Both Chelsea and United must go shopping for goals

At Stamford Bridge, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides were in evidence

Mon, 24 Oct, 2022 - 07:05

Ian Winrow

January, according to received wisdom, is no time to go buying expensive footballers.

The combination of limited supply and panicked, increasingly desperate buyers means the winter transfer window is the very essence of a seller's market.

For Chelsea and Manchester United, though, the new year sales could make the difference between finishing in the top four or missing out on a place in next season’s Champions League.

At Stamford Bridge, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides were in evidence.

Graham Potter, the Chelsea head coach, demonstrated his tactical dexterity in reshaping his side to stall United's early momentum before his players showed the resilience to counter and come within seconds of winning the game.

United, meanwhile, are beginning to look like the kind of organised, committed side that has been missing from Old Trafford for too long.

The game also exposed a glaring deficiency in the two teams. Had either side possessed an effective, in-form goalscorer, the match would have been theirs to win.

Between them, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marcus Rashford passed up a number of clear opportunities to put their team in control.

Chelsea striker Aubameyang could have had a first-half hat-trick had he possessed more hunger inside the penalty area.

At 33 and with a controversial exit from Arsenal behind him, the Gabon striker always looked like something of a stopgap when he arrived at Stamford Bridge in Summer. And while he has performed at times this season, he is clearly not the long-term answer to the Blues’ search for a main striker.

Armando Broja, introduced late on, has shown signs of promise but does not appear ready to fill the role full-time.

And concerningly for Chelsea, Raheem Sterling has not yet presented himself as a reliable alternative source of goals since his arrival from Manchester City.

United face similar problems, exacerbated of course by the unravelling of Cristiano Ronaldo’s second spell at the club.

It seems increasingly likely that the Portuguese will be reintegrated into the first-team group ahead of the World Cup before an exit is arranged in the new year that suits both player and club.

Rashford’s ability to provide the side’s main goal threat will continue to be questioned as long as he fails to take the kind of chances that would have given his side the lead their first-half performance deserved.

Anthony Martial has flickered this season on the rare occasions he has not been sidelined and his record of three different injuries already this term does not bode well.

And in United’s case, for Sterling read Antony and Jadon Sancho.

Both teams, then, would benefit from recruiting an effective goalscorer. That, though, is a problem that is far easier to discern than it is to resolve.

Darwin Nunez’s slow start at Liverpool highlights the challenges facing a forward coming into the Premier League, and that’s after a full pre-season.

Identifying and integrating a new player during the unforgiving mid-season schedule is a different matter altogether.

And Chelsea and Manchester United’s success in resolving this problem could go a long way towards determining the outcome of their respective campaigns.