectively dampened as he only managed one touch before his 21st-minute substitution due to the apparent injury.
But with the numbers evened up following Casemiro’s dismissal, Chelsea gained a new lease of life. Marc Cucurella blazed their best chance of the first half over the crossbar just before half-time.
However, with Maresca having used up three substitutions in the first half, the Italian was left short of options after the break, meaning there was no chance for Alejandro Garnacho to come on and make an impact against his former club.
Chalobah’s effort ensured the momentum finished with Chelsea, but it was too little too late. The Blues are in EFL Cup action next, as they travel to Lincoln City on Tuesday.
Club reports
Man Utd report | Chelsea report
What the managers said
Ruben Amorim: "Every win, especially in this moment is important, against a great opponent. We started the game in the right way.
"Really aggressive. The red card helped us dominate the game but we were already there."
Enzo Maresca: "The red card changed the game after three minutes. After the red card for them, 10 v 10, it changed the game for us. We needed to start in a better way."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Chelsea are winless in their last 13 Premier League away games against Manchester United (D7 L6), against no other side have they ever been on a longer such run on the road in the competition.
Chelsea made three substitutions in the first 21 minutes of this match, the earliest a side has ever done so in a Premier League game.
Since his Premier League debut in August 2022, Manchester United’s Casemiro has been shown more red cards (three) than any other player in the competition.
This was the first Premier League game to see both sides receive a red card in the first half since Chelsea (Azpilicueta) v Crystal Palace (Delaney) in October 2014.