Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United: Alvaro Morata seals deserved win with world-class header to leave Jose Mourinho's Premier League title hopes in tatters
- Phil Jones scores early own goal under pressure from Alvaro Morata but Anthony Taylor rules it out for a foul
- Morata breaks the deadlock ten minutes into the second-half after heading home Cesar Azpilicueta's cross
- Jose Mourinho's men are now eight points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City after 11 games
- Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United: Relive the action as it unfolded at Stamford Bridge
For Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, this is beginning to feel less like a football season and more an exercise in problem management.
Manchester United, it is worth pointing out, are second in the Premier League. Chelsea, after this thoroughly deserved win, are up to fourth and just a point behind.
But the feeling at both of these clubs is not one of great optimism. Issues swirl around both like smoke from a bonfire, whatever the results on the field.
Alvaro Morata celebrates with team-mates Tiemoue Bakayoko, Cesar Azpilicueta and Davide Zappacosta after scoring
Chelsea and Spain striker Morata celebrates after scoring the opening goal of the game against Manchester United
Morata headed in the first goal of the game after finishing an expertly delivered cross from fellow Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta
Phil Jones of Manchester United is dejected as Chelsea players celebrates Morata's headed goal in the background
Antonio Conte celebrates with Gary Cahill at full-time as the Premier League champions seal a win over Manchester United
Jose Mourinho shakes hands with a Chelsea coach while his counterpart Conte walks straight onto the playing surface
United have problems surrounding their style, especially away from Old Trafford. On Mourinho’s 15-month watch, they have scored a single goal away against one of the traditional top six clubs.
After two defeats in three Premier League games, United are now eight points behind Manchester City and maybe we are finally beginning to see evidence of the limitations that seemed apparent at the end of the summer transfer window. Better – quite good, in fact – but maybe not quite good enough yet.
On Sunday, Mourinho was left to suggest that things will improve once injured players return. This from a manager who claims never to use injuries as an excuse.
As for Chelsea, Conte continues to swim against a tide that seems destined, at some stage, to wash him out of the door at Stamford Bridge.
This was an emotional, tense victory for the Italian, one earned by a towering header from Alvaro Morata and celebrated with such intensity at full-time that Conte decided he didn’t have time to shake hands with Mourinho. That was a mistake.
Afterwards, though, talk turned almost immediately from victory to his omission of the Brazilian David Luiz.
With Conte dissatisfied with Luiz’s training performances, the Chelsea manager decided to proceed without him for this game and has suggested this stance will not change anytime soon.
Manchester United defender Phil Jones puts the ball into his own net but is lucky to earn a foul from Chelsea star Morata
The Spanish striker protests his innocence to the match officials after seeing the early Chelsea goal chalked off for a foul
Marcus Rashford came closest to scoring for Manchester United, but failed to find the target with this headed effort
David de Gea makes a save from Eden Hazard's shot to keep Manchester United on level terms with title rivals Chelsea
The Spanish international goalkeeper punches a cross clear from Manchester United's penalty area
De Gea stands motionless in front of his goal as the headed effort from Morata sails into the top corner in the second half
Chelsea manager Conte celebrates Morata's goal along with his coaches and physios in the Stamford Bridge dugout
Victory here enabled him to get away with that. Today it looks brave, an example of a manager exercising his authority. But what happens when Conte leaves one of his big names out and his team loses?
That is when the problems will begin.
At Chelsea, managers who take on players – especially those favoured by the owner Roman Abramovich – tend to run in to difficulties very soon. Mourinho knows this better than anyone.
So this was the context within which this game was played.
If matches that do not involve rampant City already feel as though they will only influence the order of the runners-up prizes, this one was always unlikely to provide conclusive truth of the direction in which Chelsea or United are travelling.
From United we certainly didn’t really see anything that surprised us.
Mourinho’s team were competitive and drilled and were never going to be easy to beat. But they were lacking in potency when they had the ball.
Manchester United star Ander Herrera attempts to block the ball on De Gea's goal line as Cesc Fabregas chases it
The Chelsea midfielder crashes into cameras as his fellow Spaniard falls into the Manchester United net following the chance
Chelsea star Tiemoue Bakayoko sports an eccentric hairstyle as he puts pressure on Nemanja Matic of Manchester United
Chelsea's Eden Hazard (left) and Manchester United's Eric Bailly (right) battle for the ball during the opening half of the match
Thibaut Courtois and Cahill attempt to clear a late cross as Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku looks for an equaliser
Centre forward Romelu Lukaku has now not scored since the end of September, for example, and United continue to look utterly incapable of dictating play against good sides.
Only after Chelsea scored ten minutes in to the second half did United really come alive, Mourinho throwing on the big Belgian Marouane Fellaini to try to blow the house down.
Prior to that Mourinho’s team had been in the game but never in charge of it. Chelsea were better from the get-go and the way they responded to defeat in Rome in the Champions League was very impressive.
