It is a shame that much of the talk after Chelsea's victory over Man Utd today will probably be of refereeing mistakes. In truth, this was not a vintage clash, but one that nonetheless Chelsea ran out deserved winners.
The first sixty minutes were almost entirely Chelsea's, with Utd clearly suffering from both a post-European hangover and the absence of Wayne Rooney. Lampard, Deco and Mikel were handed the freedom of Old Trafford by a lack lustre Utd midfield and played with purpose throughout the first 45. While Van der Saar wasn't frequently tested, Chelsea opening the scoring inside twenty minutes wasn't particularly surprising.
And a good goal it was too. Malouda - later voted man of the match - picked the ball up on the left touchline and made a driving run towards the box, showing strength to shrug off a rugged challenge from Fletcher and cut the ball back to Joe Cole, who played a deft backheel to flick the ball past the Utd keeper.
It was a rare highlight in a pedestrian game that at times was being played at walking pace. Chelsea were dominant in both possession and chances, but never managed to seriously threaten the Van der Saar's net again. As an attacking force, Utd were rendered almost redundant by a (very nearly) second string Chelsea's defence.
Meanwhile referee Mike Dean, who had received so much attention in the papers this week for giving too many penalties, added an uncharacteristic brand of controversy. First, Park was felled in the box by a clumsy challenge from Zhirkov, but Dean somehow didn't see it as a penalty. Only minutes later Gary Neville bundled over Anelka at the other end - again a clear penalty - but Dean gave nothing. At least he was being equally inept at each end.
Ancelotti's tactics - which included the surprise omission of Didier Drogba from the starting XI, supposedly because of injury - looked spot on. As against Villa, Deco and Mikel played deep, providing a solid foundation for Lampard to get forward through the middle and Cole and Malouda to pull wide. Malouda was a consistent threat down the left and, while Anelka's tendency to drift either wide and deep meant Chelsea weren't really playing with a conventional centre forward, the Blues' movement was getting the better of Utd.
While Chelsea came close to doubling their lead through a Ferreira break into the Utd penalty box within seconds of the restart, the second half had a different complexion. Ferguson sent out a far more dynamic, energetic Man Utd side. Mikel, Deco and Lampard had far less time on the ball and United started to dominate possession. Chelsea's response was to drop deeper towards their own box, inviting pressure from Utd, who finally hit something like top gear around the sixty minute mark.
But for all their possession (and Chelsea's unwillingness to close down space), United weren't able to carve out a real chance, and it was Chelsea who next drew blood. Kalou found Drogba - who was at least one full yard offside - and the Ivorian slotted powerfully past Van der Saar. Glad as I was that Chelsea had scored, this was a goal that throws into sharp contrast the need for using technology to iron out human refereeing error, and the sheer ignorance of football's governing bodies in rejecting it altogether.
But in the biggest games Chelsea wins are rarely straightforward. Man Utd scored their goal within minutes of Drogba's and, on reflection, it was similarly controversial. Getting a hand to an Evra cross, Petr Cech palmed the ball into the path of the substitute Macheda, who clearly moved his hand towards the ball to push the ball over the line. The referee stood little chance of seeing it, but the goal shouldn't have stood. And even if it was unintentional - and I doubt that it was - gaining such huge advantage through even accidental use of the hand should not be allowed.
In the end, the two non-goals were irrelevant. This wasn't a vintage game, nor a vintage performance from Chelsea. But the first half performance was enough to win it, and even United fans wearing the most red-tinted glasses will probably concede that United didn't carve out clear-cut chances and that Chelsea's defence did a good job of keeping the likes of Giggs and Valencia quiet.
Chelsea fans - after the disappointments of early March - won't care how the result came to be. This is a result that doesn't guarantee the title for Ancelotti's men. While the fine performances against Portsmouth and Aston Villa got Chelsea back on track, it was always the Man Utd game that would determine whether they were really in the hunt. Now they lead the hunt, and stand every chance of navigating the inevitable remaining twists and turns to regain the Premier League title.
Keep an eye out for further posts on where the match was won. In the meantime: Chelsea or Man Utd fans - what are your thoughts on today's result? How does this affect the chase for the title? Post a comment...
The first sixty minutes were almost entirely Chelsea's, with Utd clearly suffering from both a post-European hangover and the absence of Wayne Rooney. Lampard, Deco and Mikel were handed the freedom of Old Trafford by a lack lustre Utd midfield and played with purpose throughout the first 45. While Van der Saar wasn't frequently tested, Chelsea opening the scoring inside twenty minutes wasn't particularly surprising.
And a good goal it was too. Malouda - later voted man of the match - picked the ball up on the left touchline and made a driving run towards the box, showing strength to shrug off a rugged challenge from Fletcher and cut the ball back to Joe Cole, who played a deft backheel to flick the ball past the Utd keeper.
