Something is not quite adding up in the Manchester United camp and their fans look to their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for answers. They may need to go beyond that and look at Chelsea’s system instead.
Ben Chilwell has played three games for Chelsea in the Premier League and has scored three. Cristiano Ronaldo has played five games for Man United and has also scored three… Just let that sink in.
The Blues currently have 17 different goal scorers this season, compared to nine for Manchester United. It’s safe to say that Chelsea may have something that Man United needs despite having a plethora of star players at their disposal.
The Ben Chilwell remontada is in full effect as he scored his third goal of the season against Norwich over the weekend. The fullback has graced his way back into Tuchel’s starting 11, sharing the same impact that Cristiano Ronaldo has had for Manchester United so far this season.
I guess this calls for a “SIUU” celebration.
Despite being tipped to lead Manchester United to a trophy challenging season, Ronaldo is yet to leave us star-struck in the Premier League. Following his disallowed goal in United’s 5-0 thrashing by the hands of Liverpool, the Portuguese forward appeared to be out of answers and out of chances to turn the game around.
Scoring match-winning goals against Brentford and Southampton, Chilwell has managed to pull Chelsea out of sticky situations - and he isn’t the only defender to do so.
You don’t need to rely on the biggest names in football to pull you over the line in big games. Football just doesn’t work that way anymore. Thomas Tuchel continues to set the standard regardless of the outrageous claims towards his team by Paul Scholes a couple of weeks ago:
" I think Chelsea are probably the weakest out of the top four defensively." Paul Scholes on the Overlap.
He then followed up on BT sport, just days before Chelsea’s 7-0 victory against Norwich City,
“I think they’ll have to defend well because I can’t see them [Chelsea] scoring bundles of goals in the Premier League,”
The Manchester United Legend failed to mention that Chelsea has kept the most clean sheets out of those in the top four. He also forgot to mention that seven of the nine Chelsea’s defenders have been on the score sheet so far this season. The irony.
As much as the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo gave their team a boost in a number of star players, playing as a team is where it matters the most. Utilising all the players in the squad and playing to their strengths is where Tuchel thrives ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It’s not about putting all the star players into one team and making it work.
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