Manchester United vs Chelsea: as it happened, goals, action, match report

Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea: full-time summary

Goals from Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera saw Manchester United dent Chelsea's Premier League title charge with a commanding win at Old Trafford.

It was a poor afternoon for the leaders, whose first defeat to United since late 2012 saw them end the weekend with their gap over Tottenham Hotspur cut to four points.

Rashford, Herrera goals beat lacklustre Chelsea

Herrera was the creator of the hosts' opener, his delightful seventh-minute through-ball sending Rashford clear to finish low under Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic - despite the Spanish midfielder appearing to handle in the build-up. 

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The United defence was rarely troubled by the Blues, who gave an unrecognisable display - and failed to register a single shot on target in Manchester.

And Herrera sealed victory for José Mourinho over his former club when his second-half shot deflected off Kurt Zouma and past Begovic's dive.

22 league matches undefeated for José Mourinho's side

United's triumph moves them into fifth, extends their Premier League unbeaten run to 22 games and keeps them firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot.

Fourth-placed Manchester City currently sit four points ahead of the Red Devils, having played one game more than their near neighbours. 

Here's how it happened:

Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea: second half

Peeeep! That's it! United beat Chelsea for the first time since October 2012, ending a 12-game winless streak against the West Londoners. The Blues were so poor.

Min 93 | Chelsea have been utterly unrecognisable.

Min 91 | Four minutes of time added on. Fosuh-Mensah is on, Young is off to a rousing ovation.

Min 90 | Cesc is into the book for a foul on Carrick. Timothy Fosuh-Mensah is being prepared for United over on the touchline. Ibrahimovic is also into the book.

Min 88 | Willian receives it in what looks like inviting shooting territory, but dallies and decides against it. Chelsea exchange pass after pass on the fringes of the United box, before Loftus-Cheek is run off it on the byline and is much chagrined to see the referee award a goal-kick to the hosts.

Min 86 | Barring an almighty late turnaround, it's going to be a first United win over Chelsea in four and a half years, and Mourinho's first for the Red Devils against his old club. 

Min 83 | Even with their lead down to four points, Chelsea still have a very decent run-in - only their trip to Everton appears particularly hazardous - so you'd still think they should be able to see it out. But not if they play like this, and especially not at Goodison. Ibrahimovic is on for Rashford, who is given a splendid ovation. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is introduced for the visitors, meanwhile, with Zouma making way.

Min 82 | Ibrahimovic is preparing to come on for United.

Min 81 | I'm pretty sure Ashley Young hasn't had a shot on target, either - despite having had quite a few now. He takes another dig at goal, but punts it high once again.

Min 80 | Ten minutes to go at Old Trafford. Still not a single shot on target for Antonio Conte's men...

Min 77 | It's been pretty much all in Manchester United's half in the last few minutes, but to say Chelsea have been toothless would be being charitable.

Min 76 | Fàbregas stands over it...and dinks it right down De Gea's gullet.

Min 75 | Pedro beats Herrera to it on the left-hand side of the box and has a chance to shoot/find a team-mate in shooting space...and does neither. Rojo is then the next man into the book for a tug on his old mate Costa. 

Min 72 | Herrera is adjudged to have felled Hazard, and is given a yellow for his misdemeanour. The ex-Athletic Club midfielder was sent off for two bookings the last time these sides met, of course. The Chelsea free-kick comes to precisely nothing. 

Min 70 | Azpilicueta tees up Pedro to cross from the left, but it's low and right into De Gea's arms. Thus far, the United keeper has had a very leisurely afternoon.

Min 69 | The recently introduced Willian plays a sloppy pass right to a red shirt, and Rashford is released on the left. He runs at David Luiz but appears to pull the Brazilian back. The referee doesn't seem to think so, however, and Rashford is allowed to get a shot away inside the box, but Begovic gathers fairly comfortably.

Min 67 | Matic is off for Chelsea, with Willian thrown on in his stead.

Min 65 | Chelsea enjoy a spell of possession in the United half, before Costa earns a corner, which eventually falls to Pedro over on the other wing. He cuts inside his man to create a clear sight on goal, but his left-footed effort is deflected over for another corner - which the home team clear after, for a moment, it threatens to descend into an almighty goal-mouth scramble.

Min 61 | Close! Matic loses it in his own half and Carrick finds Rashford with a neat first-time ball, leaving the striker in plenty of space to run at the visiting goal and ping a shot in - but it flies into the side-netting.

Min 60 | Azpilicueta flights over a cute ball to Pedro at the back stick, but the former Barcelona man is stretching and can't quite get on the end of it. Michael Carrick comes on for Man United, Lingard making way for the veteran.