It was a rare highlight in a pedestrian game that at times was being played at walking pace. Chelsea were dominant in both possession and chances, but never managed to seriously threaten the Van der Saar's net again. As an attacking force, Utd were rendered almost redundant by a (very nearly) second string Chelsea's defence.Meanwhile referee Mike Dean, who had received so much attention in the papers this week for giving too many penalties, added an uncharacteristic brand of controversy. First, Park was felled in the box by a clumsy challenge from Zhirkov, but Dean somehow didn't see it as a penalty. Only minutes later Gary Neville bundled over Anelka at the other end - again a clear penalty - but Dean gave nothing. At least he was being equally inept at each end.
Ancelotti's tactics - which included the surprise omission of Didier Drogba from the starting XI, supposedly because of injury - looked spot on. As against Villa, Deco and Mikel played deep, providing a solid foundation for Lampard to get forward through the middle and Cole and Malouda to pull wide. Malouda was a consistent threat down the left and, while Anelka's tendency to drift either wide and deep meant Chelsea weren't really playing with a conventional centre forward, the Blues' movement was getting the better of Utd.
While Chelsea came close to doubling their lead through a Ferreira break into the Utd penalty box within seconds of the restart, the second half had a different complexion. Ferguson sent out a far more dynamic, energetic Man Utd side. Mikel, Deco and Lampard had far less time on the ball and United started to dominate possession. Chelsea's response was to drop deeper towards their own box, inviting pressure from Utd, who finally hit something like top gear around the sixty minute mark. But for all their possession (and Chelsea's unwillingness to close down space), United weren't able to carve out a real chance, and it was Chelsea who next drew blood. Kalou found Drogba - who was at least one full yard offside - and the Ivorian slotted powerfully past Van der Saar. Glad as I was that Chelsea had scored, this was a goal that throws into sharp contrast the need for using technology to iron out human refereeing error, and the sheer ignorance of football's governing bodies in rejecting it altogether.
But in the biggest games Chelsea wins are rarely straightforward. Man Utd scored their goal within minutes of Drogba's and, on reflection, it was similarly controversial. Getting a hand to an Evra cross, Petr Cech palmed the ball into the path of the substitute Macheda, who clearly moved his hand towards the ball to push the ball over the line. The referee stood little chance of seeing it, but the goal shouldn't have stood. And even if it was unintentional - and I doubt that it was - gaining such huge advantage through even accidental use of the hand should not be allowed.
In the end, the two non-goals were irrelevant. This wasn't a vintage game, nor a vintage performance from Chelsea. But the first half performance was enough to win it, and even United fans wearing the most red-tinted glasses will probably concede that United didn't carve out clear-cut chances and that Chelsea's defence did a good job of keeping the likes of Giggs and Valencia quiet.
Chelsea fans - after the disappointments of early March - won't care how the result came to be. This is a result that doesn't guarantee the title for Ancelotti's men. While the fine performances against Portsmouth and Aston Villa got Chelsea back on track, it was always the Man Utd game that would determine whether they were really in the hunt. Now they lead the hunt, and stand every chance of navigating the inevitable remaining twists and turns to regain the Premier League title.
Keep an eye out for further posts on where the match was won. In the meantime: Chelsea or Man Utd fans - what are your thoughts on today's result? How does this affect the chase for the title? Post a comment...
I checked Machedas hand ball goal many times on the slowmo, it was defintely intentional.
Posted by: Rob | 03 April 2010 at 17:42
a great win today. the league isnt won though - but i reckon if we can beat spurs at WHL we'll do it.
referee was terrible today and if i was a utd fan i'd be pretty pissed off about drogbas goal. we were on the end of equally bad decisions, but that was much more 'obvious', so reckon the papers will focus on it.
very good professional performance from the lads today. ktbffh!!
Posted by: chelsfan | 03 April 2010 at 18:30
What an exciting win. Makes the loss in the CL sting a little less. The officiating was questionable but it seems that way in a lot of the big clashes. Well done by the players and a tip of the cap to Ancelotti. I read everywhere how Man U was going to win because of Fergie so this is a nice win for Ancelotti.
Certainly the season is far from over but this win is a nice feather in the cap.
Posted by: Michael Hepp | 03 April 2010 at 19:07
Great game. Anyone think we were a bit too cautious in the 2nd half? We were all over them in the first 45, but defended deep later on and invited pressure. I don't think they did anything to earn that really. Better when Drog and Kalou came on and we started getting tight to them again.
Posted by: devinka | 03 April 2010 at 20:31
always feels great especially when we beat team like Man Utd....
but the race for title are not over...for me team that drop a single point after this is over....and hope it`s not Chelsea FC...
Posted by: syd master | 03 April 2010 at 21:37