Chelsea 0 Man Utd 2
Herrera and Pogba headers send Red Devils into FA Cup quarters and pile pressure on Maurizio Sarri
Both goals came in the first half as United comfortably dealt with Chelsea's predictable tactics
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AT least give them a game, fellas.
Manchester United, cruising into an FA Cup quarter-final at Wolves, have never had it so easy here.
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Chelsea went into hiding, hunted down inside their own stadium by this powerful, all-consuming United side.
Shame on Maurizio Sarri’s players.
United looked apologetic at times, unsure what to do when Chelsea’s fed-up fans turned on their head coach.
By then they had settled for two goals, barely breaking into a sweat after ice-cool finishes from Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba in the opening 45.
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Rarely have United showed so much control in a game of this significance against Chelsea.
It came easy for Ole Gunner Solskjaer and his players. Too easy.
Their fans were loving it, taking over the Shed and taking the mick throughout the second half.
“Bring back Mourinho” they teased, making fun of the few thousand blue shirts who stayed right until the bitter end.
The days of ding-dong battles between these two sides fighting it out for silverware are over.
United, recovering brilliantly from being humped by Paris Saint Germain last Tuesday, brushed Chelsea to one side.
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That’s the thing about the great United sides down the years.
They put setbacks behind them quickly, resting up and resetting in time for the next competition.
This was far from cavalier, but they had more than enough to beat this malfunctioning Chelsea outfit.
To lose 6-0 at Manchester City in their last Premier League game is unacceptable.
To play like this, in front of their own devoted fans at Stamford Bridge, is unforgivable.
The game of Eden Hazard (disengaged), Gonzalo Higuain (anonymous), Pedro (vacuous), Marcos Alonso (ditzy) fell apart.
Actually, make that the 1-11.
This lot cannot withstand a spell of sustained pressure any more.
They prodded the ball around for a bit at the beginning, with Pedro and Hazard probing with the occasional flick from the outside of a boot.
Even so it was tame and timid, a long way short of the standards set when they were chasing down silverware.
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When it is bad down at the Bridge, it is really bad.
They conceded twice before they trooped in at half-time for another lesson in Sarri-ball.
Herrera had got the opener, getting the goal his Action Man display deserved.
He was exceptional.
When Pogba scored on the stroke of half-time, starting and finishing a quick-witted move, Chelsea were done.
They had briefly flirted with the idea of turning this tie into something when David Luiz’s 11th minute free-kick deviated awkwardly through the air.
Sergio Romero could not catch it clean, but United’s FA Cup keeper did well to get in the way of Pedro’s rebound.
After that there was barely a peep out of them.
United scored a marvellous team goal after 31 minutes, wowing their travelling fans as they sliced through Chelsea’s sleepy defence.
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Nemanja Matic (twice), Romelu Lukaku (twice), Juan Mata (twice) knitted it all together before the ball arrived at the feet of Pogba waiting on the left.
His cross was a beaut, bending its way invitingly towards Herrara steaming into space at the back post.
Alonso, as usual, was nowhere near it.
Herrera planted his chance beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga, putting United in front with a powerful downward header.
Chelsea could not recover.
United took ownership of this tie, dictating the pattern of play and patiently waiting for the chance to score again.
Like night follows day, it was coming.
They scored again in the 45th minute, stretching their lead when Pogba’s header rippled Kepa’s netting.
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The United midfielder engineered it, sending a pacey ball out to Rashford hovering out on the right.
The United forward picked out his team-mate, waiting for him to time his run before picking him out with the cross.
It was easy. Too easy.
Chelsea’s players had another refresher on Sarri-ball at the break, another reminder to pass for passing’s sake.
This stodgy stuff is going nowhere.
In the old days, when Chelsea had a football team to be feared, they would have snapped and snarled their way back into it.
They might have lost, but at least they would have busted a gut against the might of Manchester United.
Those days are gone.
They allowed United to dictate the tempo, the flow, and then the scoreline.
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Those red shirts mean something again, with Solskjaer’s players recovering from PSG giving them the runaround in the Champions League.
That defeat hurt them, eating away at these players until they could get to grips with Chelsea in the FA Cup.
They did it with embarrassing ease, controlling the outcome after those two first half strikes put them into the quarter-final.
They will go on to play Wolves, hurtling towards a tricky quarter-final tie at Molineux.
They have won this trophy 12 times, a long and upstanding tradition in the world’s oldest cup competition.
They lost the final at Wembley against Chelsea last season, beaten by the same group of players at Wembley.
After watching this, you have to wonder how.
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In the old days, when Chelsea were a football club to be feared, they would have snapped and snarled their way back in to it.
They might have still lost, but at least they would have gone down busting a gut.
Those days are gone.
They allowed United to dictate the tempo, the flow, and then the scoreline.
It was ridiculously easy.
Those red shirts mean something again, with Solskjaer’s players recovering from PSG giving them the runaround in the Champions League.
That defeat hurt them, eating away at these players until they got to grips with Chelsea in the FA Cup.
They did it with embarrassing ease, controlling the outcome after those two first half strikes put them into the quarter-final.
Right now, they will fancy their chances of going on to win it.
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