100% tackles, 100% aerial duels, 8 clearances: United veteran stood up to be counted when it mattered vs Chelsea

Manchester United were under the cosh for the most part, but prevailed 1-0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night. This was United’s first win at the Blues’ home ground in six years, and they now have a 10-point advantage over Chelsea, who are currently sixth. Which means the Red Devils, who remained in third place, are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the race for Champions League qualification. What made the three points even more special was the circumstances under which it was obtained. Luke Shaw recovered from early mistake The 20-time English league champions were without four out of five senior centre-back options, with Michael Carrick forced to pick a makeshift centre-back pairing of Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui. Both Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez were suspended, while there are fears Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro could be out for the season. The new centre-back duo started poorly, but eventually made amends as the Old Trafford side kept a clean sheet against the odds. Under Michael Carrick, the United players refuse to let their heads drop despite mistakes, and Luke Shaw was another example of this on the night. Veteran used his experience to take charge The veteran left-back started sluggishly, handing an early opportunity to the hosts with an errant backpass. But by the end of the contest, the Englishman looked well and truly in command, winning a 100 percent of his aerial duels while also completing all his attempted tackles. Statistics Goals: 0 Assists: 0 Expected Assists (xA): 0 Defensive Contributions: 10 Tackles (Won): 1 (1) Interceptions: 1 Clearances: 8 Blocked Shots: 0 Recoveries: 3 Ground Duels (Won): 5 (4) Aerial Duels (Won): 3 (3) Fouls: 1 Dribbled Past: 0 Errors Leading to Shot: 1 Key Passes: 0 Crosses (Accurate): 0 (0) Accurate Passes: 24/29 (83%) Passes in Opposition Half (Acc.): 5/5 (100%) Passes in Own Half (Acc.): 19/24 (79%) Long Balls (Accurate): 1/2 (50%) Touches: 46 Dribbles (Successful): 0 (0) Was Fouled: 3 Possession Lost: 6 Carries: 10 Total Carrying Distance: 64.8 m Total Progression: -26.8 m Total Shots: 0 Shots on Target: 0 Shots Blocked: 0 stats via sofascore He lost only one ground duel, while completing eight clearances and recovering the ball three times (all stats via sofascore). The 30-year-old also made one interception, and won his team three free-kicks after being fouled by the home side. United need Luke Shaw fit and firing Luke Shaw was no slouch with the ball either, completing a 100 percent of balls played inside the opposition half, while finding a teammate with one long ball. United will need their left-back to show the same levels in the remaining five games as they look to finish as high up the table as possible. Feature image Julian Finney via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25