Manchester Uniteda��s juggernaut has kept rolling after a victory over Chelsea by a margin of 3-1. The champions have now gone two points clear off nearest rivals and neighbors Manchester City at the top of the table. The Red Devils took an apparent unassailable lead of three goals in the first half itself, with Smalling, Nani and Rooney on target, in that order. Chelsea only managed to peg one back at the start of the second half through Torres to give them some respite.
With this win Manchester United registered their fifth victory on the trot since the start of the season, a feat last achieved by them in the 1985-86 season (they went on to win ten straight league games back then but failed to win the league). Wayne Rooney found the back of the net for the fifth consecutive occasion and as for Chelsea, Fernando Torres scored.
The scoreline, especially at the end of the first half, flattered the hosts considering Chelsea seemed to have brought their A-game to Old Trafford, while Manchester United were suddenly being tested like they never had been this season. But the champions seemed to show initiative when it mattered and created scoring opportunities even during those portions of the game that were dictated by their West London opposition.
So, how did the game unfold? What made the difference between the two sides? Let us have a look at the talking points of the game:
Stepping Up Of The Striplings
The young boys from the red half of Manchester took to the game brilliantly. Fairly inexperienced at the highest level and with Evra as the only experience campaigner at the back, Smalling and Jones have impressed everybody with their forte. Smalling broke the deadlock with a neat header in the eighth minute, although the effort should have been ruled out for an offside, while Jones’ tenacious run from the midfield till the Chelsea box played an important role in the lead up to the third goal for their side. They have also been rock solid in their own territory, putting in well-timed tackles and making great interceptions on Mata and Torres.
Compare this with the Chelsea young guns and Andre’s young men were found wanting. While Mata had a good game, Sturridge was wasteful on numerous occasions, failing to control the ball more than once and giving it away cheaply from favorable positions. He was also involved in a miscommunication with Ramires to reach for a Torres through ball, which should have been scored by either of the two. Later on Lukaku came on and could not really get into any sort of rhythm, managing a performance only as good as that of Sturridgea��s.
A Game Of Clinical Precision
This game is yet another eye opener of the fact that it is not the ball possession or the goal attempts or shots on/off targets that get you a victory; only and only the goals do! By the first half hour mark, Chelsea had about 57% of the ball possession and had more number of corners as compared to United, about nine goal attempts but they were wasteful up front. Chances came thick and fast and Ramires, Torres and Sturridge made short work of them, very short! The saga continued as Torres took (in)execution to another level in the second half.
Manchester United played a waiting game, seeing Chelsea go all guns blazing, but always looked dangerous with the set-pieces and while hitting on the counter. Their finishing was clinical till the later stage i.e to say before Rooney missed a penalty and Berbatov missed an open net, but by that time they were already three goals up. Younga��s dangerous cross was clinically buried home by Smalling and Nani scored a blinder from a distance. Such was their precision that at the break they had three shots on target with three goals to show for.
Fernando JosA� Torres Sanz
Well, what a game the Spanish international had. Created an opportunity early in the first half only for Ramires to make a hash of it. Took his goal exceptionally well, timing his run to perfection and chipping it over De Gea effortlessly. That alone might have earned him plaudits for saving the Blues from embarrassment. Unfortunately for Chelsea, there was more to it.
Torres pounced on a terrible Anderson pass in the first half, created space inside the penalty box for shooting, but somehow managed to keep it out of goal! Into the second half, Torres showed sublime skill, getting past two United defenders and took a shot on target, the rebound should have been buried home, at least at this level.
As if these were not enough, with less than five minute to play for, Ramires found Torres with an inch-perfect through to which Torres admirably latched on to, did the difficult part of rounding De Gea off, found an open net in front of him, and much to the annoyance of the visiting crowd ended missing outA� on an empty net. Surely Torresa�� movements have improved, an eye for picking out teammates has developed but there is a lot to be desired of his finishing.
A Day Of Misses
Yes, the game had four goals in it. But the fact remains the tally could have ended up in double digits had some sloppy work not intruded. Players from the both sides were responsible for some unforgettable misses. For Manchester United it has to be Rooney and Berbatov. Rooney missed a penalty (slipped), had an attempt from very close range saw hit the post despite beating Cech. Berbatov missed out on an open net from a challenging angle. Also, a Nani effort beat Cech all ends up but rebounded of the cross-piece to deny him any more goals in the game.
As for Chelsea, apart from Torres, Ramires took part in the party as well. It was he, who failed to communicate well with Sturridge to decide who should take the shot to an open net, in the first half and managed to hit it straight at a diving De Gea instead of to the left of the goalie.
Crumbling Blue Citadel a�� A Bad Omen
To put it simply, Chelseaa��s defense let it down big time. Man-marking was absent for the first goal, whereas there was no pressure created on Nani for his stunner, who had acres of space to cut in and deliver the howitzer. As for the third goal, it came about courtesy very poor defending from both Ashley Cole and Terry, A�who failed to mark Nani and shut off Jonesa�� run. Terry even failed to clear the ball which, unfortunately for him and Chelsea, ricocheted off Nani to hand Rooney his ninth goal of the season.
Dashley Cole a�� The Hard Tackler
It was a bad day for Ashley Cole in the office, in attack as well as in defense. And Ashley managed to top it off with an awful challenge on Chicharito who was following up to a a�?Rooney missa�� off the bar. Cole did not get much of the ball, made a meaty connection with Chicharitoa��s leg, only yards away from the goal post. Phil Dowd had a long discussion with the linesman before handing him a yellow card. Cole can thank his lucky stars that he ended the game on the field and his side was not penalized with a penalty kick. That was probably because by the time, contact was made, the ball was no more in the play.
United will be glad with the result, given that Chelsea did give them a run for their money in what proved to be the most exciting game thus far in the season. Chelsea, on the other hand, had a few positives to take home from the game – including the spirit they showed. They will rue the hand that fate dealt them – courtesy the offside-decisions that didn’t go their way, the goals that never happened, and the absence of Didier Drogba. But in all fairness, had United second-half been as fortunate as their first, Chelsea would’ve been annihilated.
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