One of the most eagerly awaited clashes of this special Premier League weekend was the match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford. The Red Devils won the game 2-1, easing the pressure on Ruben Amorim, but the main event that changed the course of the match occurred just five minutes into the game.
With only three minutes gone, Bryan Mbuemo sprinted forward on a counterattack that looked deadly given his freedom in the final third, but Robert Sánchez decided to come out of the box and commit a clear red card foul, leaving Enzo Maresca's entire coaching staff quite angry. The Blues coach said in a post-match interview that it would be "obviously less bad to concede a goal after three minutes than to change the lineup."
Estêvão lost his place in the starting lineup due to his sending off, with Enzo quickly replacing him to prioritize the entry of Filip Jorgensen. Seeking to prioritize the defensive system, Pedro Neto also had to leave the field quickly for Tosin Adarabioyo to come on.
Manchester United pressed after Sánchez was sent off
Manchester United took advantage of their numerical superiority against their opponents and ended up applying relentless pressure for 15 minutes until they opened the scoring. Bruno Fernandes found himself unmarked in the box and took advantage of a cross to score his 100th goal for the Red Devils, one of the most special goals of his career.
Shortly after conceding the first goal, Enzo Maresca made another change to Chelsea's lineup, bringing on Andrey Santos to replace Cole Palmer in order to increase protection in front of the area and give the Blues more space to play out from the back. However, the Blues once again failed decisively in the box, and Casemiro took advantage of a poorly cleared ball and Maguire's recovery. The Brazilian was sent off in stoppage time, restoring numerical parity to the match.
Chelsea gained new momentum after Casemiro's red card
With Casemiro sent off before halftime, Chelsea had the opportunity to implement their third strategy in the same match and applied pressure even with only João Pedro among the starters in attack, as United were pinned back in their own penalty area. The pressure was so intense that the Blues scored a goal after 35 minutes of persistence in the second half, with Reece James crossing to Chalobah, who rose unmarked to head home.
Even though they were completely disorganized, the Blues were competitive in the final minutes with an aggressive attitude, and the match remained open with transitions for both teams, but the Red Devils emerged victorious (despite their efforts to lose the game).