Player Ratings: Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea

Manchester United’s chances of finishing in the top four are hanging on a thread as we were held 1-1 at home by Chelsea today.

The result leaves us three points behind the Blues who occupy the final Champions League place with a superior goal difference. Maurizio Sarri’s side finish the season at home to Watford and away to Leicester City.

We made an excellent start to the game and took the lead on 11 minutes through Juan Mata. We were well on top for the first half before David de Gea spilled a long-range effort from Antonio Rudiger into the path of Marcos Alonso for Chelsea’s equaliser shortly before half-time.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed to get the team up to pace after the break and as Mata went quiet, Romelu Lukaku saw little of the ball and substitute Alexis Sanchez was barely noticeable.

Here are how our players fared:

David de Gea 5 – We dominated the first half and were controlling the game but David de Gea spilled Antonio Rudiger’s long-range effort into the path of Marcos Alonso for Chelsea’s equaliser against the run of play. Excellent save to deny Gonzalo Higuain in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Ashley Young 8 – Saw a lot of the ball down the right but didn’t get forward too often as he stayed disciplined to make sure Eden Hazard didn’t tear us apart. Ashley Young and co did a good job in keeping the Belgian superstar quiet at Old Trafford this afternoon. Booked for showing frustration late on as the referee awarded Chelsea a free kick for Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s handball.

Eric Bailly 8 – Solid return from the Ivorian as Gonzalo Higuain barely touched the ball, let alone have a shot. Chelsea’s only efforts on goal were both for the equaliser whilst Eric Bailly was on the pitch. Unfortunately, the defender limped off with 20 minutes to go.

Victor Lindelof 8 – Back into a centre-back role and a confident performance from the Swede alongside Eric Bailly as they took it in turns to bring the ball out from defence.

Luke Shaw 8 – Saw a lot of the ball as he bombed forward from left-back. Luke Shaw set up Juan Mata for our opener. Willian caused us little threat down the wing.

Nemanja Matic 8 – Powerful in midfield today, clobbering a few of the opposition off the ball and looked after the ball.

Ander Herrera 7 – Picked up a yellow card in the first half for one foul too many but an energetic display from Ander Herrera none-the-less on his return.

Paul Pogba 7 – Should energy at times but was also careless on the ball at times. A better performance from Paul Pogba than what we’ve seen over the past month or so but far from the one that deserved to be named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Juan Mata 7 – Was excellent in the opening half hour, getting on the ball and passing it around in Chelsea’s final third, as well as scoring the opening goal. Juan Mata faded out as the game went on though.

Marcus Rashford 6 – Appeared to pull up in the first half but lasted 20 minutes into the second before being replaced. Marcus Rashford had the odd successful run at the Chelsea defence but never a huge threat on their goal.

Romelu Lukaku 8 – Showed good strength in holding the ball up and bringing teammates into play. Romelu Lukaku looked really up for it in the first half but wasted an excellent opportunity at 0-0 following a long ball from Luke Shaw. Kept getting caught offside late on.

Substitutes

Alexis Sanchez (25 mins) 4 – Replaced Marcus Rashford midway through the second half. Barely did anything of note bar kicking the ball out for a goal kick.

Marcos Rojo (20 mins) 6 – Came on for the injured Bailly and made an important block almost immediately. Picked up a yellow card for a lunge on Willian shortly after. The Brazilian was unable to shrug off the injury and was replaced by Pedro. Marcos Rojo had a header cleared off the line in the third minute of stoppage time.

Scott McTominay (10 mins) N/A – Brought on for Juan Mata as Chelsea were on top at this stage and the Spaniard had disappeared. Important block in the final minute to deny Eden Hazard.