Three things we learnt from Chelsea’s humiliation of Manchester United

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A good start is vital

It took Pedro just less than 30 seconds to open the scoring, Daley Blind allowing him an extra few yards head start to beat Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly to a deliciously looped ball over the top by Marcos Alonso before rounding David de Gea to tuck into an empty net.

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From that moment on, Jose Mourinho’s game plan was thrown out of the window. Whilst they were never going to play as defensively as they did at Anfield on Monday night, as Jesse Lingard’s selection showed, it did mean an urgent change of style right from the off and the Red Devils failed to ever get going when moving forwards, particularly with Lingard and Marcus Rashford pushed back far too easily by the Chelsea wing-backs.

Conversely, this was a Chelsea side overflowing with confidence going into the game but clearly nervous after defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal already this season. The superb start calmed them down and allowed them to produce the best football they’ve played all season with the pressure off.