Report

McTominay the hero as Man Utd beat Chelsea

6 Dec 2023

Midfielder strikes twice as Red Devils move within three points outside the top four

Scott McTominay scored twice as Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford.

The midfielder scored either side of Cole Palmer’s strike as the Red Devils climbed to sixth, just three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

TV Info - Broadcasters

How the match unfolded

Man Utd started brightly in a thrilling end-to-end encounter featuring 41 shots, with 28 for the hosts and 13 for Chelsea.

The Red Devils had the opportunity to take a deserved lead after just eight minutes when Enzo Fernandez trod on Antony’s foot in the box.

Bruno Fernandes stepped up to take the penalty, but Robert Sanchez dived to his right to keep the ball out and Rasmus Hojlund fired the rebound over.

It was the United captain’s third failure from his past six spot-kicks in all competitions, while Sanchez became the first Chelsea goalkeeper to save a Premier League penalty since May 2021, when Edouard Mendy denied Sergio Aguero.

Three minutes later Chelsea went close at the other end as Mykhailo Mudryk burst down the left side and forced a low save from Andre Onana at the near post.

Man Utd took the lead in the 20th minute through McTominay. Chelsea lost possession and Marc Cucurella’s block from Harry Maguire’s shot fell kindly to McTominay, who coolly took a touch before tucking his finish into the bottom-right corner.

Sanchez continued to make crucial stops for Chelsea with an amazing close-range double save in the 32nd minute to deny McTominay.

Those stops looked particularly important when Chelsea equalised just before the break as Palmer scored his fifth goal of the season, and his first from open play. The boyhood Man Utd fan received a good pass from Mudryk on the edge of the area and worked his way across the box before shooting back across goal into the bottom-right corner.

The start of the second half was evenly contested, but McTominay remained one of the biggest threats on the pitch. He rose highest to connect with Luke Shaw’s corner in the 64th minute but was again denied by Sanchez.

McTominay finally scored his second goal of the match in the 70th minute when he got on the end of Alejandro Garnacho’s cross and headed past Sanchez at the back post.

The Scotland international almost completed his hat-trick just minutes later, but he lost his composure at the last second and shot wide of goal.

Substitute Armando Broja came closest to equalising for Chelsea, but his header in stoppage time was from a tight angle and comfortably saved by Onana.

Man Utd move to 27 points, while Chelsea remain 10th on 19 points.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
4	Aston Villa AVL	38	+15	68
5	Spurs TOT	38	+13	66
6	Chelsea CHE	38	+14	63
7	Newcastle NEW	38	+23	60
8	Man Utd MUN	38	-1	60
9	West Ham WHU	38	-14	52
10	Crystal Palace CRY	38	-1	49

Next five Premier League fixtures

Did you know?

Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 11 home Premier League games against Chelsea (W5 D6) since a 1-0 defeat in May 2013, winning back-to-back home games against them for the first time since February 2018.

Cole Palmer scored his fifth Premier League goal for Chelsea in just his 12^th appearance, the second-quickest of any Englishman this century for the club, behind only Tammy Abraham (seven apps).

Since his Premier League debut in February 2020, no player has taken more penalties than Bruno Fernandes (20), while only Aleksandr Mitrovic (5) has missed more penalties than Fernandes (4) in that time.

Chelsea faced 18 shots in the first half of this match, the most they have faced in the first half of a Premier League game since Opta records began in 2003-04 (775 matches). Overall, they faced 28 in total, which was their joint most on record, also facing 28 vs Liverpool in May 2016.