Min 55 | Chelsea have switched to a four-man defence, Azpilicueta shuffling back to left-back and Zouma on the right. It was Zouma who Herrera's shot hit on its way in, by the way.

Min 54 | Cesc Fàbregas is coming on, Victor Moses sprinting off to be replaced by the Spaniard.

Min 51 | And there's a chance for three! Lingard plays it into Rashford, who takes two steps forward into the box before pirouetting and touching it back to his attacking colleague, who looks to curl it into the top corner, but it's over!

Min 48 | Goooal! 2-0 to Manchester United! Rashford delivers the free-kick, but it's too long. Pogba chases it down and Young sends it back in, only for the ball to come back out to him. He darts into the box and lays it back off for Herrera on the edge of the box - and the Spaniard's shot takes a deflection and is in past Begovic!

Min 47 | Fellaini crumples down in a heap after a high Cahill challenge, and that's a yellow card for the England defender. And a dangerous free-kick for Manchester United.

Peeep! We're back underway! No changes for either side.

Manchester United 1-0 Chelsea: half-time summary

Manchester United lead at half time and have been well on top against a Chelsea side who have been dreadful. Marcus Rashford has been especially bright up top for the hosts, and his finely-taken goal from Ander Herrera's delicious through ball separates the sides. As it stands, United are going above Everton into fifth and Chelsea will end the weekend with their lead at the top cut to four points.

Manchester United 1-0 Chelsea: first half

Peeeep! That's half time.

Min 47 | There's another shooting chance for Young, who's in loads of space just outside the box - but again he boots it off target!

Min 46 | Costa with a potshot, but it's wide. Cue vocal schadenfreude among the home fans.

Min 45 | Two minutes of time added on at Old Trafford.

Min 41 | Ufff. Almost an own goal from Cahill. Rashford exchanges a one-two with Rashford and darts into the box, crossing the ball via a Moses slip - and Cahill deflects it juuuuust over Begovic's bar. The corner comes to zip. 

Min 40 | We get a shot of Ibrahimovic enjoying the, ahem, Manchester sun on the bench - it's fair to say he hasn't been missed so far.

Min 37 | Costa and Rojo clash again. Matic heading it across the box and the pair tangle, the ex-Atlético Madrid man appearing to appeal for a penalty before joining the Argentine in writhing on the turf. The referee signals for a United free-kick and the United fans sing "F**k off, Costa". 

Min 35 | Hazard wins Chelsea a free-kick on the right, and the Belgian picks himself up to swing it in. The Blues' big men are up for it...but as soon as the ball is delivered the whistle goes for an infringement by the Londoners. Meh.

Min 33 | Just under 64% possession for United so far. 

Min 27 | Chelsea at least manage more than a minute straight in United's half, Kanté finding Costa for the Spain international to take on the home backline before the the Red Devils win it back and, up the other end, Young is in acres of space to shoot - but drags it wide.

Min 23 | Young takes the free-kick, which squirts loose out to the far touchline and prompts a foot race for the ball between Rashford and Moses. Rashford wins it, muscles Moses clear and drives towards the touchline before pinging in a dangerous ball across goal that Begovic gets a desperate hand to, with Lingard lurking. 

Min 21 | N'Golo Kanté is penalised for a foul on Lingard, and United have a dead-ball opportunity to send it into the box. Rashford crosses to the back post, but Zouma clears. Chelsea break, but Hazard is quickly dispossessed, before the home side win another free-kick chance to cross it into the area. It remains all United.

Min 20 | Lingard crosses low, but Chelsea clear towards Costa, who is upended from behind by Rojo. Retribution?

Min 18 | One imagines that Spurs fans are enjoying this so far. If it stays this way, Chelsea's lead over the North London side will stay at four points.

Min 16 | Ooh, that's nice build-up play from United, who are having much the better of this opening period. Pogba feeds it forward to Rashford, who touches it first-time to Lingard. He slips in Young's run on the left, but no-one can get onto his low ball across goal. 

Min 14 | Chelsea win a free-kick in swing-it-into-the-mixer territory, but Hazard's delivery is guff.

Min 12 | Victor Moses crosses for Chelsea, but it's deflected and loops up into David de Gea's arms. Diego Costa - being Diego Costa - appears to give Eric Bailly a little shove at the back stick, leaving the former Villarreal defender down and his team-mates less than enamoured of Costa's conduct. But Bailly is soon up, and on we play.

Min 10 | United's tails are up, and Paul Pogba flights a ball into the box to Rashford - but he can't quite pull down. It's been brought to my attention that Herrera handballed in the process of winning back possession for the United goal. Oh well - it was a still a delightful pass.

