They got a cucumber and made a cucumber salad out of it. Manchester United beat Chelsea at Old Trafford

Nobody will take that away from them. Manchester United will finish the 2022/23 season in the Top 4 Premier League, which means that we will see this team in the group stage of the next edition of the Champions League. On Thursday evening, the Red Devils put the dot on the i’s as they beat Chelsea’s puny 4-1 at Old Trafford.

It’s hard not to get the impression that everyone at The Blues is fed up with this season. Fans suffer from seeing such a weak, colorless team. The players look like people who don’t want to play anymore. And Frank Lampard gives the impression of a guy who’s already on vacation and doesn’t care if his team wins the match or not. Another defeat ticked off, only the match against Newcastle United on Sunday and the fire! A season to be forgotten.

Manchester United-Chelsea 4-1. A successful debut season for Erik ten Haga?

Manchester United, on the other hand, is still in the game. In the league, he is fighting for the 3rd place. They are two points ahead of Newcastle United. On the last matchday he will go to London to start with Fulham and if he wins, he will finish the Premier League on the podium. In addition, the “Red Devils” will play at Wembley on June 3 with Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup. They can finish this season with the second trophy won, because let’s not forget that at the end of February the team from Manchester reached the English League Cup.

Can this be considered a good campaign by United in Erik ten Hag’s first year? In this club, the bar for the expectations of the board and fans hangs very high. The goal is to return to the top of the Premier League and dominate Europe. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, the Red Devils have neither won the Premier League nor the Champions League. Each successive coach has failed.

Erik ten Hag didn’t get off to a good start. He started with two defeats against Brighton (1-2) and Brentford (0-4). In the locker room he had Cristiano Ronaldo and his big ego. The team was in a mental mess. The Dutchman was thrown into deep water and had to learn to swim in it. He needed the time he was given by the board and tried to do his job. There are no remakes yet. There were mishaps along the way, see. 0-7 against Liverpool. But in the end, it could be a really successful rookie season in which the coach faced huge problems. It wasn’t an easy task.

He put Harry Maguire aside. Saying goodbye to Cristiano Ronaldo. He built Marcus Rashford, who eventually became a major figure in Manchester United. The Englishman shone and often took the responsibility for the result on his shoulders. He became a star. In addition, Erik ten Hag integrated Casemiro into the team, who is a total boss of the midfield. You can see the coach’s hand in this team and a good prognosis for the future. This flour can make good bread.

Chelsea failing miserably. Casemir? Boss

And that was also shown this Thursday’s game at Old Trafford. Manchester United looked like a complete and classy team. However, let’s remember that the rival was a broken and helpless Chelsea. Compared to such a team, most of the league looks very good. It is enough to endure the moment when The Blues feel like constructing offensive attacks and then counter. In recent weeks, Londoners have been painfully ineffective. They create clear chances to score a goal, but the finalization of the action is at a very poor level.

When they don’t, frustration sets in. And we have the perfect recipe for another blasphemy. Manchester United waited for their moments and finished off the rival. It was Chelsea who started the match better, and after a few minutes they were losing to Casemiro’s goal. Later, she fiercely sought to equalise, wasted more “hundreds” and got a “gong” just before going to the locker room. The Brazilian midfielder flashed again, who played a soft cut to Jadon Sancho perfectly in time, and he put the ball on the “empty” to Martial.

In the second half, there was already a huge difference between the teams. Frustrated, heartbroken and most of all discouraged, Chelsea was just the backdrop for Manchester United. It was not an even match. If the “Red Devils” had been more effective, this match could have ended with a much higher score. It should be noted that Kepa played a good game, although he pulled the ball out of the net four times, he made several very successful interventions. However, that didn’t help. And so The Blues got a beating from United. It was inevitable.