Matheus Cunha thought he had given Manchester United the lead against Chelsea, then VAR stepped in after 34 minutes and ruled the goal out for offside. Cunha had already celebrated with his trademark surfing gesture before the check was completed. The Premier League Match Centre said VAR checked the referee's call of goal and determined that Cunha was in an offside position, so the strike was disallowed.
The offside call and the reaction around it
Darren Fletcher said on TNT that it was "the last thing the poor fella sat on the bench needs to see" and added, "He must be thinking, 'how do I buy a break here?'" Ally McCoist was just as sympathetic, calling it "so unlucky" and saying the defender bumps him offside. He also praised Michael Carrick, saying, "regardless of his managerial and coaching skills, he's a top fella, he's managed himself superbly." Joe Cole backed Carrick too, saying: "Listen, it's not over."
United's run before the Chelsea trip
The call landed during a difficult stretch for Manchester United, who had gone eight matches in all competitions without a win before the trip to Stamford Bridge. Carrick reinstated Bruno Fernandes into the starting eleven after leaving him on the bench against Bournemouth, but the pressure around the side was already obvious. United were 16th in the Premier League with 7 points from 8 games, while Chelsea came into the game 5th with 13 points from 8 games.
Cunha's own league return has been steady rather than explosive, with a 6.74 Premier League rating across 8 appearances and 555 minutes. The overturned goal was the most important moment in the game, and it left United still waiting for a clean breakthrough. The teams meet in Chelsea vs Manchester United.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
