Matthew Hanzel

Have I ever seen Manchester United played this well?

Last night’s game against Chelsea was, I think, the best, most coherent performance of a United side I have ever seen—especially after Sir Alex retired in 2013. It was a tactical master stroke, and a masterclass as well from the one and only Jose Mourinho.

The context: Chelsea was the top of the table, and was running for the first title under Antonio Conte. Lately, however, they have been losing games, especially to Crystal Palace. While they started without Thibaut Courtois and Marcos Alonso, their squad remained relatively strong, with Kanté and Hazard in the lineup.

United’s, however, was a made-up squad. Plagued with injuries and fatigues—including to Zlatan Ibrahimović—Mou decided to rely on youngsters Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard to sustain Chelsea’s explosive blows.

Indeed, it was a masterclass. United’s squad, an underdog in this circumstance, locked Chelsea so perfectly that they could not move an inch without being shadowed by a man marker. Chelsea could not even created one, single shot on goal, during the 90 minutes of the match. Now that was amazing.

But Ander Herrera was out of this world.

It is hard if you live under the shadow of greats such as Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. It has been to long years that United could not find proper replacements for both legends.

Yesterday, however, Herrera was given one simple job: Shadow Eden Hazard everywhere. Keep him in your pocket.

It was a job carried flawlessly, that we were not sure if Hazard managed to come out of his pocket after the game finished.

Top that with a goal and an assist, can you expect a more perfect game than Herrera’s performance yesterday?

Simply outrageously brilliant.

United controlled—dominated—the game with class. All the passes were connected. Goals were created, none conceded. The Chelsea players were left speechless and depressed, not knowing how to reach a breakthrough.

It was a thrilling game, and I shouted and clapped more than usual. The satisfaction was irreplaceable, however. Simply amazing.

Now if only United plays this well every single game, there is nothing that United cannot achieve.