I thought it was a pretty good game, even if Chelsea were quite dominant in most part of the game. Bakayoko was wasteful and a bit too egoist imo and I thought Fellaini didn't seemed quite fit. Nearly costed United a goal at one point. Morata did great to score the winner but he seriously lacked maturity when in one on one situation. As for United, they played much better toward the end of the game but it was too late at that point. Seem like they Mou would get better results if he started of being more offensive. :( Anyway, please share your opinion on the matter or tell my if you think I'm wrong on a point or that I missed anything. :D

Seriously, no one want to speak about it? Not any Chelsea fan or Manchester United fan on the forum would like to defend his side or something? :(

Mourinho tried to play defensive again. Didn’t work again.

We're playing safe. You don't win a title playing safe. Mourinho doesn't believe in his own side.

With Kante being in the team it was clear that Chelsea has the upper hand, after all Chelsea plays attractive football regardless who they play while Man Utd has a particular style of rigid defending and since Pogba was missing it was too easy for Conte's boys.

It could have been 3:0 but a win is a win, a job well done.
Morata has now 7 goals in 9 games and 3 assists and he was injured as well so he's doing amazing at his first season so far, there is a special connection with Cesar which is great but at the same time the spanish players getting along so well might be the reason for Willian not fitting in as well as he did before. Interesting that David Luiz isn't doing great either, another one from Brazil so maybe it's something about this period of the year who knows.

@Golazo Well, Kante did very well, but it wasn't such an easy game imo. Morata and Bakayoko wasted a lot of opportunity, Morata by wanting to go it alone toward the end and Bakayoko by taking too many shot at goal instead of passing the ball more. The score could have been very different if Chelsea would have converted more of their chance and United should have played agressive from the start, would have been even more interesting.

Anyway, the results is good for Spurs and City.

@Sun How can he not believe in his side? He got so many dangerous player in his side, Lukaku, Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Martial, even Herrera got that killer pass that can win game if he given a chance of making one. :( He should really stop being so stuck with his philosophy of defending above all else and focus on making his team score goals.

Kante came back boost their performances massively, and that shows from time to time how important midfielders are while the atrikers tend to take more credit.

Chelsea was way better than us. We played too safely and I must say it was quite cowardy. :( I would live to see Mou put more trust on our players, style....

We went from a fearful 4 0 teams, and we let that momentum and image slid away as soon as we face a big team. Then we lost our momentum and no teams are not that crumble against us anymore... They have more confident than they should have... And Mou tend to make a mess our the dressing room when thing doesnt go right...

Btw, I knew this style would come because its Mou... I was so hopeful he changed but i did mention a lot at the beginning of the season that, dont get too excited, we had not had a real test yet....

Let's hope Mou dumb his freak ego and adapt a bit

@Emo: it's Mou being Mou...

@tuan_jinn Well, to be fair, Mou does make a good defending team, but if there is no chance upfront and that you get attacked again and again, there is more risk of losing moral and of making mistake in defense, it seem simple. :(

At the beginning of the season what were you Manchester United aiming for? Both In PL and CL. I didn’t particularly see much of a difference from the start and now, because last year the same thing happened, but they ended 6th.

With Kante being in the team it was clear that Chelsea has the upper hand, after all Chelsea plays attractive football regardless who they play while Man Utd has a particular style of rigid defending and since Pogba was missing it was too easy for Conte's boys.

Playing the game "attractively" has no bearing on whether or not you win. How well the teams come out and play to the maximum of the gameplan, whatever it is, usually provides the difference. Very rarely is the gameplan just poor. This game was a mix of both. Morata's goal was the obvious problem of United not playing a 3-man backline enough - the amount of space allowed was infuriating. United's inability to provide any sort of attacking pressure whatsoever was both related to players having poor games, and a tactical gameplan that didn't allow for the flexibility that I would argue is required for attacking competency. Either way, "attractiveness" is a retarded argument that is annoyingly becoming prevalent in every circle these days. Winning is what matters, not how f*ckable you look while doing it.

@Sun How can he not believe in his side? He got so many dangerous player in his side, Lukaku, Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Martial, even Herrera got that killer pass that can win game if he given a chance of making one. :( He should really stop being so stuck with his philosophy of defending above all else and focus on making his team score goals.

I would agree with you. Three draws equal one win and two losses. I would much rather see him go for it and lose a few games if he has too. He doesn't agree. That's the reality we're living. He is the manager, and we are not.

