Man United show scars of Ten Hag era in draw against Chelsea

MANCHESTER, England — Moisés Caicedo put the brakes on Manchester United’s mini-revival under Ruud van Nistelrooy by earning a Premier League point for Chelsea with a stunning second-half volley in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Van Nistelrooy, who is in charge as interim head coach following last week’s sacking of Erik ten Hag, inspired United to a 5-2 win against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup in midweek in his first game. And although Bruno Fernandes put United ahead with a 70th-minute penalty to give them hope of a crucial win, Caicedo cancelled out the goal with one of his own four minutes later.

Van Nistelrooy will remain in temporary charge for next week’s games against PAOK Thessaloniki in the Europa League and Leicester again in the Premier League next Sunday. Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim will then arrive on Nov. 11 to become United’s sixth permanent boss since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, but he will need to inspire a rapid turnaround to put United back on track this season. — Mark Ogden

Ten Hag caution still scars United

Van Nistelrooy’s natural attacking instincts have already made a difference to Manchester United during his two games in charge, but the scars of Ten Hag’s cautious approach still run deep.

United’s toothlessness is borne out by the fact that they have led for a total of 90 minutes in the Premier League this season — and 55 of those came against struggling Southampton.

Only Fulham, Southampton, Brentford and now Chelsea have fallen behind against United this season. Incredibly, for a club of their resources, only Southampton and Crystal Palace have scored fewer than United’s league goals.

The Red Devils’ five-goal display in the midweek win against Leicester was an example of the team playing with more freedom under Van Nistelrooy, and they played with flair against Chelsea, too. But while United were often caught out when attacking under Ten Hag, they were also laboured and deliberate when playing out from the back, and Van Nistelrooy was quick to stamp out any repeat of that against Chelsea.

The former United striker clearly wants his players to look forward whenever they have the ball, but one crucial failing of Ten Hag’s team was that the players too often took the safety-first option of playing the ball backwards. When defender Matthijs de Ligt did just that in the first half, opting to pass back to goalkeeper André Onana rather than playing it forward to Alejandro Garnacho, Van Nistelrooy berated the Netherlands international on the touchline and urged him to pass forward next time.

There were other occasions when Van Nistelrooy pointed forward, but when a team has been struggling as United have, players tend to take the easy option to reduce the risk of making a mistake. That is an issue that still affects this United side. — Ogden

Caicedo showing why Chelsea coveted him

Had things been different, Caicedo could have been lining up in United red on Sunday rather than Chelsea blue. Instead, he scored a fantastic equaliser that earned Enzo Maresca’s team a valuable point.

United tried to sign Caicedo from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador before his move to Brighton & Hove Albion. From there, he joined Chelsea in a deal worth £115 million in 2023.

The huge fee brought with it added pressure, but after a stop-start first season at Stamford Bridge he’s finally starting to look like the player who was so effective at Brighton.

His goal against United was a stunner; a volley from the edge of the penalty area from a ball that was dropping out of the sky. It’s a hard skill, but Caicedo executed it perfectly, and Onana had no chance — it was almost past him before he had time to react.

Caicedo’s overall performance earned him the man-of-the-match award. He walked off at full time having won the midfield battle against Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte alongside his midfield partner, Romeo Lavia.

Chelsea are still a work in progress under Maresca, but if Caicedo can find this level consistently he will help them take a big leap forward this season. — Rob Dawson

Amorim most solve United’s central quartet

Amorim has plenty waiting in his in-tray when he officially takes charge of Manchester United a week on Monday, but few are more crucial than the problem the current Sporting coach will have with his central defenders and midfielders.

The new manager is almost certain to quickly impose his favoured 3-4-3 formation on United, but he needs the personnel to make it work. When he watches this game back, he will be alarmed by the shortcomings in defence and midfield.

The central quartet of defenders De Ligt and Lisandro Martínez, and midfielders Casemiro and Ugarte, are enough to give Amorim nightmares.

