Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1 - Caicedo's stunner, Mazraoui impresses in Old Trafford stalemate

Moises Caicedo’s showstopping volley rescued a point for Chelsea as they shared the spoils with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Enzo Maresca’s side and United, in their first Premier League outing since Erik ten Hag’s departure, largely cancelled each other out for long spells in a timid, meandering encounter, up until both teams found the net inside four second-half minutes.

Bruno Fernandes put the home side ahead from the penalty spot after Robert Sanchez felled Rasmus Hojlund in the box but shortly afterwards, Chelsea midfielder Caicedo caught a descending clearance perfectly and arrowed home the equaliser.

Carl Anka and Simon Johnson break down the main talking points from the game.

Caicedo’s corker was worth the wait

You have to wait a long time to see Caiciedo score a goal but when he does find the net, it tends to be worth the wait.

Chelsea fans had to be very patient in 2023-24, with his first goal for the club coming in the very final game of the campaign.

It was the kind of strike that helped people stop questioning the £115million transfer fee paid to Brighton the previous summer as he lobbed Bournemouth keeper Neto from a good 50 yards. It ended up winning the vote from supporters as the club’s best goal of the season.

His equaliser at Old Trafford was not quite in that league but it was still of the very highest quality. As a Chelsea corner was cleared to the edge of the box, Caicedo struck the ball first time on the volley with his right foot and it flew into the bottom corner.

It was one of those shots that you can hear despite being in a noisy stadium, with the dull thud of the boot connecting sweetly.

The quality of the connection was one thing, the timing was another. Before his intervention, Chelsea were heading for a second away defeat in a row after gifting United the lead from the penalty spot.

It clearly was not lost on Caicedo, who celebrated wildly in front of the home fans but his celebration was matched by the relieved traveling support.

What a hit from Moisés Caicedo! 💥 pic.twitter.com/K6ZiaUZsaG

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 3, 2024

Moises Caicedo that is BRILLIANT. 💪

He brings Chelsea level in no time with a fantastic strike!

📺 USA Network | #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/RCKgGte1xA

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 3, 2024

Simon Johnson

How did interim boss Van Nistelrooy fare?

Two games in and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s approach to interim management has him make minor tactical tweaks, rather than rip up the playbook.

The Dutchman made three changes from the starting XI that put a rotated Leicester City to the sword in the Carabao Cup. Unfortunately, United couldn’t maintain the attacking thrust that they demonstrated in midweek.

When Van Nistelrooy was in charge of PSV Eindhoven in 2022-23, his side played a straightforward 4-3-3 where the wingers were encouraged to beat their full-backs one-v-one. Against Chelsea, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho found it difficult to best their defenders in a first-half performance where the sides cancelled each other out.

As United midfielders struggled to receive the ball and play through Chelsea pressure, Hojlund went starved of service up front. The Denmark international is uncomfortable when asked to play as a traditional target man, holding the ball up and wrestling with opposition centre-backs. Yet he spent much of Sunday afternoon playing with his back to goal, waiting for one of Andre Onana’s punts to arrive.

The Denmark international is at his best when running the channels, receiving the ball into space. Thankfully, Casemiro delivered with a diagonal pass in the 68th minute, with Hojlund just about nipping the ball around Robert Sanchez before being felled in the box.

Van Nistelrooy certainly looked the part in the dugout, applauding United fans and offering Rashford encouragement after the 27-year-old hit the woodwork on the stroke of half-time. The imminent arrival of Ruben Amorim later this November means the Dutchman can focus on being a safe pair of hands, rather than attempting to fix everything.

Still, there are a lot of things for United to fix if they are to have any chance of salvaging this season.

Carl Anka

Maresca’s left-back tinkering yielding mixed results

One of the biggest surprises head coach Enzo Maresca provided regarding team selection was not recalling Marc Cucurella to the first XI after the full-back was suspended against Liverpool.

For the third successive Premier League game, Maresca opted to play a right-back out of position at left-back, and it is having a negative impact on Chelsea’s ability to have a balanced attack.

Malo Gusto played in Cucurella’s absence at Anfield, while captain Reece James operated there from the start for the second week running today.

At Liverpool, Gusto got himself into a number of promising positions but his discomfort in using his left foot was obvious and let him down in the final third.
But at least he crossed the halfway line to give the opponents something to worry about. Just as he did against Newcastle last Sunday, James sat very deep at Old Trafford.

Whenever the England international did get the ball, his first instinct was to cut inside and play the ball with his right foot to the middle of the pitch. On one such occasion in the first half, it led to a dangerous counter-attack as his pass was comfortably intercepted by United. It also meant Pedro Neto did not see as much of the ball as he could have.

Chelsea did pose a threat in the opening 45 minutes through Noni Madueke and Gusto on the right, but by being so predictable, the home side were always able to get numbers over to block any crosses or passes.

When Cucurella is in the side, opponents have more of a guessing game over what Maresca’s side will do and his omission can not be put down to bad form as he started the campaign well before serving his on- game ban for picking up five yellow cards.

Maresca spotted the error of his ways by bringing on Cucurella on for Gusto at half-time, with James moved to his preferred right-hand side.

Simon Johnson

Mazraoui remains United’s best summer signing

There was a moment partway through the first half where Cole Palmer pulled off one of his favourite tricks, beating his marker with a disguised first touch into space before running onto it a fraction afterwards.

Palmer’s pass to himself bamboozled United’s defenders, forcing Manuel Ugarte to scramble and make a cynical foul to stop things from getting out of control.

Chelsea’s midfield trio of Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Palmer are technically gifted, tactically smart, and able to pass and receive the ball under pressure. The United player who can best compete with that is not a midfielder but Noussair Mazraoui.

The 26-year-old was used at left-back on Sunday and put together a neat and tidy performance in a game marked by sloppiness elsewhere. The stat sheet read two clearances, two interceptions and three important tackles at full-time, while the eye test let it be known he’s one of United’s smoothest operators with the ball, especially with a defender lurking on his back.

How the Morocco international will adjust to playing at wing-back in new head coach Ruben Amorim’s likely 3-4-3 formation remains to be seen. Still, Mazraoui is good enough and intelligent enough to make the leap. He represents the sort of good transfer business that INEOS executives would like to make more of at United going forward.