“We’ve been cheated” - Ex-Manchester United star insists Red Devils were ‘robbed’ in ‘sickening’ 4-3 loss to Chelsea
Former Manchester United defender David May has expressed his dissatisfaction at the Red Devils' 4-3 loss to Chelsea, as he believes it was unfairly won.
The Blues scored two goals in the first half of the Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge. It came from Conor Gallagher (4') and a penalty kick by Cole Palmer in the 19th minute. The Red Devils didn't object much to this penalty, which came about as a consequence of Antony's foul on Marc Cucurella.
However, by halftime, the score was 2-2 as Alejandro Garnacho (34') and Bruno Fernandes (39') each found the net, helping to rally the visitors back into the match. In the second half, Manchester United scored a third goal via Garnacho in the 67th minute, but couldn't maintain that lead for the rest of the game.
After Diogo Dalot fouled Noni Madueke in the ninth minute of stoppage time, Chelsea were given another penalty, and Cole Palmer converted to level the score at 3-3. The second penalty ruling has been the subject of much debate. Former Manchester United player David May expressed his displeasure with the referee's ruling, saying (via United in Focus):
"I don’t think its a penalty at all. So, so soft. Maybe I’m being a little biased but the second one is not a penalty. To lose it like that is sickening. I think we’ve been cheated I honestly do, we’ve been robbed.”
Less than 90 seconds later, Palmer scored his first professional hat-trick. He received the ball unmarked from a corner and scored a deflected goal to guarantee their shot guaranteed the Blues' 4-3 triumph.
Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United should have beaten Chelsea
Even though Manchester United lost 4-3 at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea, manager Erik ten Hag is adamant that his team should have prevailed instead. He reviewed the game, telling TNT Sport afterwards (via TalkSport):
"Yes we started poor, kicking the ball away and defending poorly. But you saw we were dominating the game and it was brilliant how we played – we deserved to win the game. But, you cannot give it away like we did and we have to manage this game better."
Ten Hag added that the defeat was due to a group failing rather than a result of individual errors:
"It is a team performance, you can point to one of the players but it is about team performance. When it gets chaotic you have to deal with it as a team and we made the wrong decisions and we didn’t help out as a team.”
The loss against Chelsea will likely affect Manchester United's chances of making it into the UEFA Champions League next season. It may also affect Ten Hag's future at the club. They are sixth, 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with a game in hand.