Narrow Win Against Chelsea, Matheus Cunha Guards Man Utd's Chances in the Champions League

JAKARTA - Manchester United, who were not favored after losing most of their defenders, made a surprise by defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the big match of the English Premier League at Stamford Bridge Stadium, Saturday, April 18, 2026 WIB. The thin victory through Matheus Cunha's goal kept Man Utd's chances in the Champions League.

Man Utd is indeed underestimated because it is not strengthened by four central defenders. This is clearly a nightmare for interim manager Michael Carrick because he lost Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire who were banned from playing. Meanwhile, defender Matthijs de Ligt has been absent due to a back injury since November 2025.

Practically, Carrick can only rely on the 19-year-old youngster Ayden Heaven who duet with Noussair Mazraoui in the heart of the defense. They are accompanied by senior full backs Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot.

Not only that, Man Utd also just suffered a 2-1 defeat against bottom team Leeds United. A painful defeat because it was experienced at home at Old Trafford.

On the other hand, Chelsea lost their mainstay striker Joao Pedro who suffered a thigh injury. Without the club's top scorer, manager Liam Rosenior put his hopes on Liam Delap who was supported by Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Estevao.

Midfielder Enzo Fernandez is again the first choice after receiving a sanction not to play from the club. However, the captain's armband is no longer owned by Fernandez and is given to midfielder Moises Caicedo who has just signed a new contract for a period of seven years.

Even though they couldn't bring down the best squad, Man Utd managed to keep up with Chelsea's game. Only, the Blues who were superior in ball possession failed in the final finish. On the other hand, Man Utd managed to take advantage of the opportunity to score a goal through Matheus Cunha.

This is the only goal that was created in the big match and also brought Man Utd back to the winning track. The success of winning three points makes Man Utd, who is in third place, back to keep the opportunity to appear in the Champions League next season. Now, The Red Devils have collected 58 points or three points ahead of Aston Villa who are in fourth place.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, who are ranked fifth, have 52 points. Followed by Chelsea who have 48 points. This season, according to The Sun, the Premier League has five slots to the Champions League so this has secured Man Utd's position.

Not only that, Carrick also seems to be safe to sign a contract as a permanent manager. Although there have been rumors that Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique will handle Man Utd next season, Carrick's position is still strong to be permanent.

"This is a big win. A very meaningful victory for us," said Carrick, highlighting the team's backline which played solid despite losing the mainstay defenders.

"Coming here [Stamford Bridge] and keeping a clean sheet is what we expected to do by showing how we build the defense well. I think we played amazingly," he said.

Meanwhile, Chelsea still has to fight to get a ticket to the Champions League. The question is only 15 points left for Chelsea to improve their ranking. Failure to win at home also puts pressure on Rosenior. However, Rosenior, who has only been in charge of Chelsea for three months, remains optimistic despite the pressure.

"I don't want the team to feel any pressure or anything that is against us. What is clear is that we will continue to fight," said Rosenior.

"Let me face this heavy pressure. We must continue to work hard with the players to turn things around," he said again.

In that match, Chelsea again lost sharpness in playing. Without Pedro, Chelsea became no longer clinical because Delap who was once a target of Man Utd was unable to show maximum performance.

Fortunately, there is still Fernandez who is able to revive Chelsea's game. He also got the opportunity to score a goal. It's just that the Argentine national team player's kick is still wide.

When Chelsea failed to put pressure, on the contrary, Man Utd was able to take advantage of the opportunity to break the host's goal. When the match entered the final minutes of the first half, Cunha managed to break the deadlock when he greeted the assist from captain Bruno Fernandes.

This was Fernandes' 18th assist of the season which brought Cunha to score in the 43rd minute. The score of 1-0 for Man Utd closed the first half.

Chelsea actually played better in the second half. They created a number of opportunities but none of them came to fruition. Delap's header still hit the crossbar. Likewise, the pressure from Wesley Fofana almost made Mazraoui score a suicide goal.

Chelsea also got a chance through Caicedo. Only he failed to take advantage of the opportunity which made Chelsea close the match with a defeat. As a result, the fans booed their own team after the match.