“You can’t get him off the ball”, “Never gets tired” - Ex-Chelsea star Mikel admits 2 Manchester United stars were toughest to stop
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has named Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-sung as two Manchester United players who were the toughest to play against.
Mikel was the subject of a big transfer battle between Manchester United and Chelsea back in 2006. He eventually joined the Blues and spent nine years with the club, making 372 appearances and contributing six goals and 13 assists.
The former defensive midfielder faced the Red Devils 23 times during his career, winning and losing eight games each while drawing seven times. Mikel recently told United legend Rio Ferdinand that he found Rooney really tough to play against (via United in Focus):
“What a guy [Rooney], technically very good, physically strong, you can’t get him off the ball. He had a freedom to roam on the pitch, you never know where he is, he’s running behind defenders, for us Rooney was the guy.
“Mourinho was like ‘Mikel, you need to watch him, even if he’s drifting on the side, you need to keep an eye on him’, before you know, he’s behind you, he gets the ball and he turns and you’re in trouble’, Rooney was the guy.”
Mikel also hailed former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung, saying:
“There’s a guy, Ji-Sung Park, he never gets tired, we always had to watch out for him, he makes runs with and without the ball.”
Park spent seven years with the Red Devils, registering 28 goals and 30 assists in 204 appearances. Rooney, meanwhile, is United's all-time top scorer with 253 goals in 559 games along with 145 assists.
Chelsea and Manchester United's 2023-24 season so far
Both Premier League giants had a tough start to this season, suffering from form and injury issues.
Chelsea suffered defeats against the likes of Nottingham Forest and West Ham United in their first few games of the campaign. This has seen them in 10th place in the Premier League table, 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.
Chelsea, however, have had decent results against the 'Big Six' so far this season. They drew against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City and beat Tottenham Hotspur. They are unbeaten in their last three games across competitions and will next face Newcastle United on November 25.
Manchester United, meanwhile, have put in disappointing performances this season but have managed to grind out results. They have won four of their last five league games and are eighth in the table.
They are, however, at the bottom of their UEFA Champions League group with just one win in four games. Manchester United will next face Everton in the league on November 26.