“Especially Bruno Fernandes” – Enzo Maresca shares what surprised him in Chelsea 1-1 draw against Manchester United
At Old Trafford on Sunday, Enzo Maresca witnessed his team falter as they drew 1-1 with Manchester United.
Aside from a thrilling stretch between the 70th and 75th minutes when Bruno Fernandes’ penalty was disallowed by a stunning goal from Moises Caicedo, both teams’ performances were worn out in this fairly uninspiring matchup between two of the classic Big Six.
Despite having a new face in the dugout in Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was overseeing his first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United, the Red Devils did not look much different to how they performed under Erik ten Hag – lacking cohesion in attack and midfield, along with a wastefulness in front of goal as Chelsea were spared on several occasions.
However, there was one thing about Manchester United which actually surprised Enzo Maresca.
Enzo Maresca felt Manchester United would be more aggressive
The Italian seemingly expected the Red Devils to bring a bit of the so-called new manager bounce to Sunday’s Premier League clash, as he admitted after the draw that he felt Manchester United would be more aggressive.
Maresca told Sky Sports: “We knew that it was a difficult game for different reasons. For a big part of the game we were in control, there was a desire to win the game and we lost our balance in the last ten minutes or so.
“Overall United were similar (to under Ten Hag) – we expected them to be a bit more aggressive. When you go down in this stadium it’s very difficult to come back but we did that.”