By the time Alejandro Garnacho made his acrimonious exit from Old Trafford last summer, Manchester United had already signed the man who would take his place on the left side of their attack.
At £62.5million, Matheus Cunha only cost a modest amount more than the £40m United banked from Garnacho’s move to Chelsea. But United knew they were getting a proven Premier League player coming into the prime of his career, while Garnacho still had some way to go to justify his high opinion of himself.
Here, on a night of contrasting fortunes at Stamford Bridge, the difference was clear to see.
While Cunha was converting United’s only shot on target of the whole night to give Michael Carrick’s side a massive win in the race for Champions League qualification, Garnacho was trapped in his own private purgatory.
True, Cunha was making up for an earlier miss in the 24th minute when his heavy first touch from Bryan Mbeumo’s cut-back not only resulted in a missed chance but a yellow card as he clattered into Jorrel Hato.
But when Bruno Fernandes escaped down the same flank two minutes before half-time, and set up an almost identical chance for the Brazilian, he made no mistake; a first-time finish despatched clinically past Robert Sanchez.
‘It’s the position we want him to be in,’ said United head coach Michael Carrick. ‘I think he gives us width at times on one side, but he needs to be in the middle of goal and scoring goals.
‘He’s had some really big moments for us, Matheus. It’s just finding those spaces and that composure as well. As you say, the one earlier where he’s probably a little bit frustrated with himself.
‘It was a good opportunity and a similar one. So to be there again and put it away shows what he’s all about.’
Fernandes got away from Garnacho before passing, and United fans would have been familiar with the winger’s inability to track back effectively.
It was one of his more infuriating traits, as well as a tendency to shoot when passing was the better option. It cost him his place at United under Ruben Amorim, and by the time he was benched for the Europa League final against Tottenham last May – with Garnacho’s brother publicly accusing Amorim of ‘throwing him under the bus’ – there was only going to be one outcome.
After less than a season in west London, there are already doubts over Garnacho’s future at Chelsea, and it is clear to see why.
By the end of a thoroughly miserable evening for the Argentine, the abuse was still raining down from the away end at Stamford Bridge and even the Chelsea supporters couldn’t hide their frustration.
‘Who’s that t*** from Argentina,’ is the first line of the song United fans use to taunt Garnacho, and you imagine the rest of it isn’t very complimentary either. They abused him from the moment he climbed off the bench to warm up before replacing Estevao Willian in the 16th minute, and at every opportunity after that. They delighted in every mistake, every misstep – and there were quite a few.
Having struggled against his old teammate Diogo Dalot, Garnacho became increasingly desperate as he chased an equaliser for Chelsea, but that only seemed to make it worse.
When he broke from inside his own half in the 68th minute, he stumbled over his own feet and ran straight into Casemiro. When he took on Noussair Mazraoui, the stand-in United centre-back not only tackled him but won a goal-kick as well. When he tried a backheel to Cole Palmer in the United penalty box late on and it didn’t come off, the Chelsea fans groaned – just as they did on the very next attack when Garnacho passed straight to Fernandes. It was like he was still playing for United.
Coming 24 hours after United’s Under-18s reached the FA Youth Cup final, stirring memories of the Garnacho-inspired team that won the trophy in 2022, it was actually sad to see. Jim Thwaites was on the bench for United here having played two hours of the semi-final against Crystal Palace the previous night, with Carrick revealing that the youngster was only told that he would be in the first-team squad for the first time at Chelsea after the game.
Garnacho had the world at his feet four years ago. He hasn’t done too badly since, but there is more to come from him if he can apply himself the right way.
In the meantime, United have every reason to be satisfied with the trade they made.
Kobbie comes of age
As Garnacho was going through the mill on Saturday night, it was notable to see the other United academy star who could easily have ended up moving to Stamford Bridge shining in a red shirt.
It’s 15 months since Daily Mail Sport revealed that Kobbie Mainoo and Garnacho could be sold to meet financial fair rules, and Chelsea were at the front of the queue for Mainoo. More recently, Napoli emerged as a serious option after the England international, like Garnacho, fell out of favour with Amorim.
But Mainoo – who turned 21 on Sunday – has been excellent since he came in from the cold under Michael Carrick, and this was arguably his best game yet despite having hardly trained since missing the defeat to Leeds on Monday. That game in itself showed just how much United miss him.
‘That was the best Kobbie has played since I’ve been back here,’ said Carrick. ‘To step up and show those sides to his game, he looked so composed and so calm. It was a good battle between him and Cole Palmer, and he showed good composure.’
Carrick clears Chelsea challenge
Keep calm and carry on has been Michael Carrick’s mantra during a flying start as United’s head coach, and it’s fair to say he wasn’t getting carried away by Monday’s first home defeat to Leeds either.
But there was no mistaking the change in mood outside the club around United and Carrick in the days since their old rivals won at Old Trafford in the league for the first time in more than 45 years.
Questions were being asked of the 44-year-old’s credentials for the job compared to many of his rivals, some of whom hadn’t been mentioned for a while.
It was even said that the trip to Chelsea was Carrick’s biggest challenge, which is some statement given that his first two games were against Manchester City and Arsenal.
But in terms of bouncing back from the Leeds defeat, and coping with a defensive crisis, it was certainly a challenge – and one that Carrick overcame.
Centre-backs relish battle
The build-up to this game was overshadowed by the suspensions that ruled out Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, and the late injury to Leny Yoro as he joined Matthijs De Ligt on the sidelines.
It meant United went into a difficult match with an unfamiliar centre-back partnership of Noussair Mazraoui and Ayden Heaven. With Joao Pedro ruled out for Chelsea due to a thigh injury, Liam Rosenior gave Liam Delap only his second start in 11 games, no doubt hoping his physicality would unsettle the pair.
In fact, it played right into their hands with Mazraoui and Heaven relishing the battle. Both produced some hefty challenges on the Chelsea striker, and weren’t averse to wrestling Delap to the ground either.
Yes, United rode their luck at times as Chelsea hit the woodwork on several occasions, but the performance of Heaven and Mazraoui in the heart of defence typified their team’s spirit on a night when the result was what mattered most.
