LONDON — When the dust settles on this season, fans of Chelsea and Manchester United might look back on their meeting at Stamford Bridge in April as a sliding doors moment.
Two teams battling for a place in the UEFA Champions League. Two young managers — Liam Rosenior and Michael Carrick — trying to boost long-term job prospects at their respective clubs.
It was a game of huge importance that was decided by fine margins, and it was United who edged it.
Matheus Cunha scored the only goal in a 1-0 win as Carrick’s team took a big step toward a return to Europe’s top club competition. Qualification certainly won’t hurt the former England midfielder’s chances of earning the role full time.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are facing the prospect of missing out on the Champions League. What that would mean for Rosenior’s future is less clear.
There’s little doubt, though, that there’s growing anger in the stands being aimed at anything and everything from the owners to the manager to the players.
The frustration was perhaps heightened because before kickoff, this felt like an opportunity for Chelsea. With Enzo Fernández back following his club suspension imposed by Rosenior, they were pitted against a depleted United side reeling from a home defeat to Leeds United on Monday.
With Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martínez suspended and Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt unavailable, Carrick could only field one center back in 19-year-old Ayden Heaven. He was joined in the center of defense by Noussair Mazraoui, usually a fullback, with Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw, either side.
Chelsea hit the crossbar twice, had a goal ruled out for offside and had 21 shots. United survived, and it was down in large part to the performances of Heaven and Mazraoui, who engaged in a tired but joyful hug at full time.
It was only United’s second clean sheet in their past 22 league games away from home and a stadium where they had only won one of their previous 12 league visits.
“They were fantastic,” Carrick said of Heaven and Mazraoui. “Two fantastic players, and it was about giving them the confidence to commit to it and do their best. We gave them a bit of extra protection as a team.
“The boys took it on so well. I love when you see players thrive in those moments, that’s a tough place to come to.”
Carrick might not have many center backs, but he does have arguably the best player in the Premier League.
Bruno Fernandes was the chief creator again, setting up Cunha’s goal just before halftime. It’s now 18 assists for Fernandes this season, two short of the single-season Premier League record held jointly by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Cunha’s effort was United’s only shot on target, but when you’re playing against a team who don’t score, it’s all you need.
Chelsea have now lost three consecutive league games without scoring for the first time since 1998. Perhaps more worrying, they haven’t won a league game at Stamford Bridge since January.
With 15 minutes to go, the atmosphere turned toxic. Chants of “We want our Chelsea back” came from all four sides of the stadium, followed by songs aimed at co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
Before kickoff, around 1,000 fans protested the club’s ownership, a significant jump on the numbers for a similar protest in January.
“Tonight is a really difficult result to take,” Rosenior said after the match. “They’ve had one shot. We’ve had wave after wave of attacks. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to turn this around. We were dominant from the first moment to the last.
“It’s very frustrating. They’ve had one shot on target. I can’t remember another chance they’ve had. We know what needs to improve.”
The result leaves Chelsea sixth in the table and four points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Rosenior admitted he “doesn’t know” what missing out on the Champions League would mean for his future and the summer transfer plans. He is, though, well aware that it will be difficult to get into the top five from here with just five games left.
“It gives us a mountain to climb,” he said. “It’s not insurmountable, but it’s a mountain to climb.”
Carrick, understandably, was a lot more buoyant during his postmatch media duties.
While Chelsea are facing the prospect of a season without the vast revenues on offer in the Champions League, United are almost there. Third in the table, 10 points clear of Chelsea, they will be almost over the line if they can beat Brentford and Liverpool in their next two games.
“It was a big, important win for us tonight,” Carrick said. “Coming through the suspensions and the injuries and [Yoro] pulling out quite late and having to adapt. There’s a lot of things to be proud of tonight.
“The boys take so much credit for that, and the coaches, in terms of putting the plan together and adapting over the last couple of days and making sure everyone was in a good place.”
After what could turn out to be a pivotal night for the futures of both clubs and their managers, United are in pole position to return to the Champions League and Carrick has boosted his own chances of staying in the job. For Chelsea and Rosenior, it’s anything but.