@tuan_jinn Well, to be fair, Mou does make a good defending team, but if there is no chance upfront and that you get attacked again and again, there is more risk of losing moral and of making mistake in defense, it seem simple. :(

LVG had the best defense in the EPL. We don't need defense. We want it, but it's not really a requirement. Attacking however, is. Liverpool is the obvious counterpoint, but with all fake respect to Liverpool, De Gea/Bailly/Smalling/Valencia are simply better than Liverpool's backline.

At the beginning of the season what were you Manchester United aiming for? Both In PL and CL. I didn’t particularly see much of a difference from the start and now, because last year the same thing happened, but they ended 6th.

We're still in a good position, league table wise. Advancing out of the CL group in first is a formality at this point. We are in a far superior position to last season, despite how many people feel. I suppose one concern I have is that United are not looking good while playing any team that has a basic level of competency. The CL knockout rounds will hold those teams. I am not optimistic.

LVG had the best defense in the EPL.

Well, I mean, apart from Tottenham.

I suppose one concern I have is that United are not looking good while playing any team that has a basic level of competency

Hey, you beat Tottenham 1-0, although we didn't have Kane playing. I'd say that's an encouraging sign.

Personally I think United are going to have a good season, both in Europe and at home.

Sir Alex Ferguson was right, defense does win you titles but the point of the game is to score as well.
Chelsea looked good winning yesterday, we got it all and I'm thankful for that.
Some don't care how a team wins so it shouldn't matter how a team loses either, for others that are not like that a 1:0 win can be a very respected result, a job well done, a clean win with a clean sheet.

Man Utd goes to away games against bigger teams with the sole purpose of grabbing a point and when things go bad like yesterday they try so hard to change their own pre-set mindset they had from the start in the last 10 min of the game. Doesn't really seem to be the winning formula if we judge by results either.

@Golazo111:
I do agree with a lot of that, but I think it can be the winning formula. It's the way Jose got his first two PL titles. Chelsea conceded 15 goals (!!!) in his first season, and only 22 in his second. Admittedly, this was when his team was also scoring a lot, and coming within the top 2 or 3 teams in terms of Goals For.

At Internazionale, both seasons he had the lowest GA, and highest GF.

In three seasons at Madrid he twice had the 2nd fewest GA (both times behind Barca), and perhaps surprisingly, he twice had the highest GF.

When he returned to Chelsea in 2013, he came 3rd, but had the fewest Goals Against (27), an improvement on the 36 they'd conceded the season before. Then, he wins the title with the fewest GA, and 2nd in terms of GF.

Currently he's... got the fewest conceded goals, and is 2nd in GF.

I'm just sayin'... I think Mourinho's record in results isn't so shabby, once he gets things the way he wants them.

@Lodatz We will see how it ends up in spring, I think that if he had Pogba the game would have been different and Lukaku would have got some better delivery as well.
For this particular game I still think that the gameplan of playing away with the rigid defending was too much over the top because Chelsea does play a more open style of game and in the last 10 min we saw that United can pressure if given the orders, sometimes Mourinho is too much focused on the fact that whoever scores first might take the game away and doesn't want to even think about playing a more open type of a game, even when Chelsea is vulnerable at the back.

Simply put, Mou changed after Real. He defends, and doesn't counter any more. Mou now plays for draws in the big games. This was a great strategy few years ago as there was the big 4, and as long as you win the remaining games, you're fine with a draw against the top 4 or 5 teams. I mean not too long ago, 76 points won you EPL. The league has become more competitive, and teams like Bournemoth have enough talent and will beat you if you take them lightly. In addition, City or Spurs don't lose away like they once did under Mancini or Redknapp as they now play a different brand of football than that was seen in EPL. Mou needs to understand this, and attack against the big teams. Based on his current record, Mou will lose at least 2 more games away to "minnows" and drop points at home to one of the other big teams. As long as he plays "safety first", United will not with the EPL. He might win an UCL, since his strategy is suited more for the knock out games.

@ashwin: agreed!

And, to win titles as winning. We need both, defend and attack. Playing defensively for safety and hit on counters is the favourable choice of lots of coaches, especially lesser teams. Nothing wrong with that, but I dont think it suits MU,

Not to mention, you just can't hold it for long... being under constant pressure would make the team shake and expose to errors.

Mou, please change! we want to enjoy big games too.

@Lodatz :D

@ashwin1729 Good analysis mate. ;) Though, it isn't very joyful to hear.

@tuan_jinn Indeed! I miss the United that beat West Ham 4-0 at the beggining of the season among other thing. :(