KICK-OFFpublished at 16:31 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November
Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea
Away we go at Old Trafford. Here is how both sides line up.
Moises Caicedo’s crisp volley gave Chelsea a deserved point against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
United’s interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, in charge while the Red Devils await the arrival of newly-appointed Ruben Amorim, looked on course for a second successive victory when Bruno Fernandes broke the deadlock from the spot in the 70th minute after Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez brought down Rasmus Hojlund.
Van Nistelrooy celebrated wildly on the touchline but United’s elation lasted only four minutes until Caicedo expertly struck a superb shot past Andre Onana from the edge of the area.
It resulted in a share of the points in a largely unspectacular encounter, although Wesley Fofana hit the woodwork with a header in the first half, with United striker Marcus Rashford also volleying against the angle of post and bar before the break.
Van Nistelrooy has certainly coaxed plenty of endeavour from his players as he steps in until Amorim finally succeeds the sacked Erik ten Hag, but he was unable to inspire any genuine quality.
United were comfortable enough in defence in the face of Chelsea’s threat, but there was a lack of creation and cutting edge that ultimately meant they did not do enough to merit victory.
Rashford’s volley was the closest they came until Chelsea keeper Sanchez made an injudicious challenge on Hojlund when the striker looked to have lost control and was moving away from goal.
The young striker was a peripheral figure while Alejandro Garnacho summed up United as a whole. The Argentine was full of tireless running but his finishing was wayward, especially in the second half when he scuffed a clear chance from Fernandes’ pass, shooting tamely into the arms of Sanchez at the Stretford End.
Van Nistelrooy is clearly determined to enjoy his time in charge and his celebration of United’s goal was a sight to behold: leaping and running down the touchline before pumping his fists towards the elated supporters.
It was a show of emotion in sharp contrast to the reserved Ten Hag, the United legend’s presence receiving approval from around Old Trafford.
United will be disappointed to have lost the lead so quickly, but this is a club that understandably feels like it is in a holding pattern until the new era begins under Amorim after the international break.
Chelsea were by far the more composed and ordered side on show at Old Trafford, much better on the ball than Manchester United as they demonstrated the clear identity imposed by coach Enzo Maresca.
Maresca is determined to shape a passing style, but Chelsea’s major flaw here was their habit of taking one pass too many when they had carved out good positions.
It happened too often, and it took one moment of individual skill by Caicedo – who was outstanding once more – to finally give them the end product they had strived for to no avail beforehand.
Caicedo is now looking exactly like the player Chelsea were willing to pay a record £115m for from Brighton at the start of last season, a huge influence in midfield and he broke up United attacks and started his own with regularity.
Chelsea, at times, look an impressive work in progress and quality runs through Maresca’s team, but they were guilty of over-doing that trademark passing style at Old Trafford and it may just have cost them the win.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
| |
2 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| |
3 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| |
4 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| |
5 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
| |
6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 18 |
| |
7 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| |
8 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 16 |
| |
9 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 15 |
| |
10 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| |
11 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 13 |
| |
12 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| |
13 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 12 |
| |
14 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 11 |
| |
15 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| |
16 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 9 |
| |
17 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7 |
| |
18 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 5 |
| |
19 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 4 |
| |
20 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 3 |
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Manager: Ruud van Nistelrooij
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Enzo Maresca
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Ruud van Nistelrooij
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Enzo Maresca
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Premier League
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 11 home league games against Chelsea (W5 D6), and are looking to win three in a row against the Blues at Old Trafford for the first time since January 1957.
Despite trailing in stoppage time, Chelsea won their last Premier League game against Man Utd 4-3 in April. They last won consecutive league meetings with the Red Devils in March 2011 (a run of three).
Manchester United vs Chelsea is the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 26 of the previous 64 meetings between the sides finishing level.
Manchester United have picked up just 11 points after nine Premier League matches this season (W3 D2 L4), their second-fewest after nine games ahead only of 2019-20 (10). The only two times they have lost four of their first nine Premier League games have been in each of the last two campaigns under Erik ten Hag.
Chelsea have named the youngest average starting XI in the Premier League this season (23 years, 206 days). In their 2-1 win over Newcastle, they became just the second team in Premier League history to not name a single outfield player aged 25+ in their starting XI for a match, after Aston Villa who did so in two games in 2013.
Only Southampton and Crystal Palace (6 each) have scored fewer Premier League goals this season than Manchester United (8). The Red Devils have underperformed their expected goals by 6.8 (xG of 14.8), the worst differential of any side in 2024-25, while since 2022-23, only Everton (-26) have underperformed their xG more than Man Utd (-17-9 – 123 goals from an xG of 140.9).
Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana has been yellow carded in each of his last six Premier League appearances, only the fifth player in Premier League history to do so. The only player to be carded in seven games in a row is Joey Barton for QPR in 2014-15.
Cole Palmer scored in both of Chelsea’s Premier League games against Man Utd last season, including a hat-trick in a 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge. The only Chelsea players to score in three consecutive Premier League games against the Red Devils are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-2001) and Juan Mata (2012-2013).
Erik ten Hag lost 32% of his Premier League games in charge of Man Utd (27/85), the joint highest percentage along with David Moyes (11/34). Seven of his 27 defeats came via 90th minute winners, the highest percentage (26%) of any manager to lose 20+ games in Premier League history.
Cole Palmer has been directly involved in 33 Premier League goals for Chelsea in 2024 (21 goals, 12 assists). Only two players have had more goals and assists in a year for the Blues – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2001 (25 goals, 11 assists) and Didier Drogba in 2010 (22 goals, 13 assists).