Big Weekend At The Top

It was all set to be a gung-ho Goliath vs Goliath occasion when news reached us that Sir Alex Ferguson had started the match with Cristiano Ronaldo (top goalscorer/player of the season) on the bench. Nemanja Vidic however did start - though he hardly played, subbed through injury after Didier Drigba kneed his mouth resulting in a tooth piercing the Serb's upper lip. Chelsea kept a tight hold of the game, and desrvedly took the lead in the first of the added minuites in the first half. The goal came as a surprise to nobody except the Manchester United defence, who failed to acknowledge Michael Ballack's aerial threat, allowing the German to cleverly head across the helpless Edwin van der Sar.

In the second half, an unchanged Manchester United cam out with more intent but less success in breaing down Chelsea. That was until a rushed defensive set piece caused Ricardo Carvalho to trick all his fellow defenders, and cleverly feed Wayne Rooney in one-on-one with Petr Cech. Rooney slotted home but was clearly in distress, and was soon subbed due to a suspected recurring hip injury. His replacement, Cristiano Ronaldo, could do little but watch as a shambolic Manchester United failed to string passes togeter. And Sir Alex's strange decision to play the final half hour of the came cam back to bite him in the behind when an 87th minuite Ballack penalty gave Chelsea the points they deserved. The penalty came as Michael Carrick left a hand out when attempting to deal with a harmless cross. The linesman was spot-on to give the spot-kick.

United fans will look back in anger at a result that could have been. Alex Ferguson's team selection will rightfully be criticised, and the fact that Manchester United ended the game with seven midfielders on the pitch is good support for those criticisms.

The Title race has once again been blown wide open, and you can read our review of where United are going lower down on this page.

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