'Difficult': Enzo Maresca shares what surprised him about Manchester United in 1-1 Chelsea draw

Enzo Maresca watched his side drag their heels towards a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

It was a tired performance from both teams, in what was a very disappointing clash between two of the traditional Big Six, apart from a period of excitement from the 70th minute to the 75th minute when Bruno Fernandes saw his penalty cancelled out by a Moises Caicedo stunner.

Despite having a new face in the dugout in Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was overseeing his first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United, the Red Devils did not look much different to how they performed under Erik ten Hag – lacking cohesion in attack and midfield, along with a wastefulness in front of goal as Chelsea were spared on several occasions.

However, there was one thing about Manchester United which actually surprised Enzo Maresca.

Enzo Maresca felt Manchester United would be more aggressive

The Italian seemingly expected the Red Devils to bring a bit of the so-called new manager bounce to Sunday’s Premier League clash, as he admitted after the draw that he felt Manchester United would be more aggressive.

Maresca told Sky Sports: “We knew that it was a difficult game for different reasons. For a big part of the game we were in control, there was a desire to win the game and we lost our balance in the last ten minutes or so.

“Overall United were similar (to under Ten Hag) – we expected them to be a bit more aggressive. When you go down in this stadium it’s very difficult to come back but we did that.”

Jamie Redknapp compared the atmosphere – or lack of atmosphere, rather – inside Old Trafford to that of a lockdown fixture, given how quiet it was, and that seemingly rubbed off on the players, who looked like they were partaking in Soccer Aid rather than a Premier League fixture at times.

Chelsea need to upgrade on Robert Sanchez

While Manchester United were arguably the better side, Chelsea probably take all three points back to west London had Robert Sanchez not handed Van Nistelrooy’s men a soft penalty.

The Spaniard inexplicably grabbed Rasmus Hojlund by the ankle in the 69th minute, despite the fact the Denmark international was running away from goal and most likely about to carry the ball out of play.

It was a foolish decision from Sanchez – who Robbie Savage is not a fan of – and in all honestly, it surprises us that Chelsea have not found an upgrade on the man who left Brighton after slipping behind both Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele, especially as Todd Boehly has invested millions in teenage talents for the future, like Kendry Paez and Estevao.

Surely, finding a top glovesman – who could win you ten points on his own per season – is a more pressing matter.