Chelsea set an interesting record on the day they lost to MU

This is an unprecedented milestone in the Premier League because throughout the history of the tournament, no team has made 3 substitutions in just the first 21 minutes. The reason is quite simple, because Chelsea was at a disadvantage with goalkeeper Sanchez's red card in the 9th minute.

In the situation of rushing out to block Mbeumo, Sanchez made a dangerous block. This situation could have clearly led to a goal for MU so the referee immediately showed a red card to send off the Chelsea goalkeeper.

Playing away from home and missing a player, coach Maresca was forced to sacrifice his attack to focus on defense. That was the reason he withdrew 3 players from the front line before the first half was even halfway through.

Palmer was taken off the field to prioritize the defense.

Maresca explained: “The reason we changed Pedro and Estevao is because Chelsea always attack with five players. We defend with four. We can defend with that when it’s 11 v 11, but when it’s 11 v 10, I think Chelsea need to defend horizontally, so we decided to play with five at the back.”

At the end of the first half, Chelsea equalized when Casemiro received a second yellow card and left the field. At this point, many people thought Maresca would bring on Alejandro Garnacho to strengthen the home team's attack. However, the former MU star was ignored. He was forced to give way to Tyrique George, while Malo Gusto was also brought in when Maresca made the final changes of the match.

Perhaps Tyrique George, a winger with good defensive ability, was preferred over Garnacho in the context of Chelsea having to both attack and defend. The Chelsea manager explained: "The other player, Garnacho, was ready, but Wes Fofana asked for a change because he was tired after a long time. I had to change and decided to choose Tyrique George instead of Garnacho."