Chapter 383: Visiting Stamford Bridge
Manchester United started the season with eight consecutive Premier League wins, firmly sitting at the top of the standings. This was beyond what most of the United players had anticipated. They believed their team was strong, aiming for a top-four finish to secure a Champions League spot. Some even thought they could challenge for the league title in a season or two. However, achieving an eight-game winning streak and setting a club record for the best Premier League start was beyond their wildest dreams.
In the 25-year history of the Premier League, only one team had started the season better—Mourinho's Chelsea in the 2005-2006 season with nine consecutive wins. This streak placed United's start among the best in the entire history of English top-flight football, which spans over a century.
Including all competitions, United had already secured twelve straight wins. Since the Community Shield at the beginning of the season, they hadn't lost a single match. No team, whether last season's champions Leicester City, European teams Feyenoord and Zorya, or any Premier League opponent, had managed to escape defeat against United.
For the players, it felt like a dream too good to be true, especially after another 4-1 victory against Fenerbahçe in the Europa League on Thursday night at Old Trafford.
On October 20, 2016, at 8:05 PM local time, Manchester United hosted Fenerbahçe at Old Trafford for the third round of Europa League Group A matches. United won 4-1, with Bruno scoring a hat-trick, including two penalties, and Lingard adding another goal. Rooney provided an assist. By the 48th minute, United was already 4-0 up and subsequently slowed the game's tempo. Fenerbahçe's consolation goal came late from former United player Van Persie.
With three group stage victories, United topped Group A with nine points. This victory marked United's thirteenth consecutive win in all competitions since the start of the season, scoring 37 goals and conceding only nine. After two consecutive 4-1 wins, the United players felt like they were walking on air.
Only a few players remained grounded, such as Bruno, veterans like Ibrahimović and Rooney, who had experienced both highs and lows in their careers. Bruno, for instance, remembered his first season at Udinese when they competed with Juventus in the first half but finished the season 26 points behind.
Hence, he knew that a few good matches couldn't determine the entire season. The Premier League is a marathon spanning 38 matches over nine months. Good performances in one period can be followed by poor results later. Moreover, having won titles like the Europa League, Serie A, Champions League, and European Championship, Bruno didn't hold the Premier League's early lead in high regard.
Despite United's impressive run, the demanding schedule and intense matches had drained the players physically. However, such clear-headed players were in the minority. Most of the younger players, lacking experience, were carried away by the consecutive victories.
In this context, United faced their ninth league match, visiting Stamford Bridge to play against Chelsea. Chelsea had also started the season strongly, but a 2-2 draw against Swansea and consecutive home defeats to Liverpool and a 3-0 loss to Arsenal had dropped them to eighth place after six rounds. There were even rumors about Chelsea's owner wanting to sack Conte.
Fortunately, Chelsea steadied the ship with 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Hull City and Leicester City, respectively, climbing back to sixth in the standings.
Returning to Stamford Bridge, Mourinho, eager to avenge his sacking a year ago, hoped for a decisive victory. Driven by this motivation, Mourinho fielded the same starting eleven that had only rested for 60 hours, stepping onto Stamford Bridge's pitch.
Both teams played aggressively, providing fans with an exciting match. However, for United, it was a bitter game as they suffered a heavy defeat.
Chelsea launched an aggressive attack from the start. Just 30 seconds in, Alonso's cross from the left found Pedro, who outpaced both Smalling and Blind and shot past the advancing De Gea into an empty net. This was the fastest goal of the Premier League season.
The early goal unsettled United, leaving the players disoriented. Despite Bruno's attempts to refocus his teammates, he couldn't single-handedly turn things around, as he hadn't yet become the team's undisputed leader. Chelsea seized this chance to pressurize United's defense continuously.
In the 11th minute, Azpilicueta's cross found Hazard, whose header went wide. Two minutes later, Chelsea attacked again with Hazard's cross, Costa's shot was blocked by Van Dijk. Hazard and Pedro combined passes, but Costa was again tackled by Van Dijk. In the 21st minute, Chelsea extended their lead when Willian forced a corner off Blind, and from Hazard's delivery, Matic's header deflected off Blind, allowing Cahill to volley home from close range to make it 2-0.
Conceding two goals finally woke United up. Bruno, swapping positions with Rashford, took control. Four minutes later, he moved to the left flank, exchanged passes with Rashford, and sent a precise cross for Ibrahimović to head in, reducing the deficit to 2-1. This was Ibrahimović's seventh goal of his debut Premier League season, while Bruno registered his sixth assist since joining United.
(End of Chapter)
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