Chelsea hosted Manchester United in what was probably the biggest game of the weekend in the Premier League. A resurgent Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel were pushing for the Champions League places, having conceded just twice since the German took over, with one of those goals an own goal. Manchester United, on the other hand, were rather well-placed in second, but 13 points behind neighbours Manchester City in the title race. Having been top of the tree for a few weeks in January, fans would have expected United to put up more of a fight but with points dropped against the likes of Sheffield United and West Brom, the Red Devils had to start winning games in order to mount a late charge for the title. In this tactical analysis, we will look at the tactics of Chelsea and Manchester United from their game at Stamford Bridge.
Lineups
We begin our analysis with a look at the lineups of both sides. The big news for the hosts was that Timo Werner missed out, with Tuchel opting for Olivier Giroud to lead the line. Hakim Ziyech started as well, with the impressive Mason Mount playing down the left of the front three of sorts. Callum Hudson-Odoi started in his new wing-back role, with Ben Chilwell starting down the other flank, over Marcos Alonso who had started a string of games prior. Mateo Kovačić partnered NGolo Kanté in midfield with Kurt Zouma, who started against Southampton, making way for Andreas Christensen in the back three.
For the visitors, Mason Greenwood led the line, with Anthony Martial out of form and Edinson Cavani not having recovered from injury. Dan James started down the right after some impressive performances in the past few weeks while Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford started as usual. Scott McTominay returned to the side to partner Fred in midfield, with Paul Pogba still injured for the Red Devils. The defence was the same as usual, with Victor Lindelöf partnering Harry Maguire although there was speculation that Eric Bailly could start as well. In goal, David de Gea had come under fire for his errors this season, but he still got the nod over Dean Henderson, who started earlier in the week in the Europa League. With the lineups covered, let us move into the tactics.
