"Poch out!", "Ten Hag ball cooked" - Twitter explodes as dominant Manchester United beat Chelsea
Manchester United eased the pressure on Erik ten Hag with a deserved 2-1 victory over a poor Chelsea side on Wednesday (December 6).
Scott McTominay rose to the occasion, continuing his incredible run of form in front of goal with a brace. It was a dominant performance from Ten Hag's men and they really should have scored more.
Manchester United were awarded a penalty in the seventh minute after Enzo Fernandes unintentionally stood on Antony's foot. VAR intervened advising referee Stuart Attwell to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Attwell pointed to the spot, sending Old Trafford into hysteria. Bruno Fernandes was given the chance to score his sixth goal of the season.
However, Fernandes surprisingly failed to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who produced a fine stop to deny the Red Devils skipper. It was a let-off for Mauricio Pochettino's Blues who'd made a disastrous start to the game.
Mykhailo Mudryk then fired a warning shot at United in the 12th minute. The Ukrainian broke free of Harry Maguire but his effort hit the post.
Manchester United reacted quickly and finally got themselves in front seven minutes later through McTominay. The Scottish midfielder lashed home a close-range left-footed strike after Maguire's initial attempt was blocked.
Ten Hag's troops were controlling proceedings and playing in complete contrast to their dire showing in a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United last time out. But, their hard work came to a halt in the 45th minute through Red Devils fan Cole Palmer.
Palmer produced a sublime finish after gliding across the edge of the box. He sent a pinpoint effort into the far bottom corner, with Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana diving full stretch to try and stop it.
Chelsea somehow headed in at half-time on level terms and could have taken the lead five minutes into the second half. Nicolas Jackson had a free header that he sent over Onana's bar.
Manchester United got themselves back in front in the 69th minute and McTominay grabbed himself a brace. Alejandro Garnacho curled a brilliant cross into the Blues' box and the Scot was on hand to head home.
The visitors were lackluster, lacking any real threat but they did go close in the 90+1st minute. Armando Broja arrived at the back post but the Albanian forward's header rattled Onana's woodwork.
Ten Hag's side deserved their win, conjuring up 28 shots to the west Londoners' 13. The victory propelled United up to sixth in the Premier League for the time being while Pochettino's men sit 10th.
One fan wants Chelsea to part ways with the Argentine coach:
"You can’t keep blaming all 11 players every week lol. it’s obviously on Pochettino. clear as day he’s stealing a living. Poch Out! get him gone. enough is enough."
Another fan was pleasantly surprised to see Ten Hag coach Manchester United to a comfortable victory:
"Ten Hag ball cooked."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to a much-needed win for the Red Devils against the Blues:
Patrice Evra compares Manchester United's Scott McTominay to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard
Patrice Evra reacted to McTominay's brilliant performance against Chelsea by comparing him to Blues icon Frank Lampard. The Scot took his tally for the season to six goals and one assist in 16 games across competitions. The former Manchester United captain said (via centredevils):
"He reminds me a little bit of Frank Lampard recently."
That's high praise for McTominay given Lampard's prolific career at Stamford Bridge. The Englishman was one of the Premier League's greatest midfielders, managing 177 goals and 112 assists in 611 games in the English top-flight.
McTominay is not only Manchester United's top scorer this season, but he's also flourishing with the Scotland national team. He managed seven goals in eight Euro 2024 qualifiers.