Time for Andreas Christensen to stick around and other things learned from Chelsea's 1-0 win over Man United

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  • Manchester United could have no complaints as Chelsea brushed them aside at Stamford Bridge to make a resounding statement in the Premier League.

    Digging into the fallout, three names in particular stood out as Antonio Conte heads into the international break with a grin while Jose Mourinho must go back to the drawing board.

    Here’s what we learned from the encounter.

    Time for Christensen to stick around

    Since John Terry made his debut, Chelsea have waited two decades for another one of their own – and though Andreas Christensen is hardly a born-and-bred Blue he is certainly a player who can stay at the club for a long time yet.

    The 21-year-old delivered the performance of his young career after Antonio Conte favoured playing the Denmark international over David Luiz in what he called ‘a tactical decision’.

    Whether there is more to the David Luiz omission or not, Chelsea fans will not be desperate for him to return. Christensen treated Stamford Bridge with shades of Terry in the way he handled Romelu Lukaku.

    But hearteningly his development gives hope that Chelsea’s youth players have more to look forward to than perennial loans.

    Christensen, who signed from Brondby as a 15-year-old, enjoyed two full seasons playing domestically and in Europe with Borussia Monchengladbach and has already won 11 caps for Denmark.

    Perhaps Swansea loanee Tammy Abraham will be looking on and wondering whether he can repeat the trick.

    Andreas Christensen.

    Andreas Christensen.

    Ungainly Fellaini can stand tall for United

    A fit-again Marouane Fellaini was at his ungainly worst off the bench at Chelsea, squandering possession and dribbling into blue shirts for much of the 28 minutes he was on the pitch.

    However, he also produced United’s best chance of equalising – swivelling after taking down a ball on his chest only for Thibaut Courtois to parry away his scruffy shot.

    In the absence of Paul Pogba, Fellaini seems the only man to give United thrust down the middle. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is woefully out of form, Ander Herrera is not playing much better and Nemanja Matic simply cannot do the job of every man.

    Amazingly he won eight aerial duels in his cameo appearance – more than twice as many than anyone else managed.

    The hope is that Pogba will return after the international break but there are far worse options than Fellaini if you are looking for inspiration, especially in a team that look utterly devoid of it at the moment.

    Marouane Fellaini.

    Marouane Fellaini.

    No need for Matic with Kante in town

    Selling Nemanja Matic may not have been the wisest move in Chelsea’s history but N’Golo Kante’s performance proved why there was a fair amount of logic behind it.

    Kante won the ball back 11 times from United, more than any other player on the pitch, but he is continuing to show he’s so much more than a ball-winning midfielder.

    The Frenchman is migrating a little higher up the pitch and has an underrated range of passing – and taken as a whole package, he is simply a better player than a solid Matic.

    Though Tiemoue Bakayoko is no world-beater yet, it makes sense that Conte would attempt to pair Kante with a player who can drive on up the field with a little more energy in his legs.

    If Bakayoko marries his enthusiasm with end product then Chelsea will have added another dimension to an attack that boasts width through their wing-backs and a return to form for both Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard. And much of that is down to Kante.

    N'Golo Kante.

    N’Golo Kante.

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