Chelsea’s week went from bad to worse as they fell 2–1 to Manchester United, marking their second loss in just a few days after the midweek defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The game turned dramatically inside the first five minutes when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was shown a red card, forcing the visitors to play almost the entire match a man down. United capitalised with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, though the latter was later sent off. Despite pulling one back, Chelsea could not salvage a result.
Speaking afterwards, Enzo Maresca argued that the dismissal was decisive. “After three or four minutes, it became tough. A red card so early makes it difficult for any team,” the Chelsea manager said. He added that while Casemiro’s sending-off offered his side a way back, the initial setback had already torn up their match plan.
Tactical changes and player withdrawals
Maresca’s in-game decisions raised eyebrows, particularly the substitutions following Sanchez’s dismissal. He withdrew Estevao and Pedro Neto, introducing Tosin Adarabioyo and Filip Jorgensen to cover defensively and in goal.
Just minutes later, Cole Palmer — Chelsea’s key attacking figure — was also taken off in favour of Andrey Santos, leaving fans puzzled as to how the team would mount a comeback without three influential players.
Explaining his reasoning, Maresca pointed to the need for structural adjustments. “They attack with five players, and we defend with four when it’s eleven against eleven. With one player less, we needed to defend wider, so we moved to a back five,” he said.
On Palmer’s substitution, the coach clarified that the forward had been a doubt before kick-off. “Cole tried this morning, he tested to play, but he was not fully fit. He made a huge effort to take part, but he wasn’t 100 per cent.”
