What Enzo Fernandez did to Mason Mount and how Reece James responded for Chelsea vs Man Utd

Chelsea kept their hopes of securing Champions League qualification alive after beating Manchester United x-x. In a must-win game that became all the more important with Aston Villa seeing off Tottenham at the same time, Enzo Maresca's side scraped through.

United caused Chelsea problems throughout the first half playing like the side that many would have expected when the fixture list first came out last summer. A match at home against an old rival is never easy but given the context of this game, it could hardly have been much more in Chelsea's favour on paper.

Ruben Amorim's side entered the game in 16th place having won one league game in nine, going without victory in the previous seven

Reece James came close to breaking the deadlock shortly after. He hit an effort fiercely against the post in a way Michael Essien would have been proud of as it curled from the outside of his foot towards the goal. Chelsea were largely frustrated, though.

That continued into the second half and promised to be one of those nights for Maresca, at the worst possible moment. The atmosphere turned and nervous energy bubbled. A scrappy game followed with a rare moment of quality proving the difference.

In front of Thomas Tuchel, it seemed apt that James would cross to Marc Cucurella to score. From full-back to full-back in plain sight of a man who adored such moves, especially when it came to James being an attacking weapon.

Here, football.london looks at some of the finer moments that may not have been picked up on in a first viewing.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Target on Mount

. He was jeered last season and immediately got a round of boos after taking an early first touch here.

The Chelsea academy graduate left the club in 2023 after a contract dispute and transfer saga that played out all too publicly for all parties, leading to a war of briefings with both the Mount and Chelsea camp putting across their side. It has led to Mount going from a two-time player of the season to being widely ridiculed by those who used to adore him.

Chelsea's players have never missed a chance to get one back at Mount, though. In this fixture last season it was Enzo Fernandez who left a strong challenge on Mount in the buildup to the corner which Cole Palmer scored a dramatic winner from.

Fernandez was then among those who celebrated clearly in front of Mount at full-time. The Argentine is no stranger to moments of competitiveness and fire.

This time he was quick to leave one in on Mount during the first few minutes. Shortly after Mount's booed touch, Fernandez went in with another full-blooded tackle, ensuring there was at least some player-on-player contact. When a bouncing ball in the Chelsea half fell between Moises Caicedo and Mount, there was yet another bit extra given back to the United midfielder.

The battle continued into the 35th minute as Fernandez fouled Mount when trying to stop a United attack through the middle. To say there is no love lost would be an understatement at this point.

Late team talk

A feature of Chelsea over the past two years has been their ability to shrink under pressure. Too often this group of players have turned down opportunities in front of them the more they open up.

Here, against the worst United side in Premier League history, they continued this trend from the start. A sloppy and slow start from Chelsea was exactly what they didn't need when looking to get the nervous home crowd onside.

After Noni Madueke had put a good chance over the bar, United showed real signs of bite and looked to have capitalised on a strong opening to the game. When Maguire converted Bruno Fernandes' cross from deep, Stamford Bridge was stunned.

Embarrassed as much as anything, and seeing the confidence drain from them in real time, Chelsea tried to regroup before eventually the goal was disallowed for offside.

Before the decision had been reached, Robert Sanchez led a small team talk with some of his defenders including Tosin Adarabioyo and James. The goalkeeper was issuing instructions which appeared more to do with how Chelsea were struggling on the ball than the narrow escape from conceding.

It was noticeable that the Chelsea players also went out for a huddle at the start of the second half as well after being booed off at the break. It became the biggest 45 minutes of the season and the players seemed to know that their performance had not been up to scratch or acceptable.

Crossed wires

If there was anything to demonstrate the inefficiency of Chelsea and United over much of the past decade, let alone just this game, then it came just after half-time. In four minutes of frankly comical football, a pass between the lines to Palmer and a nice dribble was practically the only thing that happened as matters threatened to descend into unprofessionalism.

The free-kick which Palmer won was blasted at Bruno Fernandes. He then went down and play stopped for a head injury. Before things got underway again, Rasmus Hojlund was called over the the sideline because he had been spotted wearing jewellery.

The entire game paused and became bitty. It was the last thing Chelsea needed and was summed up by George and Neto miscommunicating when running for a through ball.

Neto initially made a movement to try and spin behind the United defence but ended up leaving it for George, who was trying to signal that he would be offside. George put pressure on regardless after Neto stopped running and was duly flagged, therefore seeing yet another stoppage.

It was exactly the type of sequence which Chelsea could not afford as they sought to find a much-needed winner.

Caballero anger

Since getting a taste of being the stand-in head coach, Willy Caballero has not stopped as a livewire on the touchline. Last time out at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool he was barking instructions to the players late on as Chelsea tried to hold out at 2-1 up and here he was chiefly among those complaining about George's non-penalty.

Amorim pointed him towards the screen after Chris Kavanagh awarded the spot kick but Caballero was extremely unhappy with the decision. Maresca managed to stay calm, hardly reacting at all.

Once the incident had been seen it immediately became obvious that it was likely to be overturned. Caballero continued to protest, fighting the Chelsea corner. Ultimately, it was in vain.