Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has expressed surprised at how open Manchester United were on Sunday, saying they usually ‘like to defend’.
Prior to the match at Stamford Bridge many predicted that Jose Mourinho would set up his team with the primary focus being not to concede.
It was the case when his side played against Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season and the Portuguese coach has built a reputation for using negative tactics. In Mourinho’s last 10 away games against the ‘big six’, his side have scored just one goal.
It was certainly what Fabregas expected.
‘We had plenty of chances, especially in the first half, and we probably could have killed the game off in the second half to be honest,’ the Spanish midfielder told Chelseafc.com.
‘But it was a very good performance and the game was a little bit more open that we expected.
‘We prepared for the game in a certain way because we know they like to defend. We know they like to close one side and move across, and we felt if we maybe left the interiors open, and attacked in the space, we could create problems, and that’s what we did.’
While the match on Sunday saw just one goal, there could have been many more with a total of 28 shots during the game.
Chelsea had the better chances in what was an impressive display by Antonio Conte’s side.
‘We had more possession than usual which, for me, is something we’ve been lacking,’ explained Fabregas.
‘We had the personality to play and we said before the game that it’s fantastic to defend well, in a block, but we need to play.
‘This is a team, in my opinion, with fantastic players and we need to take advantage of that. We had a lot of the ball, we created chances and we played like a big team. We should be proud.’
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