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Leaders Chelsea held to 1-1 draw by Man United

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Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah vies for the ball with Manchester United's Fred. (AP)

Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah vies for the ball with Manchester United's Fred. (AP)

Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea have 30 points from 13 games with City on 29 points

Published: Mon 29 Nov 2021, 12:42 AM

  • By
  • Reuters

Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League was cut to a point after they were held at home by Manchester United while rivals Manchester City overcame a snowstorm to beat West Ham United 2-1 on Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea have 30 points from 13 games with City on 29 points and Liverpool, who beat Southampton 4-0 on Saturday, are a further point behind.

United, with Michael Carrick in temporary charge of the team following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench and fielded a defensive lineup designed to frustrate the league leaders.

Chelsea dominated the first half, with United sitting deep and tight with three defensive midfielders in front of a back four without the suspended Harry Maguire and injured Raphael Varane.

Five minutes after the interval, United hit Chelsea on the break with Jorginho miscontrolling a long clearance and Jadon Sancho taking full advantage, latching on to the loose ball and then racing goalwards before beating Edouard Mendy with an ice-cool finish.

Jorginho made amends though when he converted from the spot after a wild challenge from Aaron Wan-Bissaka on Thiago Silva led to a penalty. The hosts pushed for a winner and brought on Romelu Lukaku, returning from injury as a substitute for the last 10 minutes against his former club, but they failed to find a way through United’s defence with Antonio Rudiger wasting a late chance.

“I am absolutely happy with the performance,” Chelsea boss Tuchel said. “We dominated from the first minute, we were aggressive and never stopped attacking... We have to swallow the result. We played very well and I am happy.”

United are expected, in the coming days, to appoint former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick as their manager until the end of the season and Carrick was disappointed with Sunday’s result. “When you’re in front in a game like this, to have it taken away from you is disappointing,” he said.

“I’m immensely proud of the players, it’s been a tough week and some difficult moments for us all but I’m proud of the response.”



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