Manchester United were back in Premier League action against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, here are five things we learned.
It was a nightmare start for Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
Chelsea took the lead through Conor Gallagher inside five minutes, and then the Blues made it 2-0 not too long after.
This left United with a mountain to climb, and it was Alejandro Garnacho who took the first steps up that mountain.
Bruno Fernandes then tied things up in the 38th minute when he got on the end of Diogo Dalot‘s excellent cross to make it 2-2.
It was then Garnacho again who completed the comeback as he met Antony’s excellent cross to make it 3-2.
Chelsea then scored not once but twice in added time to secure three points in a 4-3 loss for United.
Here are five things we learned.
Alejandro Garnacho proves himself to be the main man
As he so often has been this season, 19-year-old Alejandro Garnacho was a standout performer for United.
Moved back over to the left as Marcus Rashford dropped out, Garnacho scored the first goal for United to kick-start the comeback.
He was very cool in doing so, holding off pressure from the Chelsea defender to beat the keeper well. He also did incredibly well to finish off Antony’s immaculate cross for the third United goal.
He also played a part in the second United goal, laying it off for Dalot’s cross.
He’s emerged into a star player so quickly this season.
Antony is finally showing why he was signed
After a season and a half of struggles, over recent weeks Antony has shown glimpses of why Erik ten Hag was desperate to sign him.
For the first goal, he did so well to keep an errand Fernandes pass in play, which led to Moises Caicedo’s mistake.
Then he had a few magic moments beating several defenders on an occasion or two.
But the best thing he did was the assist for Garnacho’s second. Outside of the boot pass which landed perfectly in Antony’s path.
Terrific display from Antony, he’s really impressed during this game, and more than made up for his early penalty mishap.
Casemiro looks miles off it for United
One man who looked miles off it all game was Casemiro as he struggled to really get near any Chelsea player.
His lack of work rate along with how slow he was getting back in transition – he effectively jogged – left huge gaps for Chelsea to break into.
He was weak in the tackle and constantly went to the ground when he shouldn’t have – which left even more space for Chelsea to break into.
A player who looks to be at the end of his United career, time to find a top-class replacement.
Erik ten Hag’s defensive woes multiply
Heading into this game, some breaking news was the double injury blow to both Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof.
Now after the game, the centre-half injury list has been doubled with both Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane being forced off through injury.
This leaves Ten Hag with just Harry Maguire and Willy Kambwala, one of whom has only recently returned from injury.
Another area which needs to be seriously addressed in the summer.
Champions League dream is over
Coming into this one, there was just one thing United needed to do and that is to win and keep dreams of Champions League qualification alive.
This however proved to be too much to ask, as United threw all three points away in added time with Cole Palmer scoring first from the penalty spot, then thanks to a huge deflection.
An incredible game, but Ten Hag will be livid as he’s had to watch his side’s incredible work undone in the space of two minutes, a real momentum killer for United ahead of facing Liverpool.