Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea: Things we learned from the Premier League clash

Manchester United’s Dutchman Robin Van Persie gave the Old Trafford crowd something to cheer about as he equalised deep into Fergie time. Chelsea were in front thanks to a Didier Drogba header and Mourinho was understandably upset about the result. ‘We are not happy with a point,’ he said, summing up the game as ‘a good Manchester United but a very good Chelsea.' My feeling is that we had a good first half and a fantastic second half,’ he said, praising the ‘evolution’ of his team since last season. Van Gaal – relieved by the result – will have to go back to the drawing board to figure out how he can get this expensively assembled galaxy of stars firing on all cylinders. Here are four things we learned from the match:

The Special One is capable of being human

Mourinho has a way of getting under the opposing manager’s skin. His list of misdemeanours is long – poking people in the eye, making handcuff gestures, hiding in laundry baskets and calling Wenger a voyeur and a specialist in failure! However, he does seem to have a lot of respect for people who helped him become The Special One. 

He spent around 15 minutes in the tunnel with his former mentor Louis Van Gaal and even shared a warm embrace before the match. He even told the reporters: ‘They (United) have one of the best managers in the world... He's one of that group. He's a great coach, he's a great manager, I think they're in great hands. The same way I had last year to build... Louis, with time, will make a fantastic team.’

Marouane Fellaini's Manchester United​ career is not over

Van Gaal’s arrival was followed by the departure of various players including Nani, Tom Cleverley (thank God), Javier Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa but Fellaini (and Anderson for some reason) still stuck around. Everyone thought that Fellaini – the player who epitomised the inept Moyes era – would be out of the door too. After all he can’t hold a candle to Rooney or Mata or even fellow national teammate Januzaj for the number 10 position nor does he have any recognisable attributes which would allow him to compete with Daley Blind, Michael Carrick or Andre Herrera in midfield.

However, a terrific goal against West Brom and injuries and suspensions saw the Belgian start against Chelsea and he was one of the best United players on the field! He played a very important role in shackling Cesc Fabregas. He gave him no time on the ball and the Spaniard only completed three passes in the first 20 minutes and 11 in the first half. It was also Fellaini’s header in injury time that Thibaut Courtois parried to Van Persie that ended up as an equaliser. Even RVP acknowledged his teammate’s contribution saying: ‘He was fantastic. He did a great job on Fabregas.’

Chelsea won’t emulate the Invincibles 

There have been a lot of good teams in the Premier League era. United’s treble-winning 1998-99 team, the double-winning 2007-08 team and Chelsea’s 2004-05 team but the Arsenal team of 2003-04 are considered the best. After all, going an entire season unbeaten is a feat that hasn’t been repeated yet. While Chelsea are still on course to achieve that goal, you get the feeling that it won’t happen. Even Chelsea playmaker Cesc Fabregas thinks it’s unlikely. ‘No, no, this is a joke. This is a joke,’ the Spain international told Sky Sports when asked if Chelsea can emulate his former club. ‘There will only be one team who can do that - the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ team of 2003-04. I was part of it a little bit at the end, and it was a different class team. I don't think we are there yet, but we're building up a young, talented, solid team and hopefully we can get into the final part of the season with options for winning everything. The team that came closest to going unbeaten for an entire season was Manchester United, who went unbeaten for 24 games in 20101-11 before losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Will lightning strike twice? It’s highly unlikely.

Manchester United still have some way to go before they’re title challengers

Manchester United​ might have spent around £150m in the summer transfer window on players like Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw, but they still have a team that lacks balance. Defensively, they’re in shambles and are crying out for a strong, commanding centre-back in the mould of Tony Adams, John Terry, Nemanja Vidic or Vincent Kompany. They need someone who can mix it up physically, while marshalling other defenders and Jones, Evans and Smalling don’t look capable of that. New signing Marcus Rojo look more at home as a left full-back, and you can almost see a David Luiz in the making when he plays in the centre of defence. The only defensive player who has covered himself in glory is goalkeeper David De Gea who has really matured into a commanding keeper after his earlier troubles.

It’s also still not clear what United’s best formation is (it’s definitely not 3-5-2) and Van Gaal has a headache to figure out how to stick Di Maria, Falcao, RVP, Rooney, Januzaj and Mata into one team-sheet and get the best out of them. Midfield also remains a problem and the team still need a physical presence which is something that Fellaini could provide. 

All in all it was an enticing game and this promises to be a Premier League season with a lot of twists and turns.