Iconic Global Magazine Iconic Global Magazine is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.
Related Articles
- Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has reacted to Chelsea’s dramatic defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford
- The Blues were undone by an early Robert Sanchez’s red card and consequent panic decisions from the manager
- Maresca also provided an update on Cole Palmer’s injury after the attacker was substituted in a wild first half
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has shared his thoughts after the 2-1 loss to Manchester United in a dramatic evening at Old Trafford.
The Blues, off the back of a 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, headed to Old Trafford to face a struggling United side.
Source: Getty Images
The match started in the worst possible way for Chelsea when Robert Sanchez was sent off after preventing a goalscoring opportunity from Bryan Mbeumo outside the box.
Maresca withdrew Estevao Willian for Filip Jorgensen as a replacement for Sanchez, but weirdly took off Pedro Neto for Tosin Adarabioyo, a decision which raised eyebrows.
Bruno Fernandes gave United the lead in a controversial manner, a goal many believe was marginally offside. His pivot partner Casemiro doubled the lead later.
Minutes before Casemiro’s goal, Cole Palmer was substituted with a groin injury, the same one that kept him out of action for a while this season, and was replaced by Andrey Santos.
The former Real Madrid midfielder was sent off close to half-time, equalling the game to 10 men each, but for Chelsea, the damage was already done.
Trevoh Chalobah pulled one back for the Blues in the 80th minute, but it was not enough, and as noted by Mykhel, they are without a win at Old Trafford for 13 years.
Maresca reacts to Chelsea’s loss
Manager Enzo Maresca admitted that the red card threw all the plans he had for the match into the bin, and it was a situation that could have been avoided.
“Very difficult because after three or four minutes with the red card, it completely changed the game. All the plan was in the bin. So it was very complicated,” he said as quoted by NBC Sports.
“It’s a situation that we can avoid because we knew these kinds of long balls for Sesko, they try to flick for Mbeumo. We knew that. Unfortunately, we conceded that moment.”
Fans raised eyebrows over the double substitution after the red card, particularly Neto and Maresca claimed it was tactical, but for Palmer, it was fitness issues.
“They are used to attacking with five players, so in that moment, we have to defend with five players. We can defend absolutely with four when we are 11 vs 11, but when we are one player down, the idea was to defend with five,” he added.
Source: Getty Images
“We changed Cole because he made an effort to play this game because he was not 100 per cent fit. This morning he had a test and he was OK, but not 100 per cent fit. So we decided to change him after 20 minutes.”
Fans were displeased to not see new signing Alejandro Garnacho get minutes against his former club, but the manager claimed he could have come on, but he put on Malo Gusto for Wesley Fofana instead when the French defender said he was tired.
Cat predicted Chelsea to beat Man Utd
Legit.ng reported that a mysterious cat predicted Chelsea to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford after eating from a bowl labelled Chelsea FC.
The same cat predicted the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win in the United States.
Source: Legit.ng
