Cristiano Ronaldo is past at Manchester United, which opened its future without the Portuguese star with a victory (3-0) against Nottingham Forest in which its strikers, Rashford and Martial, scored the goals that opened the match in the match. first part and claimed responsibility at a time when their coach, Erik Ten Hag, recognizes that the team needs reinforcements for the attack. Cody Gakpo was an option, but he is already on his way to Liverpool. In the meantime, United shoots with what they have, which is not little, and closes the gap on the goal of fourth place, which is now one point behind after Tottenham’s draw on Boxing Day. Manchester City, who visits Leeds this Wednesday, is three points behind.
2
Arrizabalaga, Cucurella, Reece James (Azpilicueta, min. 52), Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Mason Mount, Zakaria (Conor Gallagher, min. 82), Jorginho, Sterling (Trevoh Chalobah, min. 87), Christian Pulisic (Aubameyang, min. 81) and Kai Havertz
0
Mark Travers, Jordan Zemura, Lloyd Kelly, Adam Smith, Marcos Senesi, Jack Stacey (Jaidon Anthony, min. 45), Lewis Cook, Philip Billing (Ryan Christie, min. 66), Jefferson Lerma, D. Solanke and Kieffer Moore ( Siriki Dembele, min 84)
goals 1-0 min. 15: Kai Havertz. 2-0 min. 23: Mason Mount.
Referee simon hooper
The feeling at Old Trafford is similar to that across Stamford Bridge. There Chelsea, on the back of the talent and productivity of Mason Mount, makes the rubber to maintain their illusions of guaranteeing a place in the next Champions League, a competition that they have only missed in two editions since Roman Abramóvich took over in 2003. with control of the club. Now, with the North American Todd Boehly at the helm, they are undertaking a transition process that in football has costs: the team is eighth in the standings and before this day’s game against Bournemouth it was nine points behind Tottenham. The victory and the reduction of distances to six points (2-0) is a balm for a team that is also looking for new faces for attack, like United.
Chelsea wants and must sign and is in that position after breaking all spending records in a transfer window last summer (281 million euros paid in transfers and barely billed 56). He is looking for a striker even though Kai Havertz claimed his role as a reference striker in the duel against Bournemouth. His goal opened the way to victory and he was in the action of the second goal, signed by Mount, and even in a third that was canceled for Pulisic. Full of urgency, Chelsea came to a break after stringing together three consecutive defeats and adding just two points out of the last fifteen they played. Everything seems provisional at Stamford Bridge, where the incorporation of a technical director has just been announced, the German Christopher Vivell, with a past as head of recruitment at the Red Bull soccer factory, first in Salzburg and then in Leipzig. Haaland, Gvardiol, Nkunku or Szoboszlai went through his clinical eye. Now you must build on Chelsea.
In Manchester United the scaffolding of the work is already in place. And Ten Hag has strengthened his position as foreman. The team has serious structural problems, but it has overcome a disastrous start to the season and managed the crisis raised by Cristiano Ronaldo with solvency. Against Forest, penultimate in the table, he survived problems at the back, where he had to field full-back Luke Shaw and activate Varane, who was not scheduled to play after returning from Qatar. The team scored two early goals, struggled late in the first half when the VAR was applied to the full to cancel out a Nottingham goal and grew after the break, with a splendid Casemiro, to dominate a match in which he was able to thrash and in which Fred rounded off the score after a play by the ex-madridista.
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