Without the evicted Ronaldo, it was 0-0 at Stamford Bridge for a long time, until Scott McTominay flashed Armando Broja and was awarded a penalty. The Italian Jorginho then left goalkeeper David De Gea with his characteristic hop no chance and put Chelsea at 1-0. “For a long time it looked like the story would revolve around all the missed opportunities and the man who wasn’t there,” writes the Daily Mail. United and their manager Ten Hag deserved more than that.”
“Manchester United had dominated the whole game and looked better than ever before without Ronaldo on the team. United refused to give up, and that is thanks to Ten Hag. He deserves credit for building togetherness and collectivity at United that has been gone for a while, as well as eradicating individualism and restoring team spirit. The result: Casemiro who headed the 1-1 against the ropes in injury time. United fans cheered the goalscorer. Ronaldo fans, who were already gently rubbing their hands, stepped back into their shadows.”
Manchester Evening News is slightly less enthusiastic about Ten Hag’s performance, but still gives the Dutchman a 6 as a score. The local newspaper is not entirely happy with the choice to bring in passed midfielder Fred in the second half. ,,The failure of Fred may have seemed harsh, but was justified because United were much more dominant in the first half than against Tottenham Hotspur (2-0 win). Bringing the Brazilian in the second half was well-intentioned, but had a negative effect on Bruno Fernandes.”
After Casemiro’s equalizer, the BBC saw exactly what Ten Hag hoped to see: solidarity. “The spontaneous cheering of the United players after the late equalizer underlined what Ten Hag tries to protect in his group, namely combat, team spirit and solidarity.”
Watch the recap of Chelsea against Manchester United below.