De Ligt is too slow and reckless to impress Amorim, and the former Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich defender was caught out too often against Nicolas Jackson.

Martínez, meanwhile, will alarm Amorim with his decision-making and unhealthy habit of turning a routine situation into a dangerous one. For some reason, Martínez takes way too many chances with over-zealous challenges, and he was fortunate not to give away a penalty for a first-half shove and foul on Levi Colwill.

Martínez was booked for a stoppage-time foul on Cole Palmer that could have been a red. The knee-high challenge was reviewed by VAR but Martínez escaped further punishment. That kind of rash challenge happens too often with the Argentina defender, and at some point, he and United will pay a heavy price.

Ugarte is similarly unreliable in midfield and he was substituted late in game when, after a series of fouls following a booking, looked like being sent off for persistent offending. The summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain is struggling to adjust to the pace of the Premier League, just as Casemiro has always found difficult since his 2022 arrival from Real Madrid.

Four expensive signings in key areas and Amorim can’t rely on any of them. — Ogden

Palmer’s Mancunian roots

Palmer had a quiet game at Old Trafford, but there are plenty at United who remain hopeful he might grace the stadium on a more regular basis in the future.

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He came through Manchester City’s academy, but he’s a boyhood United fan. He also regularly returns to see family and friends in Manchester since his move to London 18 months ago.

It won’t be easy to prise Palmer away from Chelsea, who have the 22-year-old England star under a mammoth contract until 2033. That hasn’t stopped some United recruitment staff believing there’s a chance he could one day end up at the club, though.

Being young and English, Palmer is exactly the type of player that United sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox are looking to attract to spearhead a new era under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

United fans were quick to remind Palmer of his City past, particularly when one tame pass rolled under his boot and out of play in the first half. If he were to arrive at United and have the impact he’s already had at Chelsea, all those years at the Etihad Stadium would be quickly forgotten. — Dawson

Where does Enzo fit in Chelsea midfield?

Enzo Fernández started this season as Chelsea captain having been controversially handed the armband by Maresca despite being accused of “unhibited racism” by teammate Wesley Fofana for singing a derogatory song while on international duty with Argentina. The £105m signing is now out of the team and wondering when he will make his next Premier League start after being named among the substitutes again by Maresca at Old Trafford.

Fernández has been left out of the team for the last three league games by Maresca, with Caicedo and Lavia being chosen instead to play at the heart of midfield. That pairing is showing signs of a positive blend in midfield, and Fernández will struggle to regain his place.

He made a brief appearance from the bench in the closing stages, but Chelsea are now starting to look more settled under Maresca, and Fernández must now find a way to fight back into the team.

When he signed from Benfica in January 2023, Fernández was regarded as a major capture by Chelsea, but he has failed to live up to the billing. Now he faces a real battle on his hands to prove he is worth a starting spot. — Ogden

Van Nistelrooy doing job prospects no harm

Van Nistelrooy isn’t getting the top job at Old Trafford, but the Dutchman is improving his chances of getting another managerial role elsewhere.

The 48-year-old was looking for a No.1 job in the summer and spoke to Burnley before United came calling with an offer to become Ten Hag’s assistant. Van Nistelrooy said at the time the only assistant job he would accept was back at Old Trafford, where he had such an impressive playing career between 2001 and 2006.

His immediate future once Amorim comes in is up in the air. He is still under contract, but Amorim has already made it clear he will bring his own coaches with him from Sporting. If there’s no role for Van Nistelrooy in Amorim’s staff, his caretaker role at United should open other doors.

He started the job with a thumping 5-2 win over Leicester on Wednesday and came away from a testing league game against Chelsea with a creditable draw. United’s first 30 minutes were good and a step up from what we saw in Ten Hag’s final few weeks.

Those performances won’t have gone unnoticed by clubs in the Premier League and Championship who may be looking for a new manager in the new year. — Dawson