Red card, three subs & Palmer injured – how Chelsea unravelled

One player was sent off, two goals were conceded, three substitutions were made, and Cole Palmer’s groin injury has since reoccurred.

Chelsea’s first half flopped at Old Trafford, setting the stage for a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United.

After just four minutes, Blues manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged that his game plan “went in the bin” when Bryan Mbeumo was stopped for bringing down goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

After 14 minutes, Bruno Fernandes fired United in front after Maresca made two substitutions.

Chelsea’s opening game was described as the “worst 15 minutes” this season, according to defender Trevoh Chalobah.

With the 21st minute strike forcing Palmer off, things got even worse for Maresca’s side.

The first half, which featured two or more goals, two red cards, and three substitutions, was the first in Premier League history, with Casemiro also sent off for double the hosts’ lead.

Just four minutes and one second into the match, Sanchez was the first Chelsea player to receive the Premier League red card.

The red card was “rough,” Maresca said, “It would be] difficult not only for Chelsea, it [would be] difficult for any club.”

“All the planning and everything disappears after the red card,” he said.

Maresca later stated that he would have preferred to score lower than to lose his goalkeeper.

Because there are still 95 minutes to play, he said, “It’s the best solution.”

Even Robert is aware of that, according to Robert, but the decision-making process is challenging.

After Sanchez was sent off, the Italian manager replaced him with goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen and defender Tosin Adarabioyo, who were already on the bench.

Effectively, the change left Chelsea with just Joao Pedro in charge and three midfielders.

Maresca explained why he had responded to the dismissal with such a defensive tone, saying that “we can defend with four when we are 11 v 11.”

When Fernandes opened the scoring and Palmer then went off injured, that choice appeared to be a mistake.

The first time in Premier League history had made its first three substitutions when Andrey Santos replaced the England playmaker 21 minutes into the game.

With Casemiro’s goal putting a 2-0 lead in the first half, Chelsea struggled to score a shot on target.

However, both teams were reduced to 10 men as a result of the Brazil midfielder’s misplaced lunge just before the break.

In the eighth minute, Chalobah rallied to win a goal, but it only served as a consolation for the Blues, who had endured a difficult week of away games.

Before losing to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, they drew at Brentford last weekend.

On Match of the Day, former England international Wayne Rooney said, “When Chelsea went to 10 a piece, I felt no urgency from them to try to get back into it.”

“They were side-to-side, slow.” Fans of Chelsea would like to see a lot more urgency.

Palmer had a previous groin injury that flared up during the shortened two-week pre-season following Chelsea’s victory in the Club World Cup, and this was his only previous start since then.

Maresca continued, “It’s a problem that it’s already been a long time for him…

He had a big effort from him this morning when he asked to play this game for the team, but after 20 minutes he started to feel something, so we made the decision to switch him.

Maresca previously expressed concern about how his players’ fitness would be affected by Chelsea’s month-long summer break.