Manchester United do not miss Cristiano Ronaldo and yet they miss him. Specifically, the skill he has mastered more than any other player in the game’s history: goalscoring.
At least they had another five-times Champions League winner to depend on. Casemiro was the best player on the Stamford Bridge pitch before he leaped like Ronaldo in the 94th minute to secure an invaluable point.
Casemiro, a defensive midfielder, is as attack-minded as they come. Almost every pass he played was forwards and the wait to occupy a position United failed to strengthen for five years has been worth it for they have recruited the world’s best.
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United supporters were just about prevented from spilling onto the pitch by the startled stewards after Casemiro raced towards them. Erik ten Hag punched the air euphorically. In a game they will, deep down, be disappointed not to have won, for a delirious minute the draw felt like victory.
Avoiding defeat took precedence after substitute Scott McTominay inexplicably grappled with Armando Broja inside his own area. Jorginho converted on a day United seemed destined not to.
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The Ronaldo situation is paradoxical for United. He might have buried Marcus Rashford’s chances yet it is not a credible argument that United would be as fluid and creative with him in the team on this season’s evidence. United lost 4-0 at Brentford and drew 0-0 in his two Premier League starts.
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Yet United find goals hard to come by without Ronaldo and it is an easy card for his defenders to play in the meantime. They have tallied a modest 16 goals in 11 Premier League games.
Goalscoring is the most coveted attribute in football and that is what gives Ronaldo a slither of hope if he is to extend his residency in Manchester beyond January. The Chelsea draw was further proof goals are hard to come by for United. Rashford and Antony misfired when they homed in on Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal.
United’s two standout opportunities against Newcastle last week came once Ronaldo was removed. Yet Rashford could not convert either and he remains unable to convince he is a No.9 after another scoreless week at the tip of the arrow. United’s actual No.9, Anthony Martial, has started twice for them in the last year.
Ten Hag removed Rashford in the 80th minute for Anthony Elanga, without a United goal since February. United’s options were so limited the attacking alternatives were Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri, the latter still yet to play for the club he joined more than two years ago. Little wonder a defensive player stepped up to fill Ronaldo’s void.
Ten Hag has spoken of the hope United will become more consistent with Martial and Ronaldo available, yet both are unreliable for various reasons and an attacking reinfrocement in January feels urgent.
Ronaldo was conspicuous by his absences on the terraces, too. None of his chants were aired in the reduced away section of the Shed End and the only ‘viva’ was reserved for John Terry, United fans (and Ronaldo) forever grateful for his inability to withstand the saturated Luzhniki Stadium turf.
More important than Ronaldo to United is Raphael Varane, forced off for the second time this month. Varane appeared to conceal tears as several teammates clutched him sympathetically with the World Cup looming next month. Varane at least walked around the pitch unattended, mercilessly abused by the Matthew Harding Stand.
It is not all sweetness and light between manager and players. Diogo Dalot was berated by Bruno Fernandes for not pressing, inviting Ben Chilwell to advance until he was fouled by Antony. Ten Hag interrupted Fernandes to defend Dalot, who wisely decided against overcommitting. Ten Hag swiftly restored harmony when Antony scolded Dalot for intercepting a pass intended for him and was urged to face his opponent instead. That dynamic should never be discouraged.
Ten Hag is especially demanding of Antony, a talent he unearthed and developed for two years in Amsterdam. The United manager was not silenced by Antony’s distance in the second-half and had his work cut out with the relocated Fernandes, truculent as ever with the officials.
United were purposeful and adventurous – especially in the first-half – and with Casemiro flanked by the recalled Christian Eriksen. In the 22nd minute, every United player bar De Gea was in the Chelsea half. All they lacked was a dependable goalscorer and Rashford clipped the ball tamely at Arrizabalaga from Fernandes’s piercing pass.
Chelsea coach Graham Potter masterminded two of Brighton’s finest Premier League wins against United this calendar year but was unnerved enough to introduce Mateo Kovacic for Marco Cucurella in the 36th minute in a system change from a back three.
Potter had been beckoning Ben Chilwell higher up yet United were so proactive through Antony he was pinned back and Tottenham’s back three doubled as an invaluable dress rehearsal. With a back four, Chilwell regained his sense of adventure and Chelsea edged the second-half.
Ten Hag took three minutes of the restart to plump for a counter-change, summoning Fred back from a brief warm-up to replace the harmless Jadon Sancho. Far more disruptive was the withdrawal of Varane. Harry Maguire is undergoing double sessions back at base in Carrington in his recovery from a thigh strain.
