It was an extremely frustrating Saturday for everyone associated with Chelsea following a dramatic loss away to Manchester United, which included several moments of chaos. However, Blues defender Malo Gusto deserves credit for a moment of intelligence and composure straight after the full-time whistle.
The Blues suffered a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford against Man Utd, losing for the first time in the Premier League this season.
It means that Enzo Maresca’s side sit on eight points from their opening five top-flight games.
The contest was impacted inside the opening five minutes when Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off for his challenge against Bryan Mbuemo. Afterwards, hosts Man Utd capitalised against a man less by scoring through Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.
Casemiro was then shown a second yellow card before half time to make it 10v10, but Chelsea could only manage what turned out to be a consolation goal from Trevoh Chalobah.
On top of Sanchez’s dismissal, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca certainly made some questionable tactical decisions throughout with his five substitutions.
Malo Gusto may have done Enzo Fernandez a favour after full-time whistle
The tempers were high for several Chelsea players during the Man Utd loss, including Enzo Fernandez. The 24-year-old midfielder was involved in several altercations, particularly with Luke Shaw, and also picked up a booking.
Journalist Bobby Vincent reported via X that Malo Gusto actually held Chelsea teammate Fernandez back after the full-time whistle to ensure he wasn’t involved in any post-match arguments.
It certainly looks like Gusto has done Fernandez a huge favour by intervening because there must have been a risk of the Chelsea man receiving a second booking.
Enzo Fernandez really poor at Old Trafford
The reality is that Fernandez has had a challenging start to the season, even though the central midfielder has chipped in with some goal contributions.
On Saturday, the Argentine star was one of numerous individuals in Chelsea colours that looked below par.
| Minutes played | Accurate passes | Total shots | Chances created | Ground duels won | Yellow cards | Match rating |
| 90 | 52/59 (88%) | 0 | 0 | 4/7 (57%) | 1 | 6.1 |
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink reckons Fernandez isn’t fully fit yet, which could be the case because he’s played a lot of football in the past 12 months. It is why we would be surprised to see him involved on Tuesday night for the upcoming Carabao Cup tie against Lincoln City.
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