THE VERDICT: CHELSEA 1 UNITED 0 Red card means Jose left singing the Blues

HERRERA’S DISMISSAL TURNED TOUGH NIGHT IN LONDON INTO AN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TASK – BUT REDS MADE LEAGUE LEADERS GO THE DISTANCE

Two early excellent saves from Hazard and Cahill kept United in with a chance when Chelsea stepped on the gas. Started on the front foot as a right wing-back but it wasn’t long before he had to revert back to full-back. Assigned to the job of keeping Eden Hazard quiet when the Belgian pushed on and it was a tough night for him. Was made to look lumbering and ridiculous by Hazard. It was an improvement from October so that was a plus. A few flicks from Costa caught him out but generally the Argentine stuck to his task admirably. The Italian never really flourished and even having Young backing him up didn’t help much. Had his work cut out keeping tabs on Hazard and it was always going to be a hazardous job. But unlucky to go early. Kante had the upper hand on Pogba. The job only got worse when Herrera was sent off. Rarely got into the game and seemed to be something of a passenger for much of the time. Had one decent shot that flew wide but other than that it was a struggle for him to make an impact. Worked tirelessly but it was a frustrating. Was almost a hero had it not been for class stop from Courtois. SUBSTITUTES FELLAINI: (Mkhitaryan 37) Was in there to stem tide but unable to do it. 5 LINGARD: (Young 81) Tough time to come on 5 NOT USED: Bailly, Mata, Carrick, Blind, Romero SMALL mercies. Sometimes you have to be thankful for them.

Jose Mourinho should be grateful he won’t have to take his United side back to Stamford Bridge again this campaign.

And at least the Reds didn’t leave West London with their tails between their legs this time.

It’s been an uncomfortable time for the man once revered for his self-proclaimed Special One status at Chelsea.

He would have certainly earned that label at Old Trafford had he pulled this one out of the bag. Extra Special One more like.

But that kind of venerable anointing will have to wait.

It was always going to be a thankless task from the moment United boarded their train to London.

No seats for the injured Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The squad were also carrying some heavy baggage from their last visit to Stamford Bridge when Mourinho was humiliated on his return in the 4-0 Premier League thrashing.

But if anybody has a plan to win this kind of a match when the odds are stacked against you then often it is the Portuguese boss.

United started like the memories of their last visit had been scrubbed away as Mourinho set up with a back three and wing-backs and taking the game to the runaway league leaders.

Chelsea were puzzled and unhinged by the Reds’ feverish opening.

But heavyweight contests can turn on a moment of magic and Eden Hazard was the player to provide the pivotal moment.

He took out Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo with a slick turn and glide at pace, and were it not for David de Gea’s save the tie might have ended there and then in the 16th minute.

But what it did was shake Chelsea and the Stamford Bridge crowd into life. From then the whole tone changed. Hazard relished his impact. Jones and Herrera set out to minimise it.

But when you are up against a slippery customer, or a diver as Mourinho was alleging constantly, you are treading a very fine disciplinary tightrope. Herrera fell off it after 36 minutes. What a season for the FA to revamp the famous competition and sack replays in the quarter-finals. Penalties became United’s only hope. That hope became a forlorn one when N’Golo Kante thundered in a cracker.

Marcus Rashford put himself on the line to defy illness and give Mourinho an attacking option.

The Mancunian had shown his mettle Kante (51) None 73% 27% 20 4 10 2 Michael Oliver 40,801 Costa Herrera, Young Herrera and deserved some reward with an equaliser eight minutes after Kante’s goal. But keeper Courtois was more equal to stopping him than Gary Cahill had been.

You guessed that one chance to take the game further had come and gone in that split second.

It wasn’t quite the last one but Paul Pogba’s evening was summed up when he badly swiped a good shooting chance wide with eight minutes to go.

The fact Chelsea fans were screaming for the final whistle was the biggest plus for United on a tough night.