Manchester United vs Chelsea: Five things we learned as Red Devils run riot at Old Trafford

Manchester United thrashed Chelsea 4-0 on the opening weekend of the Premier League season to leave Frank Lampard lamenting a miserable first competitive match as Blues manager.

Chelsea threatened early and took a foothold in the game, pressing high up the pitch as Tammy Abraham’s shot struck the outside of the post.

However, a rash challenge from Kurt Zouma took out Marcus Rashford in the box before the England international stepped forwards and drove the penalty into the top corner to stem the Blues’ early momentum.

The second-half then turned into a riot after Anthony Martial tapped in Andreas Perreira’s cross from close-range before Rashford stroked home Paul Pogba‘s floated through ball almost straight from the resultant kick-off.

Daniel James then came off the bench to cap his Premier League debut with a goal and ensured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first full season in charge started with a wild celebration. Here are five things we learned from the game:

Over two years since last wearing a Chelsea shirt, Kurt Zouma’s long-awaited and not always intended return was inevitably going to carry a blanket of pressure. And, after David Luiz’s late departure applied new spotlight to that, the panicky undercurrent became something smothering and impossible to ignore when the centre-back’s cruel but clumsy error gifted United the opener.

The turn by Marcus Rashford was cute, picking up the ball with his back to goal and jinking sharply inside just as the French centre-back committed to the challenge, but the result was a sad hack that needed no embellishment from the England striker, hooked by the ankles just yards away from the referee. Rashford’s penalty was clinical, rifling high into the top-left hand corner and Chelsea had surrendered the early momentum of their strong start.

The lingering questions over the defence will doubtless perpetuate. Ultimately, though, it was Lampard’s faith in the Frenchman that saw Luiz relegated down the pecking order and that’s now his puzzle to mend.

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United may have invested £130m in their defence this summer, but in a frantic and often threadbare opening to the game both teams were able to pick gaps at will and streak through their opponent’s high defensive lines. Chelsea repeatedly found space in front of United’s centre-halves, with Tammy Abraham opening his shoulders and lashing a shot against the post just minutes into the match.

At the other end, Aaron Wan-Bissaka hurtled down the right-flank at will and Rashford peeled through the matching gap left between Zouma and Andreas Christensen. But it was Wan-Bissaka who was repeatedly caught out towards the end of the first half, trailing some 20 yards behind as Ross Barkley tore in on goal. Only moments later, he was absent and unaware as the ball looped over his head and fell to an unmarked Emerson at the back post, his blushes saved by the post. Ultimately, the voids were evenly matched but the flaws remain plain to see.

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Chelsea were left with little choice but to allow Tammy Abraham to lead the line for this season but, despite an energetic performance, it’s hard to envisage the type of clinical finishing that can see the striker end the season with the multitude of goals capable of carrying his side in the way Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did for their cross-London rivals last year.

The 21-year-old was lively, found space in the right areas and was unlucky not to get a goal in the first half when his shot pinged off the post but whether that enthusiasm alone can translate to being a reliable first-choice striker for a Champions League side remains to be seen and, for now, in doubt.

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It may not feature the new all-star name of a Bruno Fernandes or a Paulo Dybala but United’s midfield trio of Paul Pogba, Andreas Pereira and Scott McTominay held their own as Jesse Lingard dropped deep to create the link between defence and attack. With their full-backs pushed up, United were able to shuffle between the half-spaces, press with intensity and, most importantly of all, maintain their creativity.

As McTominay and Pereira harried around him, Pogba dropped deep into a quarterback position in front of the defence from where he was able to drive forwards with the ball or flick a languid chip over Chelsea’s defence for Rashford to chase on to.

With the match still hanging in the balance, one such pass fell on a sixpence in the gap between a flailing Zouma and the Chelsea goal. Rashford burst in and slid home the second with ease and from thereon the victory was sealed. Minutes later and his powerful run set up an ecstatic Daniel James’ debut goal and it was the Frenchman, who can so often slip between hot and cold, who steered his side to victory.

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For much of the summer, the focus on Chelsea’s transfer ban focused solely on their inability to recruit. And yet, while Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic’s arrivals were already sealed, the true lack of depth on the bench was remarkable as United’s own big summer signings highlighted the difference between the two sides.

Harry Maguire produced a resolute performance in defence that helped to subdue the questions over his price-tag, while Daniel James tore towards the corner flag in an eclipse of excitement after capping his debut with a goal. And while Pulisic’s belated introduction did briefly help to rouse Lampard’s side, the gulf of energy between the two sides became increasingly evident as the match wore on. Olivier Giroud offered the tired prospect of the same and really there was little more in the well to reach for.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s return will go some way to mending that, but the loss for reinforcements is alarming with a European campaign to juggle.