Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea: Disaster for Lampard as United run riot at Old Trafford
New Chelsea boss Frank Lampard endured a nightmare start to life as a Premier League manager as his youthful Blues side was put to the sword by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
United's own young guns led the way, with Marcus Rashford netting twice, reinvigorated front man Anthony Martial getting off the mark and new signing Daniel Jones finding the net on his league debut for United.
Despite the lop-sided final score, it was Chelsea who could have taken an early lead when striker Tammy Abraham latched onto a defensive slop and crashed a powerful first-time effort against the upright with United stopper David de Gea well beaten. Brazilian wide man Emerson hit the same upright later in the first half, but that moment came after the Blues had gifted United the lead.
Kurt Zouma's clumsy lunge brought down Rashford, who stepped up to convert the spot-kick himself. It gave United a half-time lead and forced Chelsea to push for an equalizer that never came.
And, in the final 25 minutes, United went goal crazy with Martial bundling home a Pereira cross before Rashford added his second and a deflected effort from substitute Jones put United out of sight.
It was a dream start for United and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who heads into a season at the Old Trafford helm after his first pre-season in charge of the side.
But while Solskjaer will be toasting a perfect start to the campaign, the match proved to be a baptism of fire for Lampard, whose side looked lacking in cohesion and consistently gave the ball away, with Ross Barkley and Pedro both struggling to link up play from advanced areas.
Chelsea will be hoping for better when they face Leicester City at Stamford Bridge next weekend. But before then, the UEFA Europa League winners take on European Champions Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night at the Vodafone Arena, Istanbul.