Min 9 | That Herrera pass was a thing of beauty.

Min 8 | Gooooal! 1-0 to Manchester United! Rashford with it! Ander Herrera plays an utterly sumptuous slide-rule through ball that eliminates the Chelsea backline at a stroke and has the young striker in on Asmir Begovic - and his finish is low and unerring. The hosts lead!

Min 6 | Just as I was about to write that nothing has particularly happened so far, Jesse Lingard robs David Luiz in an area of the Chelsea half where the Brazilian doesn't especially want to be losing it cheaply. Marcus Rashford drives towards the visitors' box and has a dig, but it trundles well wide.

MIn 4 | It appears that Alonso is not playing because of an injury, but because he has been feeling unwell today.

Min 3 | Chelsea launch the first attack of any substance, Eden Hazard feeding César Azpilicueta's forward run on the left for the Spaniard to cross - but Marcos Rojo is slap-bang in position to head away.

Peeeep! We're underway at Old Trafford.

One min to kick-off | It looks like Zouma will slot into Chelsea's three-man backline, with Azpilicueta moving forward into Alonso's berth at left wing-back. 

Two mins to kick-off | The teams are out!

Manchester United vs Chelsea: confirmed line-ups

Man United XI: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Rojo, Darmian, Fellaini, Herrera, Young, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford.

Manchester United vs Chelsea: latest news

16:55 | There's been a last-minute change to the Chelsea line-up, Kurt Zouma coming in for Marcos Alonso, who appears to have suffered a problem in the warm-up.

16:50 | And let's not forget that the last three league meetings between these two teams at Old Trafford have ended in stalemates.

16:47 | Chelsea may be fresher and, let's face it, a better team; but I'll confess I'm going with a draw this afternoon - after all, it's something United a fairly good at, having notched up ten of them in their 21-game league unbeaten streak. 

16:45 | Ahead of kick-off, let me recommend this reading on ex-Chelsea boss Mourinho's strained relations with the fans of his former employers, and Blues boss Antonio Conte.

16:40 | 20 minutes to kick-off at Old Trafford - can Manchester United end their 12-game winless streak against Chelsea? 

16:35 | Liverpool's win at West Brom means Manchester City are now the occupants of fourth, seven points ahead of United (having played two more). José Mourinho's men will leapfrog Everton - over whom they currently have three games in hand - into fifth with a draw today. 

16:30 | Incidentally, Ashley Young takes the captain's armband for United today. 

16:15 | Liverpool have just beaten West Brom with a solitary goal enough to secure maximum points. The Reds move to third in the table.

16:01 | The headlines in the hosts' XI, meanwhile, are that striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is on the bench and David de Gea returns in goal.

16:00 | The teams are out, and the chief Chelsea news is that Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois misses out with an ankle injury and is replaced by Asmir Begovic.

15:40 | The run-in for Spurs is arguably trickier as the Lillywhites face Palace (a), Arsenal (h), West Ham (a), Man. United (h), Leicester (a) & Hull City (a).

15:35 | Remaining fixtures for Conte's men are: Southampton (H), Everton (a), 'Boro (h), West Brom (a), Watford (h) & Sunderland (h)

15:30 | Massive game at Old Trafford with a home certainly making the run in very interesting with Chelsea still in pole position.  

14:35 | It's a grim old day in Manchester with on and off rain and a brisk temperature of 9C. A 74% chance of continued rain come kick-off.  

13:55 | Old Trafford used to be such an intimidating place to go but since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson things have changed. Mourinho has been brought in to revive the relatively recent 'good old days' and the unbeaten run has helped. But five draws in their last six home matches is far from satisfactory.

13:41 | Two players very capable of deciding today's match up are Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Diego Costa. They've both notched 17 goals each this season in the league but the 35-year old has done so in 147 minutes less playing time (just over a game and a half). Who'll come out on top today? 

13:33 | If José Mourinho reverts to type against one of the other top teams, we're unlikely to be burning the skin off our live-feed fingers with a goal feast. However, we do expect to be describing for you a tactical battle between the two managers and, of course, how their plans are carried out by those on the pitch. 

13:16 | Antonio Conte will be disappointed not to have his first choice stopper but will still have immense confidence in his backline. If Chelsea, as most people expect, go on to win the league title, it'll be the first time a team playing with three at the back has done so.

12:57 | Injury news: Big news being reported that Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is OUT of today's game with an ankle injury. The goalkeeper had spoken ahead of the clash about the style expected from United.

