The Blues dominated Manchester United at Old Trafford amid acrimonious circumstances but were left to rue several missed chances as Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 101st Premier League goal to rescue a point for the hosts.
Neither Manchester United nor Chelsea had a lot to play for when they faced each other on Thursday night, amid a backdrop of board-level uncertainty and frustrated supporters. Ralf Rangnick’s men already had a mountain to climb to finish fourth, while Thomas Tuchel’s side were looking relatively secure in third. What followed next was an embodiment of how their respective seasons have gone so far.
The Blues looked dangerous early on, too, constantly exploiting the space left behind Marcus Rashford on the right flank for Reece James to attack and finding space behind a forward line too sluggish to close down the build-up. But, a lack of sharpness in the opposition box hurt them. Kai Havertz spurned two quick opportunities to that end, first firing straight at David de Gea from close range and then again, minutes later, with a headed attempt.
Unable to breach the Spaniard’s goal in the first period, Chelsea maintained their tempo in the second, again pinning their hapless opponents inside their half. The opening goal of the game arrived at the stroke of the hour. James, with space on the right, delivered a teasing cross towards the six-yard box that bounced off Havertz and into the path of Marcos Alonso, who arrowed the ball in the bottom corner.
Barely two minutes had passed since Chelsea had taken the lead when a defensive lapse allowed Nemanja Matic to pick up the ball close to the opposition box and scoop it into the path of Ronaldo.
As he had done consistently this season, the Portuguese leveled the scores with a thunderous volley from close range. A theme that had repeated itself in recent weeks – the Blues, let down by their own mistakes yet again.
Chelsea pressed on to find the winner and came within a whisker of grabbing one in the 80th minute when Mason Mount teed up James with a deft flick, only for the wingback to slam his shot against the post. United survived, but the split points meant they would finish the season with their joint-lowest tally in the Premier League era.
