United
came out brightest and took the lead through Juan Mata's close-range finish
after a fine team move (11), but De Gea's week went from bad to worse as he
fumbled Antonio Rudiger's long-range shot into Marcos Alonso's path,
allowing the defender to squeeze home (44).
The hosts struggled to break down Chelsea in a turgid second half, and
Marcos Rojo was lucky not to see red for a nasty tackle on Willian before
the Argentine saw his own header cleared off the line by Pedro late on, but
for United it looks like a season outside of Europe's elite competition for
only the second time since 1995.
The result means that with two games to play, Chelsea sit fourth, two points
clear of Arsenal in fifth and three clear of United in sixth.
United face Huddersfield (away) and Cardiff (home) in their last two games,
Chelsea play Watford (home) and Leicester (away) and Arsenal face Brighton
(home) and Burnley (away).
After defeats for Tottenham and Arsenal over the weekend, both sides looked
to take advantage in the top-four race. In a fast-tempo opening, United went
closest as Romelu Lukaku was found in-behind by Luke Shaw's long ball, but
the Belgian had to check back while one-on-one and saw his shot saved
blocked by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Lukaku was then involved in the opener, chipping a sublime ball over the
defence for Luke Shaw to cut back for Mata, who rolled the ball home on the
turn from 12 yards for United's first goal in over three games.
Team news
Man Utd made five changes after the 2-0 defeat by Man City; Bailly returned
to centre-back in place of Smalling, while Lukaku, Mata, Herrera and Matic
came in for Darmian, Pereira, Fred and Lingard.
Chelsea made three changes themselves; Loftus-Cheek, Emerson and the injured
Christensen came out, replaced by Kovacic, Alonso and Rudiger.
Eric Bailly nearly doubled United's lead as he leapt well from a corner only
to head wide, while Nemanja Matic was fortunate not to receive at least a
booking after his flailing arm caught Cesar Azpilicueta in the face.
Chelsea were level just before the break from another De Gea error; after
allowing Leroy Sane's shot through his grasp in Man City's 2-0 win at Old
Trafford on Wednesday, the Spaniard this time failed to keep hold of
Rudiger's pot-shot from range, leaving Alonso to convert off the post from
the follow-up.
De Gea had also made errors in the previous two defeats by Barcelona and
Everton, and the goal meant United have kept just two clean sheets this
season, the lowest of any Premier League club.
Chances were at a premium second half, but United could have been down to 10
men after sub Rojo lunged in on Willian but only received a booking, before
the defender himself saw a header from a corner cleared off the line by
Pedro.
Gonzalo Higuain forced De Gea into a good block during seven minutes of
tense stoppage time, but it ended 1-1, meaning Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is
likely to have to rebuild in the summer without the pull of Champions League
football at Old Trafford.
Opta stats
De Gea has made three errors leading to goals in his last four games in all
competitions - as many as in his previous 123 matches combined.
Man Utd haven't won any of their last four games across all competitions (D1
L3) - they haven't had a longer winless run since December 2015 (eight
games).
Chelsea and Man Utd have drawn both Premier League meetings in a single
season for the fifth time, most recently doing so in 2015/16.
Chelsea are winless in their three games against Man Utd across all
competitions this season (D2 L1) - the last time they faced them as many
times in a single campaign without a single victory was in 2002-03 (D1 L2).
Man Utd have kept a clean sheet in just 11 per cent of their league games at
Old Trafford this season (2/18), their lowest percentage in a single
campaign since 1962/63 (9.5 per cent - 2/21).
What's next?
United now go to relegated Huddersfield on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports
Premier League from 1pm; Kick-off is at 2pm. Chelsea face Eintracht
Frankfurt in Germany on Thursday at 8pm in their Europa League semi-final
first leg, before hosting Watford at 2pm on Sunday in the Premier League.
Teams
Manchester United De Gea, Young (c), Lindelof, Bailly (Rojo
72), Shaw, Herrera, Matic, Pogba, Mata (McTominay 81), Lukaku, Rashford
(Sanchez 65)
Subs Not Used Romero, Pereira, Darmain, Martial
Booked Herrera, Rojo, Young
Goals Mata 11
Chelsea Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta (c), Rudiger (Christensen
65), Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic (Loftus-Cheek 76), Hazard,
Higuain, Willian (Pedro 84)
Subs Not Used Caballero, Zappacosta, Barkley, Giroud
Booked Willian, Kovacic
Goals Alonso 43
Attendance 74,526
Referee Martin Atkinson
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