Chelsea welcomed Manchester United to Stamford Bridge for Matchday 13 of the 2021-22 Premier League season. The Red Devils took the lead in the first half through Jadon Sancho’s first-ever Premier League goal after Jorginho gave away the ball. The visitors had a plan to defend well and strike on the counter, and were successful in the first half to keep a 1-0 lead. Chelsea found their equalizer in the second half through a cool and composed penalty from Jorginho, who would feel that he redeemed himself for his first-half mistake.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines
* defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
Which Chelsea player had the highest xG generation? Who had the most attempted passes for Machester United?
To navigate the stats gallery, simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report
Chelsea’s Starting Lineup (3-4-3): GK: Edouard Mendy; CBs: Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Trevor Chalobah; LWB: Marcos Alonso, CDMs: Jorgihno, Ruben Loftus-Chee, RWB: Reece James; LW: Callum Hudson-Odoi, ST: Timo Werner, RW: Halim Ziyech
Subs: Mason mount, Christian Pulisic, Romelu Lukaku
The average positions of the Chelsea players show that they were mostly attacking in the game and were much more advanced up the field. Almost all the players’ average positions were inside the opposition’s half, with only the centre-backs having average positions in their half.
Manchester United’s starting Lineup (4-3-1-2): GK: David De Gea; LB: Alex Telles, CBs: Eric Bailey, Victor Lindelof, RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka; RCM: Nemanja Matic, CM: Scott McTonimaay, RCM: Fred; CAM: Bruno Fernandes; LST: Jadon Sancho, RST: Marcus Rashford
Subs: Cristiano Ronaldo, Jesse Lingard, Donny van de Beek
The average positions of the Man United players show that they had a plan to sit back inside their half and defend and try to hit their opponents on the counter-attack. Most of their players had average positions inside their half.
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea dominated the entire 90 minutes of the match and took a total of 22 shots. They hit the target a total of five times, generating an xG of 2.55 in the game, and had 63% of the ball possession. Man United came to the Bridge with a plan to sit back, absorb the pressure and hit them on the break. They created an xG of 0.20, with just three shots on the goal.
The Blues kept on attacking and taking shots throughout the two halves with a total of 22 shots. They took shots from both inside and outside the box but were just not clinical enough to find the back of the net. They scored their only goal in the game from the penalty spot.
Manchester United took just three shots in the entire 90 minutes against Tuchel’s men. Jadon Sancho was able to open the scoring in the first half after capitalizing on a mistake made by Jorginho inside his half. He received the ball in his half, took a very heavy touch which allowed Sancho to steal and run away with the ball, to finish past Mendy to make it 1-0.
The xT and xG lines of the match show a simple and clear story that the Blues dominated and created a large number of goalscoring opportunities across the 90 minutes. The threat timeline shows that United had nearly zero xT generation in the first half but did create a few chances in the second half.
Chelsea’s passing zones of the game show that they had a lot of passes in the midfield and final third, especially on the right wing. Reece James put in six crosses and eight passes into the penalty area, out of which two were inside the six-yard box.
Carrick’s Man United had to complete almost all of their passes inside their half. They lacked any kind of creativity upfront, putting in very few crosses, and had zero smart passes in the match.
Callum Hudson-Odoi had the highest xT creation from passing for the Blues, followed by Hakim Ziyech and Reece James. Hudson-Odoi also had the highest xT creation from dribbling and was their best player in the match.
The xT creation zones of Man United show that they created very few goal-scoring opportunities in the match. Fred had the highest xT creation for the Red Devils against the Blues.
Fred and Scott McTonimay both had high xT creation from their passing in the game, while Matic and Bruno Fernandes had the highest xT creation from dribbling.
The Blues were great in defense and were able to win around 65% of the defensive duels in the game. Reece James won four duels for his team, while Chalobah, Rudiger, Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi all won three each.
The home side showed strength aerially as well, winning more than 40% of the aerial duels against Man United. Ruben Loftus-Cheek won a total of seven aerial duels for the Blues.
Chelsea made around 30% successful loose ball recoveries over the 90 minutes. Trevor Chalobah made three successful loose ball recoveries n their game against Man United.
The Red Devils won more than 50% of their defensive duels in the match. Fred was able to win four duels for them, followed by Matic, who won three.
The visitors were strong in the air and won approximately 45% of their aerial duels. Eric Bailly won three aerial duels for his team.
Manchester United were able to win almost 50% of the loose ball duels against the Blues. Bailly made four loose ball recoveries for them, while Lindelof, Fred and Rashford won three loose ball duels each.
The draw saw the Blues keep a slender one-point lead at the top of the table with 30 points from their 13 matches. Manchester City are behind them on 29, followed by Liverpool on 28. These three have taken a lead at the top and have left a long list of clubs fighting for the fourth spot. West Ham United are currently fourth with 23 points and are accompanied by Arsenal on fifth, who also have 23. Manchester United have just 18 points and are in eighth place, level on points with Brighton in ninth and Leicester in tenth. The Red Devils are one point behind Spurs on seventh and two behind Wolves who are on sixth. The race for the fourth spot has become very interesting, as only five points separate the teams ranging from fourth to tenth in the league.
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