David de Gea made a third costly goalkeeping error in the
space of four games as Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw at home to
top-four rivals Chelsea last night.
Juan Mata had given United a deserved first-half lead
against his former employers in what had been dubbed a “must-win” match for the
hosts, but De Gea’s mistake gifted an equalizer to Marcos Alonso as Chelsea
boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification.
The result leaves Maurizio Sarri’s side still fourth in the
table and two points above fifth-placed Arsenal, whereas United must overhaul the three-point deficit as well as their inferior goal difference during the final
two games of the season.
The importance of the game was increased by defeats for
Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal earlier in the weekend, and United in particular
began like a team who knew their top-four hopes depended on winning.
The hosts created their first big chance after just four
minutes when Luke Shaw’s long pass forward beat the entire Chelsea defence to
leave Romelu Lukaku through on goal, but the Belgian took too long over his
finish and was eventually denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
United would not have to wait long to break the deadlock,
though, as Mata marked his 31st birthday with a goal against his former club
after a scooped Lukaku pass had released Shaw, who cut the ball back into the middle for Mata to convert.
Chelsea was largely limited to long-range efforts for much
of the first half, with Alonso and Jorginho failing to test David de Gea when
trying their luck.
De Gea would go on to fail the first test which came his way
from another long-range strike, but United almost doubled their advantage
before that when Eric Bailly came close to marking his return to the team with
a goal, sending a towering header just wide on the half-hour mark.
A two-goal lead would not have flattered a United side who
were putting in one of their best performances in recent weeks, but they then
found themselves level with just two minutes remaining of the half as De Gea
made another howler to gift Chelsea an equalizer.
Antonio Rudiger’s 30-yard strike should have been simple for
the keeper, but he spilled it into a dangerous area and Alonso was following up
to convert the rebound – a third error leading directly to a goal from De Gea’s
last four games, which is as many as he committed in his previous 123 outings
for the club.
Kepa Arrizabalaga showed his compatriot how it should be
done when collecting a long-range Marcus Rashford free-kick five minutes into the second half and the Chelsea keeper was called upon again shortly afterwards to
keep out Bailly’s tame effort.
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