Chelsea vs Manchester United. The FA Cup Fifth Round.
Stamford BridgeAttendance40,562.
Chelsea 0-2 Man Utd: Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera goals send United to quarter-finals
United will now face Wolves at Molineux in the quarter-final while Chelsea fans turn on Maurizio Sarri
Tuesday 19 February 2019 10:01, UK
Paul Pogba scored one and created another as Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in their FA Cup fifth round tie.
United, who will face Wolves at Molineux in the quarter-final, were aggressive and clinical in the first half, going ahead through Ander Herrera's header from Pogba's superb left-wing cross (31), before Pogba scored a powerful header of his own from Marcus Rashford's beauty of a delivery from the right (45).
And the visitors kept Chelsea at bay through periods of pressure in the second half with a gritty and professional display, meaning United bounced straight back from their first defeat under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for only their third win at Stamford Bridge in 23 attempts.
It was a nightmare evening for under-pressure Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, whose second-half substitutions were roundly jeered as home fans criticised his methods and sang "You're getting sacked in the morning."
During a frantic but even opening, Sergio Romero was tested twice by David Luiz's free-kick and Pedro's follow-up, before Gonzalo Higuain headed wide in space from 12 yards.
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But United grew into the game and were ahead just after the half-hour mark; Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku combined before spreading left to Pogba, who worked it onto his right foot and brilliantly found Herrera at the back post to nod home unmarked.
And it was 2-0 just before the break as Pogba started and finished a fine counter, finding Rashford on the right flank and latching onto the forward's superb, curling delivery to power a header past Kepa Arrizabalaga, who did get a touch on the effort.
The second half lacked in chances but not in intensity, as United held off some sustained Chelsea pressure early on and constantly used Rashford as an effective out-ball from defence.
Sarri, under pressure following a poor run of fixtures and a 6-0 defeat at Manchester City last time out in the Premier League, was roundly criticised for his decision to bring on Ross Barkley and Davide Zappacosta for Mateo Kovacic and Cesar Azpilicueta respectively, with fans singing: "You don't know what you're doing."
But the night belonged to United and Pogba, who has now been directly involved in 15 goals in 12 games in all competitions under Solskjaer, six more than he managed in 20 games under Jose Mourinho this season.
Opta stats
- Chelsea have lost exactly half of their last 10 games in all competitions (W5 L5), as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 41 (W28 D8).
- United are the first team to eliminate both Arsenal and Chelsea in the same FA Cup campaign since the Red Devils themselves in 1998/99.
- Chelsea only attempted two shots on target in this match, with both coming in the 11th minute of the tie.
- Manchester United had just 33.1 per cent of the ball during the game, their lowest possession figure in a fixture any competition since March 2018 against Liverpool, in a game they also won (32.1 per cent).
- Solskjaer has now won 11 of his 13 games in charge of Manchester United, one more than Jose Mourinho won with the club in 2018/19 (10/24).
- Since Solskjaer took charge of United on December 19, 2018, the only Premier League player to have had a hand in more goals for his club side than Pogba (15) is Son Heung-Min (16).
What's next?
United now host Liverpool on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 2.05pm, while Chelsea face Malmo in their home second leg in the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday at 8pm, before the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday at 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports Football.