Manchester United settled for another 0-0 draw against a top six Premier League rival yesterday.
United came away with a 0-0 draw from Stamford Bridge.
Both meetings with Chelsea this season have ended goalless 0-0 draws. There were also stalemates at Arsenal and Liverpool, and as well as Old Trafford against next weekend’s opponents Manchester City.
United showed reasonable attacking ambition in the first half, when they pressed Chelsea high up the pitch.
But in the second half, it seemed United were largely happy to take a point.
Speaking to United’s website after the game, David de Gea called on his teammates to do more in these matches.
He was honest and said that getting a point in these games isn’t enough if United are to claim silverware again.
“The draw is fine, but if we want to do something good and we want to win trophies and win the league, we have to beat these teams,”
said de Gea. “We didn’t have many chances; we didn’t create too much.
“The last pass was what we missed. We created good counter-attacks, but at the end, the last pass wasn’t the best option, but at least we defended really well today.
“[Chelsea] didn’t have many chances. They had a couple of chances, but the team was strong today. We gave everything today but it wasn’t enough, to be honest.”
“We need to do more; it’s not enough if we want to win trophies.”
United are playing with the fine margins in these big games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after the game that United were denied two points by Stuart Atwell’s baffling decision not to award a penalty when Callum Hudson-Odoi clearly handled the ball in the box.
That’s true to an extent – just as United could have won at the Emirates Stadium if Edinson Cavani had scored one of two presentable chances or at Anfield but for Paul Pogba’s late miss.
But over the 90 minutes in those matches – as well as the home clash with City just after we were knocked out of the Champions League – United just didn’t show enough intent to win.
De Gea knows it and while it would be reckless for Solskjaer to throw caution to the wind against the very best teams in the country, there has to be more emphasis on scoring rather than sitting on a clean sheet.
That has contributed to United’s brief title challenge fading away and isn’t good enough given the challenge is to close the gap to City next season.
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