Chelsea 4 Man United 0: Jose Mourinho humiliated on return to Stamford Bridge

HAPPY Birthday Roman Abramovich, and many happy returns.

By Paul Brown                                 

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho had an unhappy return to Chelsea

Antonio Conte joked in the build-up about giving Chelsea’s billionaire owner the gift of victory against the man he’s paid off twice, and he did just that – in style.

Blues fans who spent so long adoring Jose Mourinho sang: “You’re not special any more” as goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante routed Manchester United.

And surely no-one enjoyed it as much as Abramovich, who never did see completely eye to eye with Mourinho during either of his spells at Stamford Bridge.

The Russian billionaire is 50 tomorrow, and his side are back up to fourth, five points ahead of Mourinho’s United and just one behind leaders Manchester City.

But it was the manner of victory which will stick in the minds of both men, because this was a humiliation for Mourinho on his return to his old club.

Where Liverpool couldn’t find a way to score against United in 90 minutes at Anfield, Chelsea took just 31 seconds at the Bridge.

Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard celebrates scoring against Manchester United

De Gea has saved their bacon many times over the years, and it was his two saves which helped United earn a point last Monday.

But the Spaniard was guilty of a huge error of judgement here, racing off his line but failing to get anywhere near a Marcos Alonso flicked long ball.

Chris Smalling also failed to deal with it, allowing Pedro to nip in and slot home into an empty net to give Chelsea, unchanged from the team that beat Leicester, a dream start.

It was the former Barcelona winger’s first shot on target of the season, and boy did he enjoy it, racing straight over to the home fans to celebrate.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed the best chance of the game at Anfield with a wayward header, and he soon missed another here, heading a searching Antonio Valencia cross over the bar.

With Wayne Rooney missing because of a thigh injury, the only change from the United team which drew with Liverpool was Jesse Lingard coming in for Ashley Young.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho greets old friend Chelsea captain John Terry

But it got even worse for the visitors when Cahill fired in the second off Daley Blind in the 21st minute after Nemanja Matic won a header from a corner.

He too made the most of his celebration, roaring with delight, chest puffed out and mobbed his team-mates.

Some of these players were booed by Chelsea fans last season after Mourinho was axed. They looked like they were enjoying getting their own back.

Thibaut Courtois was finally called into action shortly afterwards, making a fine double save from Ander Herrera’s long-range effort and then Lingard’s close-range follow-up.

It was brutal at times. David Luiz was particularly lucky to escape a red card for a dangerous, studs-up tackle on Marouane Fellaini’s knee which left him writhing in agony.

Fellaini did not come back out for the second half so Juan Mata took his place. But Chelsea were straight back on the attack with Costa having a goal ruled out for offside.

Conte was as animated as his team, shouting, screaming and waving his arms around. Mourinho was as subdued as his, pacing around quietly with a grim look on his face.

United started to show signs of a rally when Lingard forced a diving save from Courtois. But it didn’t last long.

Kante was given all the time in the world to pick a pass on the edge of Chelsea’s box and found Matic, who quickly picked out Hazard.

Of all the players Mourinho criticised publicly during his last spell here, Hazard got it more than most. He took revenge by firing in the third to effectively kill this one off.

But criminally, not a single United player attempted a tackle in that move, and the same was true when Kante added to the embarrassment.

By the end, Chelsea fans sang Mourinho’s name in mockery. They also sang: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” It’s not quite that bad yet, but something certainly needs to change.

Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 6, Cahill 7; Moses 6, Matic 7, Kante 6, Alonso 7; Pedro 7 (Chalobah 71), HAZARD 8 (Willian 78), Costa 7 (Batshuayi 78). Subs: Begovic, Oscar, Terry, Aina
UP NEXT: West Ham (a) EFL Cup, Wednesday

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 5; Valencia 6, BAILLY 7 (Rojo 52, 6), Smalling 5, Blind 5; Herrera 6, Fellaini 5 (Mata 46, 6); Lingard 6 (Martial 65, 6), Pogba 4, Rashford 6; Ibrahimovic 5. Subs: Carrick, Young, Romero, Darmian
UP NEXT: Manchester City (h) EFL Cup, Wednesday

Referee: Martin Atkinson 6

Star man: Eden Hazard – electric

Star shocker: Paul Pogba – so poor