By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Manchester United’s Scott McTominay continued his rich vein of goalscoring form when he netted either side of halftime to lift his team to a well-deserved 2-1 Premier League victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
United dominated in a victory that relieved some pressure on beleaguered manager Erik ten Hag, whose team have been hounded by reports of unrest in the dressing room, and moved them into sixth in the table on 27 points — three shy of the top four — after 15 games. Chelsea are 10th on 19 points.
United peppered Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez with 28 shots including nine on target in a terrific fight-back after Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Newcastle that McTominay called “abysmal”.
“The boys were so upset with how we done with that game, it wasn’t anywhere near good enough, and to come in tonight and win was a plus and something we can build on,” the midfielder told Amazon Prime.
United’s victory was their fourth in their last five league games.
“After the last game at Newcastle, it was not good,” midfielder Sofyan Amrabat said. “We wanted to react today to show the fans our energy and that we wanted to win.”
McTominay, who now has five goals in the league this season, opened the scoring in the 19th minute, taking one touch before firing in a left-footed volley after Harry Maguire’s shot was blocked.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, who grew up a United fan and was playing his first game at Old Trafford, levelled just before halftime when he threaded a left-footed shot through defender Victor Lindelof’s legs and past keeper Andre Onana.
McTominay’s second of the night came in the 69th minute when he headed in a pinpoint cross from Alejandro Garnacho.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who were heavily criticised for their lackadaisical effort on Saturday, were left out of the starting line-up.
United captain Bruno Fernandes had a penalty saved in the ninth minute after VAR determined Antony had been fouled in the penalty area.
McTominay had numerous chances for a hat-trick including in a frenzied few seconds when Sanchez denied him with a stunning double save just before the interval.
“The other team deserved the victory,” Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino said. “It was difficult at the start. They showed massive energy.”
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Davis and Clare Fallon)
