"Really?! That’s mad" - Conor Gallagher surprised at Chelsea's recent record against Manchester United
Conor Gallagher was surprised to know about Manchester United's remarkable 12-game unbeaten Premier League run against Chelsea before their latest meeting at Stamford Bridge on Thursday (April 4).
The Red Devils hadn't lost against the Blues in the league since November 2017, when an Alvaro Morata goal was enough to hand Chelsea a 1-0 win at home. Since then, Manchester United hadn't lost to the west London giants in the competition — a run that included five consecutive stalemates from October 2020 to October 2022.
The Red Devils were close to extending that run to 13 matches on Thursday as they entered stoppage time with a 3-2 lead. However, a late brace from Cole Palmer (90+10', 90+11') saw Mauricio Pochettino's side take all three points at home.
Gallagher, who scored the first goal of the game, was informed of Manchester United's notable streak after full-time, to which he responded:
"Really?! That’s mad [Manchester United's 12-game unbeaten run in the league vs Chelsea]. Is that true, is it?! Yeah, I mean I didn’t know that but it’s brilliant. When it’s Chelsea versus Manchester United, it doesn’t get much bigger. Chelsea against United at the Bridge, it’s a fantastic game", via the club's official website (h/t Metro).
The reverse fixture ended 2-1 in the Red Devils' favor at Old Trafford in December last year.
Mauricio Pochettino rates Chelsea's chances of making Europe after Manchester United win
Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea have a chance of playing in Europe next season if they maintain consistency.
The Blues finished 12th last season and, as a result, are not in any UEFA competitions this season. They are in danger of repeating that feat again, as they sit 10th in the table with 43 points from 29 matches.
Normally, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, while the fifth team makes the cut for the Europa League. The sixth-placed team also makes it to the latter if the FA Cup champions have already qualified for Europe.
Similarly, the next best-placed team makes the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off stage if the EFL Cup champions have already qualified for European football.
Speaking of his team's chances of finishing in the European spots, Pochettino said after the win against Manchester United (via Football.London):
"It's Sheffield. Three points in Sheffield. If we want to be close again, it's about winning. To be consistent is most important. Of course, nine games to play still, if we win all the games, for sure we will be in Europe. But it is about Sheffield now."
Chelsea's next game is a Premier League outing against Sheffield United on Sunday (April 7). The Blues, who are on a six-game unbeaten run in the league, currently trail seventh-placed West Ham United by five points with three games in hand.