Chelsea handed Manchester United their 18th Premier League defeat of the season with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.
United arrived without a win in their last 11 visits to Stamford Bridge — their previous triumph dating back to Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s reign in 2020.
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Inexplicably, Ruben Amorim fielded a full-strength side despite their Europa League final against Tottenham in Bilbao looming on May 21.
A goalless first half added to United’s poor attacking record early in games this season — only Southampton (12) and Leicester (11) have scored fewer first-half goals than their 15. Alarmingly, if matches ended at half-time, United would sit 18th with just 32 points.
Since April began, no team has earned fewer Premier League points than United (2), in stark contrast to Aston Villa — their final-day opponents — who’ve picked up 21 in the same period.
The defeat confirmed that United would finish a league season without recording back-to-back wins for the first time in Premier League history. It also extended their winless run to eight matches, a club first in the competition.
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Rasmus Højlund struggles continues
United showed glimpses of intent in the first half, but once again, Rasmus Højlund delivered a below-par performance in what’s been a frustrating season for the striker.
He failed to register a key pass and surrendered possession 13 times more than he completed a pass (11), a stat that will no doubt worry Ruben Amorim ahead of the Europa League final clash with Tottenham on May 21.
Former United captain Roy Keane held no bars when highlighting the player’s performance. Speaking on Sky Sports, the ex-United skipper criticised the 22-year-old sharply, stating: “They’ve got no striker. Hojlund tonight looked like a young kid; he looked like he’d just come out of the academy. His runs weren’t right, his timing, his hold-up play.”
Keane was blunt when asked if the forward could thrive with better support: “We keep making excuses for him; we’ve talked about confidence, but you still think when you’re a striker up there, you’ve got to make something happen sometimes.”
United’s INEOS-led hierarchy — including Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada, and Jason Wilcox — were in attendance at the Bridge on Friday night, and fans will be hoping Højlund’s display prompts them to step up plans to sign a new centre-forward this summer.
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