Without much further ado, I’m going to hand you over to our coverage of the League Cup final – with Rob Smyth. It’s Arsenal v Manchester City. Hope you’ve enjoyed the last couple of hours and thanks, as ever, for your company and contributions.

90+6 min: Chelsea win a corner at the death and Courtois is up! It’s delivered and headed up in the air, and that’s ...

90+4 min: Will it jinx this if I say that United are seeing it out absolutely consummately?

90+3 min: They do but Giroud, after originally getting in the way of Fabregas, sees his effort blocked. Lukaku then takes possession and rampages a full 70 yards, at one stage looking set to home in on goal before Christensen gets in the way. But Mourinho loves that. It buys United time, space and a throw-in near the left-hand flag.

90+2 min: Matic is back on but that took its time so presumably we can make it five minutes. United keep the ball in the corner for a while and Chelsea really need to get out.

90 min: Not much sign of a Chelsea equaliser at the moment and the ball is spending a fair amount of time in their half, albeit not with much intention of scoring on United’s part. Matic is down, so play stops for a while. And that may add to the FOUR minutes we will see after the 90.

88 min: Morata appears to win the ball beautifully from Smalling as he tries to launch a counter, but is pulled up and booked. I guess that counts as a tackle from behind even if he hooked his leg around the side.

87 min: “Looks like Chelsea are going with a 2-3-5 formation for the last 10 mins of the match. If it works, we can call it ‘Contenaccio’,” quips Joe Rodrigo.

86 min: The pair do combine and it gives rise to some Chelsea pressure, which ends with Morata seizing upon a Fabregas chip and beating De Gea ... only to be flagged *just* offside. That was very tight.

85 min: What have Chelsea got left? Will Fabregas be able to dink one up to Giroud? He may get a chance to now as Matic takes a yellow for hauling Willian back in the middle.

82 min: Pedro puts a pass out of play, needlessly, and Conte has daggers for eyes. Forget the air of calm – he would hate to lose this. We get some on-pitch handbags in the meantime, Matic taking exception to a Rudiger challenge on Lingard.

81 min: Sanchez makes way for Bailly, now, in a move intended to hold onto what Mourinho has got. Disappointing afternoon for Sanchez really, but United won’t care if they grab the win. Drinkwater is replaced by Fabregas for Chelsea at the same time.

79 min: Willian tries to beat De Gea again at his near post but this time the goalkeeper dives to save. Then Lindelof’s clearance is charged down by Morata and for a moment Pedro is in, but Smalling is in to bail his colleague out! It’s a corner, and on comes Olivier Giroud for Moses. That comes to nothing but perhaps Chelsea will shift things up a gear now, because I think they’ve been punished for taking it down a notch or two.

75 min: A clumsy Alonso challenge by the corner flag gives Young the chance to make something. He shows Sanchez and Lingard how it is done, but Christensen gets to the cross just ahead of Pogba.

73 min: Christensen takes a clobbering from Pogba and there’s a delay ... but in the meantime we see Hazard, often bright today but perhaps suffering after taking a whack of his own from Valencia a few minutes back, replaced by Pedro.

72 min: We haven’t seen or heard much from either manager in this half. We are shaping up for a pretty tame outcome in all departments.

69 min: Chelsea respond and Valencia is booked for a foul in a threatening position on the left. Can they put something together now? Willian flashes in a low delivery ... and De Gea does lose sight of it for a second, needing two attempts to gather.

67 min: Brilliant from both Lukaku and Courtois! Oh, that’s so much better. Lukaku twists in the air to take a chipped cross from the left and volleys towards goal with excellent technique – only for the goalkeeper to fingertip it over superbly!

66 min: United win a corner and this is a particularly dull spell so maybe ... no, Lingard’s delivery is even worse than the earlier one by Sanchez. There has, let’s be clear, been very little quality shown out there today.

64 min: Yes, here is Lingard. He replaces the fairly decent Martial. I think Sanchez is lucky not to be the one hooked.

62 min: Half-hearted appeals for a United handball as Martial knocks it against – I think – Azpilicueta but that was never on. All told it’s been a slow start to the half with a couple of bursts of mild excitement. I think we’ll see Jesse Lingard soon, can he add something?

60 min: Willian, brimful of confidence, jinks inside and blazes miles off target with surely his worst shot of the week.

57 min: Unconvincing again from De Gea, who spills a speculative shot from Drinkwater – perhaps hindered by the bright sun – and is fortunate to see the ball cleared by a quick-reacting Valencia before Alonso can gobble up the rebound.

