Staff Takeaways: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Nathan Heintschel – An old score settled(?) and a clean sheet that likely meant a little more

The traveling fans’ sentiment toward former Red, Alejandro Garnacho, was quite clear as the winger received boos and jeers during his warm up to replace the injured Estêvão early in the first half. His day would continue to be miserable he struggled to produce against his former team — likely irritating the home support. What I had not realized until the minutes and hours following United’s win at Stamford Bridge was the sentiment toward Garnacho by his former teammates. I don’t typically care to read into footballers social media posts, but the first image of Luke Shaw’s Instagram carousel definitely made a concise statement. And the subsequent scroll through the comments of the post left little for interpretation. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the win, it seemed like this was a particularly fulfilling venture for the United players as they earned their first win at the Bridge since before the pandemic. Ayden Heaven’s first post on his feed since early March was a tackle on Liam Delap that sent the forward into the air. Again, the comments from United teammates were congratulatory and memeworthy. The win at Chelsea obviously meant a lot to the club, which is now in prime position to compete and enjoy the financial spoils of the Champions League next season, but a gritty, physical, siege-breaking performance that was rewarded with a clean sheet might have hit a little harder for a unit currently aggrieved by injuries and suspensions.