http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/11/ under-21-report--chelsea-1-manchester-united-1.html Under-21 report: Chelsea 1 Manchester United 1 Sun, 9 Nov 2014 Our Under-21s shared the league points with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in a closely-contested encounter. Clear-cut chances were at a premium throughout the first half before an early penalty for the visitors after the restart was converted by Will Keane and handed Warren Joyce's side the initiative. Andreas Christensen's thumping header levelled the scores shortly afterwards as we earned ourselves a deserved point. == Team news == There were four changes from the side that were beaten 1-0 at Tottenham 13 days previously as Andreas Christensen and Jay Dasilva returned to the back four alongside Ola Aina and Fankaty Dabo. Goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney captained the side. Lewis Baker and Izzy Brown also came back into the side, with the former partnered in central midfield by Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Dominic Solanke led the line up front, supported by Brown, Charly Musonda and Alex Kiwomya. United had six starters who were involved in May's play-off final encounter at Old Trafford, a game in which the Blues triumphed to secure the league crown, including recent first team debutants Tom Thorpe and Tyler Blackett. == First half == The opening exchanges were played out evenly in the west London afternoon sunshine, with both sides working hard without the ball to close down spaces and then seeking to exert some attacking influence in the final third. Brown almost got on the end of a lovely forward pass from Musonda but couldn't quite bring the dropping ball under control, before Solanke proved crucial in his own six-yard box as he cleared Liam Grimshaw's header from a corner away from danger. Aina's rising shot from distance failed to trouble Ben Amos in the United goal following a period of Chelsea control in the match after 20 minutes, while Baker's free-kick did bring the first save of the game from the visiting stopper, though the midfielder's dipping effort was gathered comfortably. Beeney saved well from Andreas Pereira's well-struck left-footed drive after half an hour before Will Keane dragged a shot wide as the encounter threatened to come to life. Kiwomya’s pace and trickery down the right was causing problems and his floated delivery almost found Solanke, though the striker couldn't quite connect with a spectacular attempt. Kiwomya fired wide and Christensen's header floated over, while Loftus-Cheek had a great opportunity to grab the lead for the hosts in the final minute of the half but headed Brown's centre wide of the far post. == Second half == The second period was eventful from the start, with United awarded a penalty within a minute of the restart. Janko advanced from right-back and his pass forward struck Aina on the hand from close range, with the incident occurring on the very edge of the area. Referee Michael George deemed it a penalty and Keane stepped up to fire beyond Beeney and hand his side the lead. The visitors' advantage might have been doubled shortly afterwards as a quick break forward caught Chelsea out. Blackett led the charge, feeding the supporting Donald Love down the right and the midfielder returned the favour with a low delivery back to Blackett, however he could only poke wide when positioned well. The Blues were soon back level in the contest and the equaliser arrived courtesy of defender Christensen. The Danish youth international rose highest and unchallenged in the box to meet Baker's corner from the right and his powerful header had too much venom for Amos to keep out. With parity in the contest restored, the hosts regained control of much of the play and Solanke twice threatened to put us ahead around the midway point of the half. The striker's drive from 20 yards was struck well but just arrowed a few yards wide of the far post, before his chipped attempt following Dabo's pass forward was gathered by the visiting keeper. Brown then brought a strong stop from Amos with a venomous curling effort before Pereira had Beeney scampering across his goal with a powerful drive that flew inches wide. Amos then made another vital stop as he clawed away a Baker free kick that seemed destined to bend into the top far corner, before Houghton headed the resultant corner over as the delivery came through a packed penalty area and took the substitute by surprise. That proved to be the last of the opportunities as the sides shared the league points, with Viveash's men moving up to third in the league table. == Manager reaction == Viveash expressed his disappointment that his side were unable to win a game they performed well in, though he praised their ability to manage the game late on and protect a point on as they pushed for a winner. Speaking to the official Chelsea website, he said: 'I felt we did enough to win so I'm a little bit disappointed that we didn't. 'We were on top in the first half but their counter-attack is very good and they defended deep. We had a couple of warning signs in the first half where we got a bit sloppy and we started the second half very slowly, which is when they got their goal, but I was really pleased with our response after going behind. That was our best part of the game and Andreas scores a really good header from the corner. 'It's not easy when they have 11 men behind the ball and the penalty was obviously a soft decision against us but that's part of what young players have to learn because you don't always get decisions in big games. We didn't want to get caught late on but we obviously wanted to win the game so we had to be brave. 'We changed our press a little with our number 10, whether it was Musonda or Boga, joining Solanke and then with the four in behind. I thought that worked quite well and it's a big part of development to learn those different systems.' Chelsea: Mitchell Beeney Fankaty Dabo Ola Aina Andreas Christensen Jay Dasilva Ruben Loftus-Cheek Lewis Baker (Jordan Houghton 80) Alex Kiwomya Charly Musonda Izzy Brown (Jeremie Boga 53) Dominic Solanke Unused subs - Billy Granger, Charlie Colkett, Alex Davey Booking - Aina, Brown Scorer - Christensen 57 Manchester United: Ben Amos, Saidy Janko, Reece James, Marnick Vermijl, Tom Thorpe (c), Tyler Blackett, Donald Love, Liam Grimshaw, Will Keane, Andreas Pereira, James Weir Unused subs - Sean Goss, Kieron O'Hara, Callum Evans, Matthew Willock, Ashley Fletcher Bookings - Janko, Pereira Scorer - Keane (pen) 47 By Sam Poplett -- ＫＴＢＦＦＨ -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 59.115.96.226 ※ 文章網址: http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Chelsea/M.1415536372.A.9DF.html ※ 編輯: JamesCaesar (36.231.137.36), 12/03/2014 23:53:37

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