Man Utd 2-1 Chelsea: McTominay double downs dismal Blues

Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to two goals from Scott McTominay.

The midfielder scored either side of Cole Palmer's goal to lift Manchester United to sixth place, just three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

Man United got off to a fast start in a thrilling end-to-end battle that featured 41 shots, 28 for the hosts and 13 for Chelsea.

After only eight minutes, Enzo Fernandez stepped on Antony's foot in the box, giving the Red Devils a chance to take a deserved lead.

The penalty was taken by Bruno Fernandes, but Robert Sanchez dived to his right to keep the ball out, and Alejandro Garnacho fired the rebound over.

Three minutes later, Mykhailo Mudryk burst down the left side and forced a low save from Andre Onana at the near post for Chelsea.

McTominay gave Manchester United the lead in the 20th minute. Chelsea lost possession, and McTominay took a touch before tucking his finish into the bottom-right corner after Marc Cucurella's block from Harry Maguire's shot.

Sanchez made another crucial save for Chelsea in the 32nd minute, this time from close range to deny McTominay.

Those saves appeared to be especially important when Chelsea equalized just before halftime, with Palmer scoring his fifth goal of the season and his first from open play. The young Manchester United supporter received a good pass from Mudryk on the edge of the box and worked his way across the box before shooting back across goal into the bottom-right corner.

The second half began evenly, but McTominay remained one of the most dangerous players on the field. In the 64th minute, he rose highest to connect with Luke Shaw's corner, but Sanchez denied him once more.

McTominay finally scored his second goal of the game in the 70th minute, when he got on the end of Alejandro Garnacho's cross and headed past Sanchez at the back post.

Just minutes later, the Scotland international came close to completing his hat-trick, but he lost his cool at the last second and shot wide.

Chelsea substitute Armando Broja came the closest to equalizing, but his header in stoppage time was from a tight angle and hit the crossbar.

Manchester United now has 27 points, while Chelsea is still in 10th place with 19 points.

SportsLigue