As Chelsea are condemned to yet another defeat, this time at home to supposed Champions League rivals, we take a look at what went wrong on the day
On Saturday night, Chelsea were defeated 1-0 at home to Manchester United on match day 33 of the Premier League season.
Although it is clear the visitors have improved under the management of Michael Carrick, they had only taken one point from their last two games - and on Monday night were defeated by next weekend's FA Cup semi final opponents, Leeds United.
This result means that Chelsea have lost their past four league games without scoring a goal, their joint longest run since 1912. It is now 6 1/2 hours of football without a goal in the Premier League.
So, what went wrong for this bit of unwanted history to be made?
There was already a lot of anguish from fans when they noticed that first choice striker Joao Pedro was not even in the squad due to a thigh injury, meaning that Liam Delap would lead the line. There will be several fans praying he is fit for the Leeds game next week.
So, although United had a central defensive duo of youngster Ayden Heaven and full-back Noussair Mazraoui, fans already felt like the team were up against it due to Pedro's absence.
Then, after just a quarter of an hour, Estevao picked up a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Alejandro Garnacho. Sure, the teenager hasn't been at his best lately, but his replacement in the Argentina international had one of the worst individual displays you will see all season against his former employers.
It's quite binary analysis, but Cole Palmer was once again so poor. It does not set a good precedent when your best player on paper is performing at such a bad level consistently.
When he is at his best, Palmer is a clear creative threat. When he is off form, and Reece James is out with injury, the team have no creativity. Chelsea had 21 shots yesterday, United had four. Yet, the goal from Matheus Cunha was the only big chance either side had all game.
After the game, people mentioned the shot count, implying the Blues were unfortunate. But that is not the case. There were chances, sure, but not clear cut chances. If you can't create clear cut chances at home, you do not deserve anything from the game. It is that simple.
Then, you just simply have a manager that is not ready for the challenge. You appoint a mid table Ligue 1 manager, you get a mid table Ligue 1 manager. It's not his fault. It's the club's fault.
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