EPL Week 21: Manchester United Inch Closer To Chelsea With 3-0 Win
January 14th 2009 05:53
In the days leading up to the second confrontation between Manchester United and Chelsea, both managers repeatedly stated that they were expecting a tight game with few goals scored at either end. The reasoning made sense. While Chelsea's offense considerably cooled down in the past few weeks, Manchester United have been getting by with 1-0 wins with most of these goals coming in the later stages of the game. This time around, the Red Devils' attack showed up for the occasion. Three goals spread evenly from the end of the first half to the final whistle brought Sir Alex Ferguson's men one point behind second-place Chelsea with one game in hand.
The first half was played in uncharacteristic fashion for both teams. Indeed, Chelsea, a club structured around a strong possession-based midfield, seemed content to let Manchester United – a team that's most dangerous on the break – have all the possession while they waited to act on a counterattack. The result was a relatively quiet first half for both goalkeepers. Although Chelsea showed nice link-up plays, they always stumbled in front of United's defense which had to compose without stalwart defender Rio Ferdinand. United's best chance came at the half-hour when Berbatov's weak shot was easily stopped by Petr Cech. A quarter of an hour later, Vidic scored the first goal of the game when his head connected with Ryan Giggs' cross. The timing was perfect for United who seemed to slowly wear the Blues' defense down. By scoring right before half-time, the momentum was on their side, and they could start the second half more confidently.
Scolari reacted quickly to his team's sudden uncomfortable position. Nicolas Anelka was sent in to replace Deco before the start of the second half in order to give Chelsea two target men while also trying to keep Vidic and Evans' hands full. But it was United who were the most threatening. At the 62nd minute, Rooney doubled the home side's lead by converting a cross from Patrice Evra. The entrance of Belletti in the place of Bosingwa shortly after the goal brought down Chelsea's speed on the wings. The change greatly benefited United who could now attack without worrying about a speedy fullback joining in any of Chelsea's offensive rushes. Against Cristiano Ronaldo, Belletti simply didn't have the legs, and his lack of pace indirectly led to Manchester's third goal. In the 86th minute, after Ronaldo beat him on the wing, he tackled the Portuguese winger to the ground in order to stop him. The ensuing free-kick turned into a goal as Berbatov timed his run perfectly to volley Ronaldo's cross/shot past Cech who didn't even move on the play.
Three goals for three points. This win is probably the most important one so far in the season. It showed where both team stood after twenty games played and while Manchester United are just starting up, Chelsea seem to be sliding backwards. I wonder if they'll make a move on the transfer market. Full highlights from the game below...
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra (John O'Shea, 65th); Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs (Michael Carrick, 79th), Park Ji-Sung; Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
Chelsea's line-up: Petr Cech; Jose Bosingwa (Juliano Belletti, 63rd), John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole; Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Michael Ballack; Joe Cole (Franco Di Santo, 84th), Didier Drogba, Deco (Nicolas Anelka, h-t).
The first half was played in uncharacteristic fashion for both teams. Indeed, Chelsea, a club structured around a strong possession-based midfield, seemed content to let Manchester United – a team that's most dangerous on the break – have all the possession while they waited to act on a counterattack. The result was a relatively quiet first half for both goalkeepers. Although Chelsea showed nice link-up plays, they always stumbled in front of United's defense which had to compose without stalwart defender Rio Ferdinand. United's best chance came at the half-hour when Berbatov's weak shot was easily stopped by Petr Cech. A quarter of an hour later, Vidic scored the first goal of the game when his head connected with Ryan Giggs' cross. The timing was perfect for United who seemed to slowly wear the Blues' defense down. By scoring right before half-time, the momentum was on their side, and they could start the second half more confidently.
Scolari reacted quickly to his team's sudden uncomfortable position. Nicolas Anelka was sent in to replace Deco before the start of the second half in order to give Chelsea two target men while also trying to keep Vidic and Evans' hands full. But it was United who were the most threatening. At the 62nd minute, Rooney doubled the home side's lead by converting a cross from Patrice Evra. The entrance of Belletti in the place of Bosingwa shortly after the goal brought down Chelsea's speed on the wings. The change greatly benefited United who could now attack without worrying about a speedy fullback joining in any of Chelsea's offensive rushes. Against Cristiano Ronaldo, Belletti simply didn't have the legs, and his lack of pace indirectly led to Manchester's third goal. In the 86th minute, after Ronaldo beat him on the wing, he tackled the Portuguese winger to the ground in order to stop him. The ensuing free-kick turned into a goal as Berbatov timed his run perfectly to volley Ronaldo's cross/shot past Cech who didn't even move on the play.
Three goals for three points. This win is probably the most important one so far in the season. It showed where both team stood after twenty games played and while Manchester United are just starting up, Chelsea seem to be sliding backwards. I wonder if they'll make a move on the transfer market. Full highlights from the game below...
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra (John O'Shea, 65th); Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs (Michael Carrick, 79th), Park Ji-Sung; Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
Chelsea's line-up: Petr Cech; Jose Bosingwa (Juliano Belletti, 63rd), John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole; Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Michael Ballack; Joe Cole (Franco Di Santo, 84th), Didier Drogba, Deco (Nicolas Anelka, h-t).
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