Chelsea vs Manchester United: Chelsea Win 2-0

Chelsea vs Manchester United finished 2-0 to the hosts on Saturday 31 October 2026, and Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer scored after the break at Stamford Bridge. Manchester United played the last half-hour a man down after Lisandro Martinez was sent off. This report follows our Chelsea vs Manchester United preview and covers the goals, cards, VAR decisions, line-ups, numbers and the table.

• Fixture: Chelsea vs Manchester United
• Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
• Kick-off: 14:30 SAST
• Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
• Result: Chelsea 2-0 Manchester United

What was the final score in Chelsea vs Manchester United?

Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge after a goalless first half. The match kicked off at 14:30 SAST on Saturday 31 October 2026, with Peter Bankes as referee, and it was round nine of the Premier League. Consequently, Chelsea moved to 16 points and fourth in the table, while Manchester United stayed 17th on 7 points. Manchester United also played the last half-hour with ten men after Lisandro Martinez was sent off in the 63rd minute.

Who scored in Chelsea vs Manchester United?

Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer scored for Chelsea. First, Rogers broke the deadlock in the 50th minute from a pass by Romeo Lavia. Then Palmer converted a penalty in the 64th minute, one minute after Martinez had been shown a red card. Before that, a VAR review confirmed the penalty in the 61st minute. Moreover, Chelsea had a second goal disallowed after a VAR check in the 71st minute, when an Estevao effort was ruled out, and Manchester United had one cancelled earlier, in the 34th minute, when Matheus Cunha’s goal did not stand.

How did the match unfold?

The game turned on a spell of ten minutes in the second half. For 45 minutes, neither side broke through, and the first major incident was the VAR decision in the 34th minute that cancelled Cunha’s goal. Soon after the break, Rogers scored in the 50th minute, and the match opened up. Then Martinez was booked in the 59th minute, a penalty was awarded and confirmed in the 61st, and he was sent off in the 63rd. As a result, Palmer’s penalty one minute later effectively settled the contest.

After that, United’s discipline fell apart. Harry Maguire (65th), Kobbie Mainoo (70th), Bryan Mbeumo (81st) and Joshua Zirkzee (86th) were all booked, so four more players saw yellow after the red card. In contrast, Chelsea’s only caution was for goalkeeper Mike Penders in stoppage time (90+3).

What did the match statistics show?

Chelsea had 19 shots, 10 of them on target, while Manchester United managed 12 shots with 5 on target. Furthermore, the expected-goals figures read 2.71 for Chelsea and 1.19 for Manchester United, which gives a sense of the chances each side created. As for the ball, Chelsea held 59% of possession and completed 496 of 561 passes. By comparison, Manchester United completed 308 of 396 with 41% of the ball. Meanwhile, the corner count was 8 to 7 in favour of Chelsea, and the sides committed 8 and 20 fouls respectively. Finally, the cautions came to 1 for Chelsea and 4 for Manchester United, with 1 red card shown.

Chelsea therefore dominated the numbers, with 19 shots to 12 and 10 on target to five. United goalkeeper S. Lammens was kept busy, because he made eight saves in the match.

Which line-ups did the two clubs start with?

Chelsea began in a 4-2-3-1 shape with M. Penders, Joshua Kofi Acheampong, W. Fofana, L. Colwill, M. Palestra, R. Lavia, M. Caicedo, Estêvão, C. Palmer, M. Rogers and Pedro Neto. In contrast, Manchester United lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with S. Lammens, L. Yoro, H. Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Diogo Dalot, Andrey Santos, C. Baleba, A. Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and B. Mbeumo. Moreover, the Chelsea bench included D. Welbeck, E. Emegha, Geovany Tcherno Quenda, M. Nicoll-Jazuli, V. Barco and Pep Chavarría. Likewise, Manchester United had K. Darlow, M. de Ligt, A. Heaven, N. Mazraoui, K. Mainoo and M. Mount among the substitutes. Player names appear as they are listed in the official match data, so some are shown in short form.

How have Chelsea and Manchester United fared against each other?

The most recent earlier meetings in the head-to-head record were as follows. First, 18 April 2026 (Premier League): Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United; then 20 September 2025 (Premier League): Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea; then 16 May 2025 (Premier League): Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United; then 3 November 2024 (Premier League): Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea; then 4 April 2024 (Premier League): Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United. Overall, that gives a useful backdrop for the weekend’s result.

As a result, United had won two of the previous three league meetings before this one, and Chelsea’s win ends that run. You can read the build-up in our Chelsea vs Manchester United preview.

What does the result mean for the Premier League table?

As of Sunday 1 November 2026, the Premier League table shows the following. Chelsea are 4th on 16 points from 9 games (5 wins, 1 draw, 3 defeats, 19 goals for and 15 against). Meanwhile, Manchester United are 17th on 7 points from 9 games (1 win, 4 draws, 4 defeats, 10 goals for and 15 against). At home, Chelsea have 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat, whereas Manchester United have 0 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats on their travels.

For wider context, see our Premier League predictions hub and live scores. Manchester United now have one win from nine league games, and South African supporters can follow every score on our live scores page.

Frequently asked questions

Chelsea’s next league game is away at Sunderland, which we preview in our Sunderland vs Chelsea preview.

United then played again in Europe. Read our Manchester United vs AS Roma report.