Promising Points: When United Beat Chelsea

This week, we're looking back at some of the moments from last season which are making ManUtd.com journalists look forward to the new season with optimism. The first one is that Sunday afternoon in April when the Manchester United players left the Old Trafford pitch with three points, and perhaps a portent for the 2017/18 Premier League, after sweeping aside the eventual champions Chelsea...

It was a display which, in many ways, was the culmination of a season's meticulous work for Jose Mourinho and his United squad.

On the touchline, it was as if the animated manager was trying to kick every ball for his team. Not that he needed to - on the pitch, his players were producing a performance that had been months in the making.

The 2-0 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford in April felt like a return to the 'old' United. It was also a masterclass by Mourinho, a statement of intent against a team that would still, deservedly, win the title race in May. But, more than anything else, it was the first real indicator that the 'new' United could be among the contenders to snatch away the visitors' Premier League crown in 2017/18. Even if Jose's side eventually finished outside the top four, the display on Easter Sunday was a sign there is much more to come in his second season at the club.

Before that mid-April meeting with the league leaders, the Reds' record against the other teams in the top six had been a bit hit-and-miss with the home victory over eventual runners-up Tottenham Hotspur and the expert containment of free-scoring Liverpool at Anfield being the better results among defeats to Manchester City at Old Trafford and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The latter result in late October actually led to an upturn in form and a record unbeaten run of matches in the same league season (25) but even with that response in mind, few would have predicted what would happen in the Manchester rematch.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic rested on the bench between the two quarter-final clashes with Anderlecht in the UEFA Europa League, Mourinho looked to a pair of Academy graduates to lead the attack against Chelsea. Jesse Lingard supported Marcus Rashford up front, and it was the latter who opened the scoring. His calm finish after just seven minutes set the tone and established an important advantage for the Reds, from which there would be no way back for the Blues.

United's near-perfect performance was typified by Ander Herrera who, having created the first goal with a superb pass, decisively struck the second one himself just after the break. Those two moments were brief respites from the Spaniard's main responsibility of the afternoon, shackling Chelsea's main threat, a mission he accomplished so well, he was a shoo-in for the Man of the Match award.

"Herrera really stood out," wrote Reds legend Paddy Crerand, in his column for the next edition of United Review, the official matchday programme.

"His man-marking job on Hazard was genuinely outstanding and I actually felt sorry for the Belgian by full-time because he looked like a beaten man."

While much was rightly made of Herrera's all-action outing, this was truly a top-drawer team display.

"Every player on the pitch was terrific, from front to back," continued Crerand, "although it's fair David De Gea didn't have anything to do!

"I felt it was our best performance in years and the galvanising effect it had on everybody was incredible. When did you last hear a noise like that at Old Trafford? The reaction was huge."

The Reds had not just beaten the champions-elect, but had done so convincingly, and in a way which suggested this would not be a one-off. Another pivotal win at Old Trafford, this time in the second leg against Anderlecht, followed just a few days later with another goal from Rashford - you can read more about that on ManUtd.com tomorrow.

If United can bottle up the kind of form shown against Chelsea and release it on a more regular basis, it can only bode well for 2017/18. Here's to the season ahead.

The views expressed in this article are personal to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United FC.

Credit: Manutd.com