Martínez red card left Manchester United a man short at Chelsea

Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, and a red card in the second half decided how the rest of the game went.

Lisandro Martínez's red card at 63 minutes decided more of this match than anything else. He had been booked at 59, and a second yellow left Manchester United to finish with ten men. Chelsea had been goalless until Morgan Rogers scored at 50, and a minute after the dismissal Cole Palmer converted a penalty at 64, following a VAR review at 61. The sending off turned a tight game into one that Chelsea were always going to control.

Chelsea's numbers already pointed their way before the red card. They had 58% of the ball, where their home average this season is 45%, and took 18 shots against a usual 13.1. Their expected goals, a rough measure of how good a side's chances were, came to 2.06, above the 1.57 they average at home. The league average per side is 1.39, so this was a strong night for chance creation by any measure.

Manchester United went the other way. They had 42% of the ball, against a 55.3% average when they play away, and managed 12 shots where they usually take 17.9. Their expected goals of 1.13 sat below their away average of 1.76, which suggests their chances were fewer and less dangerous. Their goalkeeper Lammens made seven saves, and Chelsea's nine shots on target kept him busy.

VAR also removed two goals from the scoreboard. Matheus Cunha's effort for United was ruled out at 34, and Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves had a Chelsea goal disallowed at 71. The goals that stood were the ones that survived those checks, and the result reflects that.

Rogers scored at 50 from a pass by Romeo Lavia, and he was rated 8.2 for his part in the match. Palmer's penalty doubled the lead in the second half, and Chelsea kept a clean sheet, which matters when they usually concede 1.9 at home. For a side that had been carrying a lot of the play, that was the difference between a comfortable win and a narrow one.

Manchester United scored nothing against an away average of 1.3, and conceded two where they usually concede 1.6. Their defence was not the only problem, because they were a man down for the final half hour. The defeat leaves them in trouble in the table. Chelsea sit fifth with 13 points from eight matches, and Manchester United are 16th with seven.

Player of the matchM. Rogers1 goal8.2

R. Lavia1 assist7.7

S. Lammens7 saves7.3

C. Palmer1 goal7.3