56 min: In it swings from Sanchez ... and away it is headed at the near post. Sanchez has, a spot of good work in the move for the goal aside, been wasteful so far today and not quite on the pace.

55 min: Martial has a long-range dig blocked, amid a United attack of rather more intent than many we’ve seen today. They eventually win a flag kick ...

53 min: Sanchez ignores an obvious ball to an open Valencia and instead loses possession, to groans.

51 min: United are playing a few yards higher up at the moment and pressing Chelsea as they try and play the ball out. It’s caused a couple of half-flutters but nothing more yet.

49 min: Martial combines well with Sanchez but rather fritters away what comes next. At the other end Morata nips in ahead of Smalling and seems to be away for a second ... but he’s pushed a bit too far and wide, and by the time he checks back inside and shoots there are enough bodies around to block.

47 min: Pogba is pulled up for a foul – at least showing more fight there than in the buildup to Willian’s goal, when he completely failed to challenge for the ball before Chelsea countered.

Ok, the second half is coming up in five ...

Interesting to note on United’s goal that Christensen takes a knock to the head in the buildup, thinks about staying down but gets up, carries on and isn’t quite in position. If he stays down, does that goal happen?

“Good to see Willian getting a bit of appreciation recently,” writes Woolie Madden. “Always rated him, but I feel he has gone somewhat underappreciated over the years. Shall we try for a Premier League outfield XI of underappreciated players who never seem to quite take the highest plaudits? As well as Willian, I’d put Heung-Min Son in there; Fernandinho too. Any other suggestions?”

I agree, although I think Son has now worked his way to a more exalted status and Willian is pretty much there now too. It has taken time.

“Stop me if this sounds ridiculous,” instructs David Wall. “But is it possible that United’s stodginess in recent weeks had been more due to their just being in a period of poor form rather than some anti football masterplan by Mourinho.

“At different times this season, all of the clubs challenging for the top four (City aside) have had periods where they have played great, and others where they have stank and faced calls for the manager’s head from fans claiming the are betraying the ethos of their respective clubs. United are just in their slump right now and it is exaggerated because Liverpool are in a really excellent spell.

“I understand that social media has changed the rules, and City have pushed things too this year, but didn’t we used to accept that individuals and teams could have periods of better and worse form without it bringing about the end of days?”

We did, and for what it’s worth I think your broader point is right.

45+1 min: We will see two added minutes of a half that has suddenly chirped up.

44 min: I should underline that United’s goal came from a very sharp interplay around the box. Perhaps this attacking shape can work after all! Now for a Willian free-kick, though, that is clipped towards Morata but ends up with De Gea.

41 min: Ooooh, Hazard almost gets a clear sight of goal after a quickly-taken free-kick but eventually enough defenders get back and the ball ends up with Alonso, who misses the target. This one has hotted up!

38 min: United have ... errr ... mounted no response whatsoever yet and if anything Chelsea seem more exuberant. “Your city is blue ... just like London, your city is blue,” chant the Chelsea fans.

35 min: Alonso takes a cute ball from Hazard and for a second you think it calls for a crack of that sweet left peg, but he clearly doesn’t like the angle and works it onto his less sweet right, curling well wide.

34 min: Chelsea deserve that, for my money. It doesn’t seem to matter how attacking, on paper, United’s lineup is – it’s all invariably so stodgy.

30 min: Pogba does beautifully to ease past Kante and what results – a foul that earns Kante a yellow card before his foe can get too far away – is never really in doubt.

Even allowing for that Sanchez chance, I find this broadly accurate.

28 min: Chance for Sanchez! He usually gobbles them up! Space opens up 10 yards out after fine work from Martial and it’s crying out for a first-time finish, but he takes a touch and ends up, slightly off-balance, prodding harmlessly at Courtois!

27 min: Willian plays a sloppy pass across his own defence, now, and Lukaku seizes onto it but there’s never quite the angle for a shot – and he can’t successfully play Sanchez though. Then a Young cross finds its way right through to Lukaku at the back post; he spins but his shot is blocked. I guess that’s better from United.

25 min: Kante messes up a Chelsea move that, at one stage, oozed promise before slowing down. United counter and Martial finds space on the left but not a lot comes of that either.

My sense is that he is what you’d call a “manager’s player”. Takes instructions, acts on them, does a job for the team. Today’s job is to deal with Hazard – which he’s doing fairly well so far.

22 min: A Chelsea free kick, wide right. It’s hugging the touchline, can Willian generate some threat? It’s not a bad delivery, dipping towards the six-yard box, but Matic hooks away.

20 min: Yes, at the moment it is pretty scrappy. De Gea shanks one out of play. Old Trafford is, you’ll be surprised to hear, quiet bar a few taunts from the away support about exactly that fact.

