Manchester United beat Chelsea 3-2 in a controversial match that exposed the Fulham club to the core. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men proved too costly for them as Manchester romped home with a comfortable victory. Two dubious decisions against Chelsea that led to the ouster of Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres, and they were never back into the game. As it was not enough with Frank Lampard not being available, the tactics of Manchester boss made things worse for Roberto Di Matteo. It appeared all over for Chelsea when David Luiz scored a self-goal by making things easy for Manchester.
Nothing went Chelsea’s way ever since the taking of central position by Eden Hazard that has made Ashley Cole exposed to the rivals. However, it just took the first 12 minutes for Manchester to be very much in the game and there was no looking since then. There was some reprieve when Juan Mata fought back brilliantly by reducing the lead in the 44th minute. Carrying on the same fighting spirit into the second-half as well, Chelsea scored an equalizer riding high on the brilliant efforts of Ramires during the 53rd minute. There was little did the fans realize then that Chelsea would still be out of the game.
The first move came in the form of Branislav Ivanovic’s controversial exit. However, the biggest disappointment of the game was when Torres too was handed with a red card. Having been left out without any formidable attack, Chelsea made its chances difficult of extending its winning streak. On the other hand, Manchester got stronger by each minute and the pressure was really on their counterparts. A winner from substitute Javier Hernandez during the 75th minute was all that required for the Old Trafford club and the match was sealed tactically by then.
It was a historical moment for Manchester considering the fact that it was their first ever successful stint at Stamford Bridge as part of Barclays Premier League since 2002. Though it is Chelsea that still leads the table with 22 points on an overall with the latest defeat at the hands of Manchester United, who closely follow them with 21 points along with Manchester City. Meanwhile, it was still Chelsea all the way because of their spirited performance and would have maintained their unbeatable record if it was not United's £24m man Robin van Persie’s goal that turned things against them.
Luckily, there was not enough damage for Manchester with John Terry’s services greatly felt and Ashley Cole getting exposed time and again. Ashley Young went through the defense and sternly passing off to Wayne Rooney from whom the ball then headed towards van Persie whose shot hit got netted but not before confronting Luiz and finally getting past Petr Cech. A lot of excitement was among the home supporters as they were left clueless as to who will be on top. Cech was concentrating on Persie by restricting him, but Hernandez cut in brilliantly that completed the formalities with Manchester sealing off in style.