The home teams two best players were Morata and Eden Hazard. No surprise there. Morata’s play with back to goal was terrific and he was prepared to run the channels too. It was hard not to compare that to Lukaku’s rather more laboured efforts at the other end.
United survived a Phil Jones volley in to his own net early on – Morata was adjudged to have fouled him – and escaped again when the unconvincing Tiemoue Bakayoko spooned a good chance wide from 12 yards.
Manchester United midfielder Herrera lifts his shirt to reveal stud marks on his chest following a clash in the match
Manchester United defender Jones accidentally bumps into referee Anthony Taylor as he is shown a yellow card for a foul
Referee Anthony Taylor warns Chelsea manager Conte about his behaviour on the touchline during the second half
Marouane Fellaini, who came on for Manchester United as a second-half substitute, controls the ball with his face
United goalkeeper David de Gea then beat out a waspish Hazard shot with Cesc Fabregas heading the rebound in to the side netting. At this stage all that United had to show for their occasional journeys to the other end of the field was a header over from Marcus Rashford and a shot from 18 yards by Lukaku that Thibaut Courtois saved low to his right.
Chelsea never wore the look of certain winners but a blue victory always seemed the most likely outcome. Hazard may have done better than shoot at the goalkeeper early in the second half but when Cesar Azpilicueta dropped a cross on Morata’s head soon after the way he directed the ball back across De Gea and in to the top corner was sublime.
It was a goal fit to win a big match and eventually it did so. United did press hard latterly with Fellaini working Courtois and then appealing for a penalty as he grappled with Gary Cahill.
Conte certainly should have gone to Mourinho to shake hands afterwards, no matter the previous bad blood between them. But as the dust settled later, that was not even the main post-match issue. That, in itself, spoke volumes.
Inevitably this did bring United a bit of territory as the game entered the final third. Chelsea also seemed comfortable sitting back and trying to kill the game on the break.
Ander Herrera volleyed a half chance wide from a corner and then Chris Smalling was penalised for jumping all over Courtois at another set piece.
Courtois makes a smart save to deny Manchester United an equaliser in stoppage time at Stamford Bridge
Conte celebrates the victory with the man who assisted their winning goal, Azpilicueta, on the pitch at full-time
Match winner Morata waves to the crowd as a television camera follows him around the Stamford Bridge pitch
There was something of a haphazard threat about United as they tried to get back on terms but still the more controlled attacking football came from Chelsea, albeit on the counter.
Bakayoko was lacking in composure and cleverness when a mistake by Fellaini allowed him to run clear. It would have made sense to turn on to his left to open up the goal as red shirts retreated he seemed to want to go right and when he did he was only able to shoot wide of the near post.
Hazard then had a low shot saved by De Gea after standing up Smalling in the penalty area. This had been a good afternoon for the Belgian but he had not quite been at his sharpest in front of goal.
He was eventually replaced with four minutes of normal time remaining, the Brazilian Willian sent to help shore up the game. That came immediately after a half volley from the edge of the area by Rashford had passed the wrong side of the post by about a foot.
At such a late stage of the game, Chelsea did begin to find themselves under pressure at last. United did not try to hide the gameplan as they knocked it long to Fellaini and hoped for the best.
It almost worked, too, as the Belgian controlled a cross on his chest in the 90th minute and delivered a falling volley that Courtois dropped to save. As the ball was worked wide and crossed in to the box again, Fellaini fell under a challenge from Gary Cahill. Penalty? Probably not.
Still United would not lie down and die and after Morata spurned a 93rd minute breakaway chance Mourinho’s team earned one final chance. But Rashford couldn’t keep his free-kick down and United’s rather belated attempt at a comeback was over.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho greets his former player and Chelsea star Hazard just before kick off
Chelsea defender David Luiz is seen sitting above the Chelsea bench after his surprise omission from the match-day squad
Chelsea and Manchester United players stand around the centre circle as Stamford Bridge falls silent for Remembrance Day
Most watched Sport videos
- Madrid staff storm the pitch after Joselu's winner against Bayern
- Awkward moment Shaq tells Jokic which other player deserved MVP
- Jason Kelce claims Secretariat were 'doping' in the 1970s
- Tackle moment on field that made NRL great Fatty Vautin infuriated
- Glen Davis says jail is the only way he'll stop eating hamburgers
- Beckham on the importance of '99 after his difficult '98 season
- Olivia Dunne celebrates boyfriend Paul Skenes' Pirates call up
- Ed Sheeran takes the Ipswich team out for a promotion party
- Rio Ferdinand shows 'respect' as he avoids Real Madrid badge
- Real Madrid players applaud fans after comeback against Bayern
- Football star Kylian Mbappé announces his departure from PSG
- Travis Kelce gets his makeup done filming new horror show
So no league title for United after spending 700m ...
by CR7 madrid legend 1490