Rhythm & Blues

Stereophonics may not have been playing; but the writing was on the wall the moment the team line-ups came out. Manchester United; riding on the crest of a 16-game unbeaten wave in all competitions; changed their system & line-up drastically; to everybody's benefit but their own. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's rather strange decision to play a 3-4-3 line-up; seemingly overly defensive with Nemanja Matic & Fred in the middle; and leaving out the in-form Anthony Martial; Mason Greenwood; Paul Pogba & Luke Shaw was mote than a bit bewildering. Maybe he is prioritising the UEFA Champions League & thus their league games. Maybe he is prioritising the Europa League as that too provides a pathway to the Champions League. But his 'unfair' claims of Chelsea having two extra days of rest seemed a psychological dis-suasion to his own team's chances; making them play like how they felt; which is tired. And maybe Frank Lampard's shrewd move to question United's seeming unfair advantage with refs worked after all. Who knows.

But the fact is that Manchester United handed the initiative over to Chelsea for this one. Right from the get-go; they seemed a tad lethargic; their players lacking in creativity and vibrancy. For what should have been the summit of their season; it seemed like their depth. Their passing was terrible; and they opted to play out from the back which was playing into the hands of the Chelsea high press. Surely a more direct approach would have better served the pace they had up-front with Marcus Rashford & Daniel James.

On the other side; Chelsea were sharp; incisive; vibrant. Everything that Frank Lampard wanted; they did. You could even hear the Chelsea manager imploring his wingers to press the United backline; and they did exactly that. In the eleventh minute of stoppage time of an injury-ravaged first half; it was Man Of The Match Oliver Giroud who made the vital breakthrough; steering another of Cesar Azpilicueta's dangerous crosses past David de Gea in the United goal.

The United custodian may certainly have been at fault for that one; but he was definitely at fault for the second; as another poor Brandon Williams ball was seized upon by Mason Mount for a long-range effort that somehow found its way past de Gea. Such was Chelsea's lordiness that they even went 3-0 up; after another fine move down the left saw Harry Maguire poking into his own net under pressure from Antonio Rudiger. United got a late penalty from Bruno Fernandes after a rash foul from substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi on Martial. But by then the game had been well & truly over.