12:31 | If you enjoy knowing more than your mates down the pub, this short video is for you. It tells you, for example, the surprising player that scored the last two goals for Chelsea against the Red Devils...it was N'Golo Kante for those short of time.

12:22 | To see how and where you can watch or listen to the game today have a gander at our useful little guide.

11:58 | There's one other game in the Premier League today which has an effect on United's bid to sneak into the Champions League places through the domestic competition. Liverpool (currently in the top four positions) travel to the Hawthorns to face West Brom.

11:38 | Chelsea sit just four points ahead of Spurs at the top of the Premier League but will extend that to seven with a win today. Then, only clubs from lower down the table stand in their way for another crown.

11:16 | The home side are currently on a run of 21-unbeaten games but are likely to face their toughest test today. During the run, Mourinho's side have been able to create plenty chances against the so-called lesser teams, but have failed to take many of them, but have tended to focus on stopping the attacks of opposition from teams higher up the table. Both these elements have been factors in the frustrating number of draws seen by fans.

10:50 | What a game in store for us all this afternoon as Mourinho welcomes Conte to Old Trafford. Pressure, hype and controversy can almost certainly be guaranteed...quality, open, attacking football cannot. 

Manchester United vs Chelsea: preview

Leaders Chelsea go into this looking for their third straight win, and will be extra keen to do so after nearest rivals Tottenham thumped Bournemouth 4-0 on Saturday to cut the distance at the top to just four points. Mourinho’s United have no margin for error if they are to have any chance of stealing the fourth and final Champions League berth or indeed, just making sure they are in Europe next season. Last weekend’s win over Sunderland leaves them sixth on 57 points but with three games in hand over Everton. Arsenal sit just behind on 54 points with The Gunners playing away at Middlesbrough on Monday.

Man United

United’s home form has been baffling to say the least. While they have only lost once at Old Trafford this term, they’ve been held nine times. Worryingly, in the top half of the standings, United and Southampton have the fewest wins at home– just six. On the positive side, their defensive record is as good as Chelsea’s – 11 against at their stadium. Mourinho will be hoping his forwards can bump up their goal scoring figures too – they have found the net 21 times so far, but Juan Mata won’t be adding to their tally – he’s out for the rest of season after undergoing a groin operation last month. Mourinho confirmed yesterday that Phil Jones and Chris Smalling will also probably miss the end of the campaign. It’s also important to note that United are juggling the Europa League with their domestic commitments and maybe a little wearier than their guests after Thursday’s draw against Anderlecht.

Man to watch: De Gea. Arguably United’s most consistent performer this season and the Spaniard is set to return after a hip complaint kept him benched for last week’s win at Sunderland. He’s kept 11 clean sheets for United in 29 outings and will be as tough as ever to beat on Sunday.

Chelsea

Chelsea have been coasting at the top of the table since they toppled Liverpool off the top of the pile in Week 12. Conte’s team remain the big favourites to lift the league title but the jitters might be creeping in after having watching their 10-point lead whittled down to just four points in five weekends of action. Nevertheless the Londoners possess the best away figures in the division – on the road, they have registered 11 wins and only lost twice – as guests of Spurs and Arsenal. The Blues can even afford to lose two of the remaining six games and still be crowned champions as long as they win the rest. After this they face Southampton, Everton, Middlesbrough, West Brom, Sunderland and Watford.

Conte has a full squad to select his starting XI and may field a similar side to the one which beat Bournemouth last weekend. Cesc Fàbregas could be handed minutes once again, if the scoreboard is looking comfortable enough to make changes late on.

Man to watch: Diego Costa. Like strike partner Eden Hazard, Costa has been crucial in Chelsea’s charge towards the league title. He is close to registering his personal best figures since joining Chelsea in 2014. Currently he is on 17 goals and he has set up a further five. And there will be an extra motive for him to find the net tomorrow – he is just one goal away from his 50th Premier League goal, with today’s game being his 84th appearance.

Manchester United vs Chelsea: possible line-ups

Manchester United: De Gea, Bailly, Rojo, Shaw, Valencia, Darmian, Herrera, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Ibrahimovic.

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahil; Moses, Kanté, Matic, Marcos Alonso, Pedro, Hazard, Diego Costa.

Man Utd vs Chelsea: betting odds

There’s not a great deal of difference between a home win or away win – 3/1 if Mourinho’s team prevail, and slightly less for a Chelsea win. But there are decent odds for the game to produce more than 4.5 goals – which is at 10/1 while a 2-2 draw is at 15/1.

Bet on Manchester United v Chelsea in the Premier League now

Manchester United vs Chelsea: live match build-up