United 2 - 0 Chelsea

The Line Up:

VDS

Brown Ferdinand Vida Evra

Giggs Scholes Carrick Ronaldo

Rooney Tevez

This was Chelsea’s first match without Mourinho, some think the timing couldn’t have been perfect for United, but I was afraid Chelsea wanted to prove to the whole world that life goes on without Mourinho. But it was United who proved a point, we can actually score more than 1 goal! With a lil’ bit of help from the ref. Tevez opened the score and Saha secured the 3 points from the spot.

So the match started after Ronaldo received yet another award, and we could have scored inside 2 minutes when Rooney marked he’s back with a fine shot which was parried well by Cech. Carrick and Tevez got close but their respective shots were saved by Cech. The referee made a controversial decision when he sent off Obi Mikel for what seemed to be an ordinary tackle. Replays showed that Obi’s tackle was dangerous but in my opinion the referee shouldn’t have sent him off, but it was a blessing from above since our confidence rocketed sky high. Vidic nearly scored, after a fine header but Cech once again was well placed to keep the ball out of his net. Normal time ended and the referee ordered 2 minutes of injury time to be played on, Chelsea could have advanced up the field and attacked but they decided to keep possession and pass the ball around to see out the remaining seconds. This decision will haunt them in tonight’s dreams as United won a corner which in the end resulted in Giggs crossing the ball and Tevez heading in the back of the net. The first half came to an end, Man Utd dominated throughout the 45 minutes in which Van Der Sar was never called to make a save. The 10 shots on target made by United to the 1 shot by Chelsea tell the whole story. This was the only first half United performance I have enjoyed this season.

The second half started, no one really threatened the opposing goalkeeper and the only shots by United ended off target except for one. A Ronaldo freekick, yes you heard that right, for the first time this season he managed to get a shot on goal through a freekick. The second half wasn’t as great as the first, tackles dominated the half and referee was kept busy booking the villains. Saha replaced Tevez in the last 10 minutes of the match. Tevez quite rightly got a deserved standing ovation from the United faithful. Saha was keen to impress Ferguson and he managed to win a penalty. The commentator said that Saha made the most of a challenge by Ben Haim, yes he did, but it was surely a penalty. The same Saha converted the ball from the spot to seal a win over Chelsea who were literally lifeless.

A win over Chelsea is always great, perfect timing to record a win of more than 1 goal against our bitter rivals. All in all United simply dominated the game, but we must be more deadly in front of goal. If we were so, we wouldn’t be looking at a 2-0 scoreline but of more goals from United’s side. Credit goes to Carrick for a great performance were he showed great vision and awareness of lose players around him. Now we moved up to second place and are heading to the place where we truly belong. We must pray highflying Arsenal slip. Chelsea’s mediocre performance really makes me think, Is there a life after Mourinho? Is Stamford Bridge falling down? Who knows, we’ll just wait and see.

United’s next match is in the Carling Cup against Coventry City. I am really waiting for this match, it doesn’t hold any significance at all but the prospect of seeing a MALTESE player (Michael Mifsud) play against United really excites me. While I hope we win, I wish Michael a sound performance.
I’m off packing my bag for tomorrow. School’s In Summer’s Out, my joy over this match will soon come to an abrupt end :(

Ratings : VDS-5, Brown-7, Ferdinand-7, Vida-7, Evra-7, Ronaldo-7, Scholes-7, Carrick-9, Giggs-7, Tevez-8, Rooney-7 (Saha-7)