Chelsea back at the top: Manchester United 1 – 2 Chelsea

Chelsea defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford to gain a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. A clever flick from Joe Cole and a controversial offside strike from Didier Drogba saw the Blues take all three points from the defending Champions to move into pole position with only five games remaining.

Rather surprisingly, Didier Drogba, Chelsea’s leading scorer with 24 goals, started on the substitutes’ bench rather than in the first XI, despite being declared fit by manager Carlo Ancelotti only days ago. This left both teams without their top goal scorers, as Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, on 26 goals, watched from the stands, sidelined for the next two to three weeks with ankle ligament damage.

Rooney’s absence was noticeable and Manchester United lacked creativity in the first half, giving the ball away easily and struggling to find inspiration. Chelsea, however, appeared not to be missing their star striker and they looked more like the home side in the opening 45 minutes as they passed the ball well, created the better chances and dominated the midfield.

After 20 minutes, Chelsea deservedly took the lead with a delightful goal by Joe Cole. Malouda charged deep into United’s penalty area and put in a low cross, which Cole neatly flicked in backwards past van der Sar.

Both teams had a strong cry for a penalty as United’s Ji-Sung Park appeared to be blocked by Yuri Zhirkov, and then at the other end Gary Neville brought down Nicolas Anelka and made no contact with the ball. However neither appeal was heeded by referee Mike Dean, who has awarded the most penalties in the Premier League this season, and Manchester United were left visibly frustrated when the half time whistle was blown.

Chelsea narrowly missed doubling their lead just moments after the restart when Cole fed the ball through to Paulo Ferreira, only for the defender to finish his fantastic run with a weak shot that rolled past van der Sar’s post.

The momentum changed quickly however as Manchester United dominated possession and produced some good movement, looking like a completely different side than in the first half. They pressed the Chelsea defence and came close to an equaliser when Dimitar Berbatov narrowly headed Ryan Giggs’ cross over the crossbar.

Drogba was substituted on with 20 minutes remaining and it didn’t take long for Chelsea’s leading goal scorer to add to his tally. With just over ten minutes to go, Drogba picked up Salomon Kalou’s pass on the edge of the box, but he was clearly at least a yard offside. However the linesman’s flag stayed down and as United’s defenders protested, Drogba buried his shot past a helpless van der Sar.

United managed to pull a goal back just two minutes later when Macheda bundled the ball over the goal line after Cech failed to clear Nani’s cross. There were shouts from the Chelsea defenders for handball by the young striker but the goal stood, making Petr Cech wait a little longer for his 100th clean sheet.

However, it was too little too late for the defending champions and when the final whistle went, the Manchester United players left the pitch visibly dejected. With only five games remaining and now lying two points behind Chelsea, and only one ahead of Arsenal, the title has slipped from their control. The last games of the season bring some difficult ties for the top three, with Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City featuring in some of their games, and it remains to be seen who will hold their nerve to claim the trophy in what has been a close and thrilling season.

Add Comment

You must log in to submit a comment.