Manchester United ran into a highly motivated and a vibrant Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, and were demolished 4-0 on Sunday. United manager Jose Mourinho had a nightmare of a return to his former club as the home side hit their stride with just 33 seconds on the clock. Pedro gave the Blues a dream start with the opener. Gary Cahill doubled the lead after 20 minutes. In the second half, Eden Hazard and Kanté scored two great goals to complete the rout.
Seconds after kickoff, United were left in shock as the diminutive Pedro ghosted his way past Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and keeper David De Gea, before tucking the ball into the net. The 20-time champions never quite recovered from that as Chelsea showed more energy and ideas during attacks. United's defence once again fell apart as Cahill smashed home from close range from a corner in the 20th minute.
David Luiz was lucky to be on the pitch as he plonked the full face of his studs on Maraoune Fellaini's knee while tussling for the ball. The Brazilian defender was only handed a yellow. United's attack, though, rarely showed any sign of any potency up front despite coming up with an improved display in the second half.
United stemmed the rut somewhat before Hazard showed a touch of class as he slipped his way into the box to score his side's third. With United down and out, Chelsea scored their best goal of the contest through an unlikely source in Kanté, who surprised Smalling with a cut-in and a quality finish to the bottom corner to add gloss on the scoreline. This was Mourinho's heaviest defeat in the English Premier League.
Manchester City run out of steam, yet again
In the earlier kickoff, Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton. A costly mistake from John Stones saw Southampton take the lead early in the first half as Nathan Redmond gleefully pounced on the loose ball and tucked it away past Claudio Bravo. Stones almost redeemed himself when he smashed a volley into the net from a free-kick. However, the offside flag was raised by the official.
Unexpectedly, Manchester City saw plenty of the ball (63% possession) but it was only in the second half that that the Sky Blues imposed themselves in the contest. Only 10 minutes had gone in the second half when Kelechi Iheanacho scored, but Southampton's well drilled defence, marshalled by Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte thwarted every one of City's attacks. Late in the game, Southampton goalie Fraser Forster pulled off two great saves to hand his team a point. City, with the draw, have now gone five matches without a win in all competitions, but still moved to the top of the table on goal difference.
Brief scores:
Chelsea 4 (Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante) beat Manchester United 0
Manchester City 1 (Kelechi Iheanacho) drew with Southampton 1 (Nathan Redmond)
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