Result: Chelsea 0-2 Manchester United
Date: 17 February 2020
Venue: Stamford Bridge
The race for fourth spot in the Premier League was blown wide open on Monday night as Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, where the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) played a big role.
Former Blues midfielder Nemanja Matic returned from suspension and joined Fred and Bruno Fernandes in the United midfield while Michy Batshuayi came in for Tammy Abraham, who missed out through injury for the hosts.
Ten minutes into the encounter, Frank Lampard was forced into a re-shuffle as star midfielder N'Golo Kante was forced with an injury and replaced by Mason Mount.
While United shaded the possession in the first half, the hosts carved out the first real opening on 25 minutes but Batshuayi turned his effort wide of the mark from 12-yards out.
However, the visitors broke the deadlock on the stroke of halftime as Aaron Wan-Bissaka turned his marker on the right flank before picking out Martial, who nodded into the far corner.
That was also United's first away goal in the Premier League this year, with their last strike on the road coming in a 4-1 win over Burnley back in late December.
Chelsea came out firing in the second half and had the ball in the back of the net on 54 minutes through Kurt Zouma's neat finish, but the strike ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee for a foul on Brandon Williams in the build-up.
To add insult to injury, the Red Devils went ahead and bagged a second goal 10 minutes later when Harry Maguire rose above his marker to head home a corner from Fernandes' corner.
VAR came to the home side's frustration once again in the 77th minute after Olivier Giroud looked to have pulled one back with a neat header, but the strike was ruled four an offside.
The Blues did go close to pulling a goal back in the latter stages through Mason Mount, who rattled the upright with a free-kick from distance with David de Gea well beaten.
There was also time for a United debut as Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo was introduced for Martial and should have marked his first appearance with a goal after being played in by Fred but he was unable to convert past Caballero, as United ran out 2-0 winners on the night.
