Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-1 at Stamford Bridge this afternoon in a thrilling game. The Blues remain just two points behind leaders Arsenal whereas the Red Devils now find themselves 14 points adrift from the top. Here are three players who I think deserve to be dropped for the club’s next outing, the second leg of the League Cup semi-final with Sunderland, based on the performance they put in against Jose Mourinho’s men.
1) Antonio Valencia
The winger never really found his feet in the game and was continuously asked to get back and defend as Chelsea hit United on the break. Although he is a powerful winger who loves to run directly at people, Valencia was bossed by a tight Chelsea unit and looked as though he needed a rest.
He has arguably been one of the club’s best players recently but for me he needs some time to recharge.
2) Phil Jones
Jones really struggled to hold the United midfield together and in turn it proved easy to overrun for the Blues. Jones’ lack of mobility meant that going up against the nippier players like Oscar and Eden Hazard proved near impossible, and from the seven tackles he went in for he won just once.
3) Rafael
Although the sending off of Vidic didn’t help, the Brazilian right-back will be rightly disappointed with his personal display today. He was pulled out of position a few times which allowed Willian to run riot, and when Rafael went forward he failed to impress.
All four of his crosses were cleared, only one of his four take ons was successful and the sole shot he had at goal was blocked.