If Manchester United were still attempting to make a run at a top-four finish, they sure didn’t show it during a 1-1 draw against Chelsea. The Red Devils are now five points from fourth place with only three matches left to play, and they’ll need a miracle to clinch a Champions League berth at this point.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored an equalizer two minutes after Marcos Alonso put the visitors ahead with a wide-open volley in the box. Ronaldo pounced on a scoop pass from Nemanja Matic into the box and he sat a searing rocket into the roof of the net for his 17th Premier League goal.
The point allows Chelsea to maintain a stranglehold on the third place in the Premier League standings, six points ahead of the nearest pursuer. The Blues’ focus is now on preparing for the May 14 FA Cup final against Liverpool, and manager Thomas Tuchel will not be happy his team could not convert on a multitude of chances.
Forward Kai Havertz, who danced out Chelsea with key goals in several instances, is one of the players who could have done more with his chances. But Havertz and compatriot Timo Werner often found Man United’ keeper David De Gea up to the task.
Man United are in a transition period as Dutchman Erik ten Hag prepares to take over from interim German manager Ralf Rangnick. They will play out the string with three matches left and they will hope to at least secure a spot in next season’s Europa League by finishing in fifth or sixth place.
MORE: Who is Erik ten Hag? Playing style, clubs managed & trophies
Manchester United vs. Chelsea final score
| 1 HOUR | 2H | Final | |
| Man United | 0 | one | one |
| Chelsea | 0 | one | one |
goals:
CHE — Marcos Alonso — 60th min.
MUN — Cristiano Ronaldo (Nemanja Matic) — 62nd min.
Manchester United vs. Chelsea live updates, highlights from Premier League
Final: Manchester United 1, Chelsea 1
Chelsea have failed to win against Man United in the Premier League since November 2017. pic.twitter.com/PmgF4XPesr
— BRGoals (@BRGoals) April 28, 2022
92nd min: SUB — Alejandro Garnacho makes his Manchester United debut.
90th minute: Three minutes of stop page time. Man United are trying to bring on Garnacho. This looks like it’s destined to finish 1-1.
82nd min.: SUB — Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante appears to have picked up a knock and Thomas Tuchel takes no chances. It’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek taking his place from him.
80th min.: Reece James hits the post! He’s been involved in all game. In this instance a beautiful Mason Mount heel flick lays the ball perfectly for James to run onto it and curl a left-footed shot off the far post.
79th min.: SUBS — Man United’s Juan Mata for Marcus Rashford and Phil Jones for Nemanja Matic.
78th min.: Ronaldo again with a shot that tests Chelsea’s keeper Edouard Mendy. But he was offside the whole way (flag came up after the play was over).
71st min: SUBS —Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku in for Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Tuchel is done being patient for those two to figure it out.
69th min.: Hard to believe that it was Ronaldo’s first Premier League goal against Chelsea.
Ronaldo’s 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 #PL goal v #CFCs 👀 pic.twitter.com/kBlZyvisXk
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) April 28, 2022
62nd min: Cristiano Ronaldo equalizes! What a lofted ball by Nemanja Matic in the path of Ronaldo, who blasts it into the roof of the net. 1-1.
Watch the Ronaldo goal: USES | UK | Canada | Australia
60th min.: Chelsea 1-0! And there’s the first. Marcos Alonso wide open in the box with the volley that gets past De Gea.
Watch the Alonso goal: UK
53rd min.: Timo Werner nearly gets to a Mason Mount cross at the back post. Chelsea threatening again. Same script as the first half.
46th min.: Back underground.
Halftime: Manchester United 0, Chelsea 0
half-time: Another low point for Manchester United this season. The team’s not playing well and the atmosphere at Old Trafford is subdued with the fans entering the match late in protest. It feels like it’s just a matter of time before Chelsea break through. And once they do, it could be another lopsided defeat.
No cohesion among the Man United players, and no aggression. David De Gea is the best player for the Red Devils. Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel will be frustrated that his team is not ahead. Kai Havertz definitely had his looks on him.
🗣️ “They’re just shot to pieces!”
Roy Keane reflects on a dominant first-half from Chelsea against Man Utd at Old Trafford 😬 pic.twitter.com/RDXtYw492t
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 28, 2022
42nd min: Man United’s players sure aren’t looking like they want to impress new boss Erik ten Hag watching from home. It’s hard to come to a different conclusion from Gary Neville’s below:
🔴 Manchester United have been embarrassingly bad tonight already and @GNev2 you’ve got it spot on… pic.twitter.com/nUS3f5EBaz
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) April 28, 2022
36th minute: Havertz heads on goal from close range. It looks so easy for Chelsea. De Gea has to come up with another save. Man United have gone missing again.