18 min: A slower spell, with Chelsea dominating the ball. Willian wins a free-kick from Matic and ... wait for it ... Mourinho and Conte appear to share a joke in the technical area! I saw smiles! There’s your back page – certainly at this rate, because the set piece is cleared easily.

Broadly just ahead of McTominay and Matic, although I think he’ll still have to do some defending.

14 min: Moses, busy early on and getting some joy, tries to bundle through on the right but Young does well. He gets a yard on Young moments later and Lindelof stabs the fizzed low centre away.

12 min: Lukaku lays off smartly for Sanchez after some good work from Valencia. It comes to nothing but United seem to have settled after being caught cold in those early minutes.

10 min: Morata upends Pogba just beyond the left corner of the box and United have their first dangerous-looking situation. Sanchez will deliver ... but it’s easy for Courtois. Disappointing.

8 min: Now Christensen takes the opportunity to run the ball forwards from defence but ends up losing possession. Chelsea are playing with freedom here though.

7 min: Now United put a few passes together and, as a minimum, they need that because Chelsea started like a train and ought to be a goal up.

5 min: Morata clatters the bar ... then De Gea saves! A delightful crossfield ball from Hazard to Alonso is equally delightfully volleyed across goal first-time by the wing-back – and Morata steams onto it, jabbing the ball plum against the crossbar at full tilt from close range! Hazard gathers the rebound as it bounces up, and his deflected effort is tipped over at full stretch by De Gea. The corner comes to nothing, but what a chance that was for Morata. He should score, if you look at the slow-motion, but in real time that was tough because Alonso drilled the ball across at such speed.

4 min: Rudiger goes on a huge run from back to front, which takes him into a good crossing position inside the area, but he scuffs it a bit. Chelsea keep up the early pressure. United haven’t got on the ball yet.

2 min: And that early Chelsea positivity wins them a corner. It’s pulled back low, quite cleverly, but Matic spirits it away from the primed Morata.

“I think Mourinho has an inferiority complex and always parks the bus against teams if he feels inferior to their manager. Enjoy the borefest!” writes Malcolm Shuttleworth.

The handshake happened. It was brief and transactional. Now: the football.

Mourinho is playing the game, shaking hands with all the Chelsea team. No confrontation between the managers yet. But out of the tunnel they now go ...

JR in Illinois has a prediction: “You want to know what I expect? In the immortal words of Clubber Lang, ‘Prediction?.....Pain.’ For the viewing audience that is. I blame Mourinho.”

My thing with Sanchez is that he has played in *such* an intense fashion for so many years, for club and country, and he is not getting any younger. When he slows up, which he will quite soon, what else is there unless he adapts pretty eyecatchingly? If used correctly he should get a good season at United next year but you’d have to say they have bought a player who, logically, will be on his way down beyond that.

Harry Kane has won it for Spurs in the 89th. It’s fair to say that was coming. Will we see similar drama at Old Trafford? Get your emails and tweets in as I want to know exactly what you expect.

Five minutes to go at Selhurst Park and Spurs still ... somehow ... haven’t scored. It’s goalless and like the Alamo.

Yes, it does feel a bit like a midfielder’s game doesn’t it? But then again it’s also the kind of match Alexis Sanchez, yet to really catch light at Old Trafford, was bought for.

There’s another Premier League game ongoing at the moment and you really ought to join Tom Davies for it. It’s Palace 0-0 Spurs, there’s half an hour to go and Harry Kane has missed a sitter:

These are, on paper, both very attacking teams – albeit in hands that are more than capable of turning this into a stultifying borefest if they wish. I, like you I’m sure, hold optimism for the former.

Nick will be here soon. In the meantime, here’s Andy Hunter’s preview to the match:

It is the fixture that releases an adrenaline rush at Manchester Unitedaccording to José Mourinho, the game that carries extra significance for supporters and the rivalry of the Premier League. According to Mourinho that fixture is Liverpool. He has demoted Chelsea to the ranks of “any normal game”. The ramifications of Sunday’s result at Old Trafford ensure it is anything but.

The United manager will find few dissenters to his argument that Chelsea’s visit has lost an edge as neither team is competing for the title, despite sitting second and fourth at the start of the weekend. On a personal level he claims the memories of delivering three Premier League titles to Stamford Bridge fade with every encounter against his former club. The importance of victory over a Champions League rival and competitor has not diminished, however, not when those supporters who Mourinho claims have Liverpool’s arrival on 10 March circled in their diaries are craving signs of genuine progress at Old Trafford.

Read the full story: