Manchester United beats Chelsea 1-2 courtesy of goals from Marcus Rashford, who scored twice, a penalty and a sensational free-kick to send Manchester United to the Carabao Cup Quarterfinal ahead of Chelsea.
Manchester United who were still not playing their best football, but relying on a counter-attack, took the lead with a penalty after Marcos Alonso was adjudged to have fouled Daniel James inside the box.
Michy Batshuayi equalised for Chelsea, who had won their last seven games, with a great run from the halfway line and finish from outside the box.
But Marcus Rashford won the game with a swerving 30-yard free-kick.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named a strong side, for the game, while Frank Lampard made six changes, as he paid for it at the end.
Chelsea, as usual, did all the playing and just like their first meeting in the Premier League, were unfortunate not to have gotten the win, as they were clearly the better team.
Marcus Rashford who was the man of the match, speaking after the game, had this to say:
“We’ve been in a tough place. We’re still getting through that phase.
“The only way to get through it is to fight through it and win because they’re the things which keep everyone happy. When you’ve won, you wake up with a good feeling. The main focus was on improvement and development.
“We’re definitely going places, from pre-season we did a lot of good work. The start of the season wasn’t what we expected but we’ve got to get through it.”
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to Sky Sports, praising his team for the result but failed to point out how poorly they played, especially the Chelsea goal. he said:
“We’ve travelled a lot in the last week. We’ve got a good team spirit and camaraderie. It shows the character of the team.
“We get the games where we want them. We’ve been leading 1-0 in many games and not kicked on. Today we were excellent, with fast-flowing flowing. That’s Manchester United. We’re trying to get back to that.
“Marcus has that strike in him. I’ve seen him in training so many times.
“When you give young lads the experience like Brandon Williams got tonight – and the kid was outstanding – it’s only going to help them. We know we’re not the finished product, we’re a work in progress and keep trying to improve,” he said.
…more reactions to come…