Manchester United make José Mourinho look like a genius
What was José Mourinho thinking, fans and pundits wondered. Despite Manchester United’s difficulties in attack, the manager had left his two most dangerous weapons, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, on the bench for Sunday’s clash with league leaders Chelsea.
By the time the final whistle sounded, Mourinho’s players had proven their coach right. The unorthodox lineup and changing formation had resulted in a solid 2-0 victory and left Chelsea, the presumed champs just a week ago, suddenly looking shaky at the top of the table.
While Mourinho’s game plan was dead on, his players’ execution was even more impressive. None of Chelsea’s defenders could cope with the 19-year-old Marcus Rashford’s speed or off-the-ball movement. In midfield, Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini dominated Nemanja Matić and N’Golo Kanté, disrupting everything Chelsea tried to do and calmly shuttling the ball up field to Rashford and Jesse Lingard. And the team’s backline was as reliable as ever, even withstanding the urge to get into it with Diego Costa on one of his more annoying nights.
But the player of the game was unquestionably Ander Herrera, whose defending of Eden Hazard made Chelsea look completely out of sorts. Wherever the Belgian was, the box-to-box midfielder was right beside him to force a change directions or dink the ball away.
It didn’t take long to realize Mourinho might be onto something. In the 7th minute, Herrera disrupted a Blues counter attack when he knocked down a Matić pass with his hand. Referee Bobby Madley didn’t see it, or didn’t feel it was intentional, and a few strides later, the Spaniard hit Rashford with a beautiful through-ball that put him just past defender David Luiz. With a touch, the teenager veered right to give himself space and calmly stroked the ball past replacement keeper Asmir Begović. Not enough can be said about Herrera’s pass, a perfectly weighted ball that put Chelsea on the back foot for the rest of the afternoon.
Chelsea had reason to feel wronged after the no-call, but it only felt like a matter of time before they would bounce back as they repeatedly have under Mourinho successor’s, first-year coach Antonio Conte. But unlike in October, when the Blues beat United 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea lacked the quickness and intensity that has marked their ascent to the top of the league. It was United, a team never truly seemed to cohere this campaign, despite a 21-game unbeaten streak, looked more dangerous. Four minutes after the start of the second half, Herrera lashed a loose ball into the net thanks to a helpful deflection off Kanté. His goal may have been lucky, but on a day when his primary responsibility was defense, that was just a bonus anyway.
The Red Devils defense put in such a commanding performance that when the final whistle blew, Chelsea, the league’s second-most prolific offense, hadn’t registered a shot on target.
United’s win doesn’t affect the table much — both teams leave the weekend where they started, in first and fifth, respectively — but it adds some drama to the season’s final weeks. Chelsea’s lead over Tottenham is now down to four points with six to play; though this was the Blues’ toughest remaining fixture, hope still remains for Spurs. United’s win means that if they beat Burnley next weekend, they will enter the Manchester derby a single point behind rival Manchester City with a chance to leapfrog them into fourth and Champions League position. In a season full of surprises, it looks like there might be more left. — B.H.
Mid-table also-rans still have a big part to play
Stoke are a completely average Premier League team, yet have a huge role to play in both the battle against the drop and the fight for the top four. The Potters hold so much sway because they play Arsenal on the second-to-last weekend in a game the Gunners might need to win if they are to earn Champion League soccer for the 19th season in a row. At the bottom of the table, Stoke play 18th-placed Swansea next weekend and 16th-placed Bournemouth at the start of May, after taking on 17th-place Hull City on Saturday.
It meant everything for Hull and next to nothing for Stoke, yet the mid-tablers came out winners nonetheless. Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic, the (very) poor man’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scored a corker with his right foot after just six minutes. Six-foot-8 Peter Crouch rose high into the air to head one home 60 minutes later. Xherdan Shaqiri unleashed a perfect left-footed blast in the 80th minute to remind everyone why Bayern Munich bought him way back when. Hull proved again they are paper tigers away from home and will have their atrocious road form to blame should they go down.
The result moved Stoke to 11th place with 39 points and all but guarantees Premier League status for another season. Five other teams (West Brom, Southampton, Watford, Leicester, and West Ham) are in essentially the same spoiler role in the middle of the standings. Southampton, for example, have seven games left — four against teams competing for Champions League places (Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United) and two against relegation battlers (Hull and Middlesbrough).
Southampton did not take the opportunity to be spoilers Saturday when they were trounced 3-0 by Manchester City, yet history suggests that they have a solid performance or two in store between now and the end of the season. After all, the Saints were in a similarly safe position last April and dealt relegation-clinching defeats to Newcastle and Aston Villa. Similarly, they beat both Man City and Spurs last May — results which played a huge role in those teams’ disappointing third- and fourth-place finishes respectively. — M.B.
Goal of the Week
Like Arjen Robben, Xherdan Shaqiri has one plan when he gets the ball — and nobody seems able to stop it. Shaqiri collects the ball on the right wing, cuts inside to get the ball onto his murderous left foot, and then uncorks hell. Exhibit A: this goal in Stoke’s game against Hull. The predictability of the shot and its outcome were a sight to behold.
Ugly Scene of the Week
England is the home of hooligans, Italy has its ultras and Russia has semi-state-sponsored thugs. France doesn’t have internationally renowned combatants, but that doesn’t mean violence has been expelled from the sport. This weekend, Bastia’s fans invaded the field and attacked the visiting team from Lyon. Things got so bad that the game was called off, and the French league subsequently called for the invaders to be given lifetime stadium bans. The talk from the authorities sounds good, but is largely meaningless. Earlier this year, Bastia’s fans were punished after they made monkey noises towards Italian striker Mario Balotelli and threw a stick at Paris Saint-Germain winger Lucas Moura.
Post’s Premier League Rankings
Tottenham look to be picking up steam, Liverpool continues to fortify its top-four chances and things aren’t getting any less dire for Swansea.
1. Chelsea (1)
2. Tottenham (2)
3. Liverpool (4)
4. Manchester City (3)
5. Manchester United (5)
6. Everton (6)
7. Arsenal (9) *
8. Southampton (7)
9. West Brom (8)
10. Leicester (10)
11. Crystal Palace (11)
12. Stoke (14)
13. Bournemouth (12)
14. West Ham (13)
15. Watford (15)
16. Burnley (16)
17. Hull City (18)
18. Swansea City (17)
19. Middlesbrough (19) *
20. Sunderland (20)
*Play Monday