Chelsea’s first competitive game under Frank Lampard ended in a frustrating 4-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Blues started quickly and came close to taking the lead inside the opening five minutes through Tammy Abraham, but his powerful strike crashed off the post.
United were then ahead just shy of the 20 minute mark, when Marcus Rashford was clumsily fouled in the area by Kurt Zouma, and the forward converted emphatically from the spot.
Emerson was the next Chelsea player to strike the frame of the goal as his close-range effort rattled off the bar as the Blues pushed for an equaliser.
Lampard’s side continued to look good on the ball but poor defensively in the second-half, and two quick counter-attacking goals from United in the space of two minutes emphasised that.
Harry Maguire hauled Abraham to the ground just outside the United area to spark the move for the first, and a fine break was finished off by Anthony Marital, who converted a fine cross from Andreas Pereira.
Almost immediately after the restart, more lapse defending from Chelsea allowed Paul Pogba to float a pass over the Blues’ back four for Rashford to race on to and slot past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Daniel James had a debut to remember as his deflected effort added a fourth for United with little over 10 minutes remaining to cap what was a miserable first competitive outing for Lampard.
Despite the scoreline, the Blues did play well for large periods of the game, but ultimately their defensive frailties were exposed by a clinical United side.
Here’s how we rated Chelsea’s performance.
