Redemption!

"Go and spread the good news,/ The King's no longer dead.../ He's alive again, O the Stone's been rolled away/ He's alive again, He's no longer where He lay/ He's alive again, I can hear the angels say/ Let all the world rejoice, He's alive! (repeat twice) Let all the world rejoice He's Alive!" - Phil Driscoll, 'He's Alive Again'

And a Happy Easter to you too!

In this season of resurrection and reclamation, there was a visible testimony of such miracles at Old Trafford yesterday. The adrenaline of excitement is yet abate even as I type away at the keyboard many hours later. Hallelujah.

The odds were overwhelmingly not in our favour yesterday. Delving into a bit of history, Chelsea are the only team in the Premier League to have a superior Win/Loss advantage to United in the competition. The last time United beat Chelsea in a league game was in 2013 in a run since comprising 12 games. It is therefore fair to consider Chelsea our bogey team.

Chelsea were the run-away leaders of the league and had the advantage of not having any European distraction this season unlike all the other usual contenders, Liverpool excepted. They had a fresh functional team who are hard to beat and possess the league's most potent attacking AND stifling individual forces. There was already a 4-0 humiliation for club and manager in the previous league fixture between both teams in October 2016 (Manchester United, if I may say so myself, has been unbeaten in the league since then) as well as a referee-enforced dominant 1-0 Quarter-finals FA Cup victory this season both at Stamford bridge.

Jose Mourinho had been described as a spent force and Antonio Conte as Luke Skywalker. Conte had with a few new signings reinvigorated Mourinho's shell of a team and made them overwhelming favourites for the title. Mourinho on the other hand, was presiding over the most expensive football team in history and was struggling to win games. Conte was now the one with a cheeky youthful energy and a glint in his eye. Mourinho was just dour.

The line-up also seemed to confirm that the 'body' was indeed dead and had started to rot. Ashley Young, the captain of the day (😱) started as the left-sided forward while Carrick, Mhkitaryan, Martial (who was not even on the bench) and Zlatan were all missing from the starting line-up. Fellaini started. And against a mobile and crafty Chelsea midfield. The attacking duo of Rashford and Lingard who I had both described in my previous write-up here started against the seasoned Chelsea defence consisting David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpiculeta. Our starting line-up had scored a total of 12 goals this season. Eden Hazard, who is not even his team's top scorer, had 14. Oh, and Darmian also started.

Had Mourinho accepted that the top 4 pursuit had been compromised and was beyond salvation? By their omission in a game that would seem tailor-made for their talents, had the manager given Shaw and Martial an Old Trafford kiss of death? Had he accepted certain truths and washed his hands off being competitive this season in the league? Most importantly, could it be that...was there a possibility that Mourinho had received 30 silver coins from his former employers? 😑Yeah, I said it.

All of the above was slightly ameliorated by the absence of Chelsea's 1st choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois and left wing back, Marcos Alonso. Still...

Did I also mention that the weather was dire and gloomy?

And then the match kicked off at exactly 4 pm...

"Go and spread the good news,/ The King's no longer dead.../ He's alive again..."

Oh, the Glory!

In what was the most complete performance against a strong top team since forever, Manchester United absolutely dominated the game from start to finish. Mourinho may be perceived as being many negative things but do not ever ever doubt his tactical acumen in the biggest games. With what may have been the weakest line-up on paper this season, his team controlled and over-shadowed the table-toppers in all areas of the pitch. EVERY single player came woke and ready and brought their relative 'A' game to the field. Mind you, there were still a lot of insults hurled at the players by my humble self during the course of the match but this was as complete a team performance as you could possibly get.

De Gea didn't have a save to make all game, the first time since a mighty long time, again against United (September 2007 in Old Trafford), that Chelsea has endured such famine. Valencia, ever reliable, was stable and didn't put a foot wrong. Bailly and Rojo were excellent as has become the norm. Dirty Diego was up to his usual dark art antics and I was a bit worried about Rojo succumbing to his venomous pincers. There were several incidents between the pair which a card-happy referee could have used to thrust himself into the spotlight. Thankfully, Rojo had the focus and physicality to nullify Costa. Darmian, smh...Darmian didn't put a foot wrong. Either that or I didn't see him put a foot wrong. Same difference.

Pogba was another one in the dog house who put in a disciplined and adequate performance. One sliding tackle in particular to halt a Chelsea counter-attack was well received. He wasn't 'special' in any way but he did a yeoman's job and did not allow N'golo Kante dominate him like the last time. He continues to dangerously play with the ball in front of his '18 and the earlier he realises that there is most times an advantage in simplicity, the better it would be for him. Ask Paul Scholes.

