Manchester United vs Chelsea: Top five Premier League clashes

Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea will be travelling to Old Trafford on Thursday as it faces Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United in the English Premier League.

Sportstar takes a look at the top five fixtures involving these English giants:

Chelsea 2 Manchester United 3 (October, 2012)

Chelsea‘s Fernando Torres, right, is being shown a red card by referee Mark Clattenburg.
| Photo Credit:
AP

It was a heated contest, which saw two players being sent off. A David Luiz own goal and Robin van Persie’s clinical finish gave United a two-goal lead early in the first half. However, Chelsea made an excellent comeback, with goals coming from Juan Mata and Ramires either side of the break. 

With Chelsea gaining momentum in the match, tragedy struck the Blues as they were reduced to nine men after Branislav Ivanovic was shown a red card for a tackle on Ashley Young and Fernando Torres was dismissed for diving.

Chelsea tried to hang on, but the numerical advantage proved too much as Javier Hernandez scored from Rafael’s pass. Albeit from an offside position, the goal stood. 

Chelsea 3-3 Manchester United (February, 2012)

United’s Wayne Rooney converts one from the spot.
| Photo Credit:
AP

At the business end of the 2011-12 season, second-placed Man United and fourth-placed Chelsea shared points in a six-goal thriller.

Chelsea looked to be in cruise control after Jonny Evans’ own goal, an incredible strike from Juan Mata and a header from David Luiz had Chelsea 3-0 up after 50 minutes. However, the Red Devils dug deep and made a comeback that was a trademark in the Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Sloppy defending by the Blues allowed Wayne Rooney to score successive penalties before Hernandez equalised with a header in the 84th minute.

While the match was a goal-fest, the highlight of the clash was David De Gea’s stunning save from Juan Mata’s freekick. Catching his shot perfectly, Mata seemed certain that the ball was heading into the top-right corner, but De Gea, with an acrobatic leap, got a fingertip to the ball to push it out for a corner.

Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United (October 2016)

Chelsea‘s English defender Gary Cahill (top) jumps onto the huddle to join the celebrates after Chelsea‘s French midfielder N’Golo Kante scored their fourth goal.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Considered to be one of the major low points of the post-Ferguson era, Chelsea dominated Man United on all fronts during its October clash in the 2016-17 season. 

The Red Devils possessed a strong attacking arsenal, boasting names such as Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but looked toothless in front of goal. 

United had the worst possible start after a defensive mixup allowed Pedro to nick in the opener within the first 20 seconds. Gary Cahill made it 2-0 just before the break. 

The onslaught continued after half-time as Eden Hazard scored a third and Jose Mourinho’s embarrassment against his former club was complete when N’Golo Kante took advantage of United’s callous defending to grab the fourth.

Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea (August, 2019)

United’s Marcus Rashford celebrates after scoring a penalty.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Three years later, it was United’s turn to dominate as it inflicted a similar crushing defeat to Chelsea in their season opener. It was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first full season in charge, while Chelsea had their club legend Frank Lampard as its manager. 

Chelsea had the first chance to score as Tammy Abraham hit the woodwork, but from there, the Blues lost the plot. Kurt Zouma fouled Marcus Rashford inside the box, which resulted in the latter converting from the spot. 

Anthony Martial made it 2-0, and from Chelsea’s point of view, the match went from bad to worse when Rashford brought down Pogba’s pass with a deft pass before rifling the ball inside the net for United’s third. 

From there, it was all about damage limitation for Chelsea, but United got the cherry on the icing when Dan James scored a debut goal, followed by a passionate celebration amidst the adulation from the Old Trafford crowd. 

Man United 1 Chelsea 3 (Premier League, May 2005)

Chelsea‘s Eidur Gudjohnsen (L) celebrates his goal against Manchester United with Joe Cole.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Manchester United welcomed newly-crowned champion Chelsea with a guard of honour, with the Blues having found a refreshed identity under the pragmatic Jose Mourinho. 

Desperate to make a statement, it was United, which struck first courtesy of a close-range finish from Ruud Van Nistelrooy, but Mourinho’s Chelsea stuck to its gameplan and responded with an equaliser, scored by Tiago Mendes from long range. 

Mendes then set up Eidur Gudjohnsen for the second, and the latter gave a 2-1 lead to the Blues with a cheeky finish as he chipped the ball inside the net. The performance was capped off by an excellent finish by Joe Cole, who scored the third, as Chelsea ended the campaign with a then-record 95 points and lifted the top division title for the first time in 50 years.