28th minute: Another Havertz chance! He’s put through on goal by N’Golo Kante, but Havertz’s shot goes off De Gea. Chelsea are easily passing through Man United’s resistance. Frankly, it’s not much of a resistance until they reach De Gea.
Watch the highlight in USES.
26th min.: Ronaldo, surrounded by three Chelsea defenders in the box, is dispossessed and it’s a transition for Chelsea. Kai Havertz hits side netting.
19th minute: Man United just let Chelsea waltz into the box. Jorginho is not bothered and he dishes to N’Golo Kante who fires on goal. Not a hard save for De Gea. Too easy for Chelsea.
13th minute: Ronaldo attempts the overhead kick! It’s way off, and Cristiano is not happy about his execution of him. Man United are spending a bit more time in Chelsea’s half.
10th minute: First threat posed by Man United. Alex Telles with the cross, but a Bruno Fernandes header doesn’t trouble Edouard Mendy. Nonetheless, Chelsea look more comfortable, and their spacing and shape is excellent.
6th minute: Two shots by Timo Werner in a span of a few minutes. Man United’ keeper David De Gea with the easy stop on the second one. Red Devils off to another slow start.
1st minute: We’re off, still with plenty of empty seats at Old Trafford.
#GlazersOut 🔰✊ pic.twitter.com/YlSI3csSXA
– Daniel Vaca-Pereira 🔰 Manchester United (@dvacapereira) April 28, 2022
15 mins from K/O: The pressure on the Glazers is unrelenting. Erik ten Hag really needs to deliver big time for them.
#MUFC fans protesting against the Glazer family for the second successive home match. Shutters down in the Munich tunnel, where supporters are chanting “we want Glazers out”
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) April 28, 2022
45 mins from K/O: We have a couple of young players who have worked their way onto the Man United bench:
Four youngsters are in the squad #mufc https://t.co/L5KVO2xQN2
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) April 28, 2022
Manchester United vs. chelsea lineups
Fred has returned to training for United, but the Brazilian will not feature against Chelsea as he recovers from a flexor muscle issue that has sidelined him for the past three weeks.
With Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Luke Shaw all ruled out for the rest of the season, and captain harry maguire expected to join them, the only change from the side that lost to Arsenal is Marcus Rashford replacing Jadon Sanchowho is unavailable.
Manchester United line-up (4-2-3-1): 1-De Gea (GK) — 20-Dalot, 2-Lindelof, 19-Varane, 27-Telles — 39-McTominay, 31-Matic — 36-Elanga, 18-Fernandes, 10-Rashford — 7-Ronaldo
Manchester United subs (9): 26-Tom Heaton (GK), 22-Dean Henderson (GK), 3-Eric Bailly, 4-Phil Jones, 74-Alvaro Fernandez, 46-Hannibal Mejbri, 8-Juan Mata, 75-Alejandro Garnacho, 47-Shola Shoretire
Thomas Tuchel made a number of changes on Sunday for the 1-0 win over West Ham as he seeks to keep his players fresh ahead of the FA Cup final on May 14 against Liverpool.
The mixing and matching continues with Reece James returning to the three-man defensive line and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah on the bench. match-winner Christian Pulisic returns to the subs list as Tuchel continues to rely on the Werner-Mount-Havertz attacking trio.
Chelsea line-up (3-4-3, left to right): 16-Mendy (GK) — 20-Rudiger, 6-Silva, 24-James — 3-Alonso, 5-Jorginho, 7-Kante, 28-Azpilicueta — 11-Werner, 19-Mount, 29-Havertz
Chelsea subs (9): 1-Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), 31-Malang Sarr, 14-Trevoh Chalobah, 23-Kenedy, 17-Saul Niguez, 12-Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 10-Christian Pulisic, 22-Hakim Ziyech, 9-Romelu Lukaku
MORE: Tuchel explains why Pulisic has seen fewer Chelsea minutes
How to watch Manchester United vs Chelsea
| UK | USES | Canada | Australia | |
| Date | Thur, April 28 | Thur, April 28 | Thur, April 28 | Fri, April 29 |
| Time | 19:45 BST | 14:45 ET | 14:45 ET | 04:45 EST |
| TV-channel | Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event | USA Network, Universe | — | — |
| streaming | NOW-TV | fuboTV | DAZN | OptusSport |
UK: The Thursday match will be broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports and streamed on NOW TV.
USES: In the USA, the match will be televised by USA Network (English) and Universo (Spanish) with both channels streamed on fuboTV, which also offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Canada: In Canada, every Premier League game streams live on DAZN.
Australia: The Premier League is carried exclusively by Optus Sport.
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