Chelsea beat Man Utd 1-0 to go five points clear
Captain John Terry headed Chelsea five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Sunday when his 76th-minute goal secured a 1-0 home victory over champions Manchester United.
The eagerly-awaited showdown had been meandering towards a disappointing goalless draw until Terry was left unmarked to glance in a Frank Lampard free kick -- with striker Nicolas Anelka claiming he got the final touch.
The victory took Chelsea to 30 points, five clear of Arsenal, who won 4-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and United, who also lost to Liverpool last month.
Tottenham Hotspur are fourth on 22 after they beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday. Liverpool host Birmingham City on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, Hull City beat visitors Stoke City 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal, Everton won 2-1 at West Ham United while Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 at home to Fulham.
However, all eyes were on Stamford Bridge this weekend, even though for the most part the big game failed to deliver.
WEAKENED DEFENCE
United were without first-choice centre-halves Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic but stand-ins Wes Brown and Jonny Evans were barely tested in a game high on errors and short on goalmouth action. Chelsea's defence was similarly comfortable, despite the willing running of United striker Wayne Rooney, and the first hour passed without either goalkeeper seriously troubled.
Peter Cech stretched to keep out a Rooney curler after 68 minutes as United applied some pressure but it remained tight.
The absence of Ferdinand and Vidic proved key, however, eight minutes later when United's defence got hopelessly confused defending a straightforward Lampard free kick from the left.
Terry reached it first but Anelka and his strike partner Didier Drogba were also in the vicinity -- unlike any United defenders.
The champions upped the tempo after that but, with forward Dimitar Berbatov also absent through injury, too much fell on Rooney's shoulders and the Chelsea defence was able to crowd him out.
TERRY'S DELIGHT
Terry, whose day began with some unwelcome tabloid headlines about his family, was delighted.
"I want it (the goal) because I've never scored against Manchester United home or away, but Nicolas was brilliant today so he can have it," he told Sky Sports.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti added: "We did what we had to do. We beat a very good opponent, the best opponent, and we're five points clear but we know this is a very long (season). We have to maintain this gap."
United manager Alex Ferguson was left complaining about the free kick that led to the goal and claimed his defenders were impeded defending it.
"That goal shouldn't have been allowed," he said. "The referee's position to make the decision was absolutely ridiculous, he can't see anything.
"It was a bad decision, but there's nothing we can do about it. You lose faith in refereeing sometimes, that's the way the players are talking in there -- it was a bad one.
"We have dominated the game and had great chances to win the match and that's our fault.
"We should be finishing it off and we have only ourselves to blame in that respect but we never got the break we needed. We did play well and were the far better team."
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ITALO MALLIA
Nov 10th 2009, 07:18
@ TIM RIPARD & ALEXANDER H. CASHA - finally some good assessments from Man UTD Supporters.
Tim Ripard
Nov 9th 2009, 21:44
Joe Boswell, United have no class whatsoever. Rooney included. They have huffed and puffed and struggled whilst getting good results. Ironically, they played much better than usual against both Liverpool and Chelsea and didn't deserve to lose either game but poor refereeing cost them both games. C'est la vie. Hopefully they have had their fair share of bad refereeing for the season and things will even themselves out in that respect. They still have miles to improve to become serious title challengers though.
But whilst they've got no class, they certainly have well-deserved pride. They play against teams playing out of their skins to try and beat them, week in, week out, not to mention frequent dubious refereeing - due largely to Alex Ferguson's big mouth - but despite that, they've won an incredible 11 titles in the last 17 years. Simply magnificent. I'm proud to have supported them for 42 years.
Alexander H. Casha
Nov 9th 2009, 17:46
@ Louis Schembri - I am a Man UTD FAN. I think that last Saturday we did not deserve to lose. I also think that we have a very interesting young squad. But let us be honest , Italo Mallia is perfectly right : MILAN won more honours than any team. Even our big boss Sir Alex, recognises it ! Be a sport and up with UTD !
ITALO MALLIA
Nov 9th 2009, 16:38
@ Louis Schembri - What ? Milan won when football was laced. You mentioned all the honours Man Utd since 1986. Since 1988, MILAN ( not Man Utd ) won 5 Champions' Leagues, MILAN ( not Man Utd ) won 5 European Super Cup, MILAN ( not Man Utd ) won 2 Intercontinental Cups, and MILAN ( not Man Utd ) won 1 FIFA WORLD CUP. in the meantime MAN UTD ( not Milan ) won 8 CHARITY SHIELDS ( ha ha ha ). I repeat, I am not a Milan supporter ( far from it ) but FACTS ARE FACTS.
Louis Schembri
Nov 9th 2009, 15:33
@ Italo Mallia
"Nobody in the world has won as much as Milan" !!!! Won what? Boos from their own supporters maybe? Thrashings from Juventus or Inter-milan, maybe? The argument was only whether Man United have class or not, and not which team won most European Cups when footballs were laced. And of course domestic honours do count as well. Everything counts - even being the current World Club Champion. Cheers.
Duncan Xuereb
Nov 9th 2009, 14:14
Well done Chelsea....
Italo Mallia
Nov 9th 2009, 12:21
@ Louis Schembri - you ask Joe Boswell, and I tell you, very easy, my friend. MILAN. Nobody in the world has won as much as MILAN. I am not a Milan supporter but facts are facts. Why do you mention the FL Cup and the Charity Shield. Those are only secondary honours. The main honours, that every team can speak about are the European Competitions, World Titles, and the domestic championship and Cup ( in your case the FA CUP ). NOTHING ELSE ! And please, just for once, UTD supporters, BE FAIR IN YOUR COMMENTS !
Louis Schembri
Nov 9th 2009, 10:22
@ Joe Boss Well
Class is what wins you the following:
The Premier League Championship in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009.
The FA Cup in 1990,1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
The Football league Cup in 1992, 2006, 2009
The FA Charity/Community Shield in 1990,1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008
The UEFA Champions League in 1999, 2008
The FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.
The European Cup Winner's Cup in 1991
The UEFA Super Cup in 1991
and that's only since 1986 when Air Alex took over the team. Just mention one other team in the whole wide world who have won so many trophies during this 23 year period.
Joe Boswell
Nov 8th 2009, 19:49
To all man u supporters:
- Was this another "gift" as was the horrendous defeat to Liverpool? Time to admit that Rooney apart, man u have got no class!
Louis Mizzi
Nov 8th 2009, 19:20
This was a match destined for a 0-0 draw and it would have been a fair result. But then Mr Bean had to go and spoil it all.