Man Utd Loses by Drawing with Chelsea

Just one of those things.

That's how Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solsjaer described Spain's world-class goalkeeper treating a relatively routine shot like a greased pig.

Juan Mata had given United the lead and the inside track to a desperately-needed three points, but Marcos Alonso leveled for Chelsea on an absolute gift.

The 1-1 result puts Chelsea the fourth in the table with two games to go, and the Red Devils remained out of the money in sixth.

 

The Blues didn't think so, but they held that opinion while whispering past the graveyard.

United had the better of play, but unfortunately for them, style points don't have a place in the table.

 

It only took United 11 minutes to put a stamp on matters at Old Trafford.

Romelu Lukaku found Luke Shaw inside the box, and he squared it to Mata, who said hello to his old club in a meaningful way:

 

Chelsea woke up and added a previously missing urgency to pushing for an equalizer.

It happened shortly before halftime when Antonio Rüdiger's shot from distance seemed harmless for a 'keeper of David De Gea's caliber. But no. Dude fumbled it into the path of his countryman -- Alonso -- who's not one to question a present:

 

It's too late now, but maybe Solsjaer should've given de Gea a better motivational moment before the match.

 

Then again, dude's Norwegian.

 

While the Blues were lucky to get the goal they did, both actually missed the chances of their own making.

• Pedro cleared a Marco Rojo header right off the line, and
• Gonzalo Higuaín missed a face-to-facer against de Gea.

So, with two matches remaining, read it and weep, United:

It could be a transformative off-season at Old Trafford.