Marouane Fellaini. God bless him. He went over and above his natural abilities and served as the primary enforcer in the middle. Barney Ronay described him as "...clattering into opponents, ball bouncing off his knees, thighs, chest. At times it was like having a very angry but surprisingly effective and skillful dairy cow on the pitch...". I couldn't have put it better myself.

Ashley Young...wow...(I may never look back at these writings)...Ashley Young played like a captain! He didn't need to be the most talented player on the pitch (He wasn't) but he played with heart and verve for the entire duration he was on the pitch. I gave him (or his likeness on the screen) an earful when he respectively ballooned and misdirected 2 very good chances in the 1st half. He hustled, bustled and generally made sure that Victor Moses got no joy on the right flank. You can understand why Mourinho likes him. Jesse Lingard was pretty much the same. His speed remains his greatest asset and he made a nuisance of himself all evening to the Chelsea defence. He was presented with a good chance by his strike partner but he failed to make the most of it. But he was good and effective on the day...

"...O the Stone's been rolled away/ He's alive again,

He's no longer where He lay..."

Marcus "The Jet" Rashford may...may just have turned the corner. That moment where it all comes together, that moment when it all falls into place. Playing on the wings and studying Zlatan play 9 may start reaping its rewards. Rashford was all over the Chelsea defence in what was possibly his most complete performance in a Manchester United shirt. He tirelessly ran the channels, terrorised Luiz with his direct running all evening and capped (shouldn't it be 'started'? He scored in the 8th minute, United's earliest goal this season and the earliest conceded by Chelsea) his showing with a well taken goal. For a 19 year old leading the line for the biggest club in the world in one of its toughest fixtures of the season, I will find no fault in anything he did yesterday. The standing ovation he was showered with when substituted was deserved and justified. I just expect him to kick off from here. The stone's been rolled away - there's no going back to the tomb. He would have been my co-Man Of The Match but for...

Ander 'The Eraser' Herrera.

The one who has been redeemed. Sent off in the previous match-up in the FA Cup for the very job he was now more intelligently able to perform, Herrera came into this game with a point to prove. Not since Darren Fletcher's lone winning goal, eerily again, against Mourinho's Chelsea (in his 1st coming/2nd season which halted their unbeaten run), after being scathingly criticised in that infamous Roy Keane MUTv interview, has a goal (and performance) meant so much to one player. Ammonia. Vinegar. Lye. Liquid bleach. Citric Acid. Ander Herrera - The most effective cleaning agents known to man. When you want to get rid of any toxic or hazardous chemicals, pick any of those guys mentioned above. In many ways, you could say he 'wiped the slate clean'. Completely nullified the most dangerous player in the league AND went ahead to get himself a goal too. Man-marking at its finest. But what for me gave him the sole Man Of The Match award? His 'diplomatic' response when asked if he handled the ball before laying the sublime assist for Rashford's goal;

"I didn't want to touch the ball with the hand, {Who actually does?}" Herrera said.

"I was running with my arms next to my body. I don't know if the ball touched my hand or not but it was not my intention. 

"In football {Not Basketball}, I think if you don't have the intention to touch the ball and you have your arms in a natural position,  it is not handball." {No, sir, it isn't.}

Take a bow, Don Ander. Take a bow.

Forget Mourinho's similar diplomacy in responding to whether this match meant a little bit extra because he was playing against his former team whom he moulded and gave their most satisfactory successes, a team that sacked him less than a season after winning the league for them and now boo him when he appears on the touchline while also administering a thrashing and a contentious win this season even as his replacement is hailed as the new 'Special One' while...Ok, you get the point - It mattered A LOT to him. 

I hope this positive aggressiveness can be carried on in our subsequent games. Not only against top opposition where there's some sort of personal vendetta but also against everybody else. Let's start with Anderlecht on Thursday...

Signing Out,

B.L...

In Other News:

*The Borrusia Dortmund team bus was bombed before its Champions League Quarter-finals 1st leg match-up against Monaco. Thankfully, no life was lost but Marc Batra suffered injuries to his hand. He is expected to make a full recovery. Dortmund lost the match which was hurriedly(?) rescheduled the next day, 2-3. The team however defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 in its home weekend tie. Football and life are two very different parallels. Play accordingly.

*The NBA Play-Offs have started. The Cavaliers narrowly edged the Pacers, Golden State spanked the Blazers, Chicago surprised the Celtics and the Bucks shocked the Raptors. As I had previously predicted, Harden's Rockets made slight work of Westbrook's Thunder. Westbrook put up decent numbers as usual but it's actually about winning. The MVP watch continues. For those who are still looking for answers. I have since made my conclusions on who the MVP should be...

* Highest earning professions in Nigeria include Accountants, (Petroleum)Engineers. Lawyers, Politicians, Doctors and Entertainment. But the current undisputed No. 1? Call it 'Umpiring'. Or 'Officiating'. Or just plain 'Whistle-blowing'.