Didier Drogba's controversial winner allowed Chelsea to shrug
Manchester United aside and put themselves back in pole position in
the Premier League title race.
Sir Alex Ferguson and his team will feel hard done by as Drogba
was clearly offside as he collected Salomon Kalou's pass and drove
home 12 minutes from time.
The significance of the error only became clear once Federico
Macheda had pulled a goal back for the hosts to set up a pulsating
finish.
Controversial winner: Didier Drogba was in an
offside position when he scored
But Ferguson would be aware that the first hour had been
completely one-sided in Chelsea's favour and that the visitors
should have had a greater advantage than the one goal Joe Cole
provided in the first half.
Without Wayne Rooney, there was no real bite in United's attack.
And although the 34-goal striker is only out for a fortnight, by
the time he returns his side's dreams of glory might be over,
considering Chelsea now have a two-point advantage and a superior
goal difference.
Clinical: Drogba celebrates firing Chelsea to the
top of the table
Since his recovery from a long-term knee injury, Cole has
struggled to get back into the swing of things. Fabio Capello
claimed he was not the same player when he left the midfielder out
of his England squad to face Egypt last month, raising extreme
doubt over Cole's chances of making the World Cup.
Cole's admission that contract talks had broken down was a
statement in itself, given it is hard to imagine Carlo Ancelotti
allowing a pivotal player to find himself in such a position so
close to him being allowed to leave on a free transfer.
Ice breaker: Joe Cole fired Chelsea ahead after 20
minutes
Old Trafford has been mentioned as a potential destination
should Cole leave Stamford Bridge this summer, so it was an
opportunity to impress Sir Alex Ferguson, not that the United chief
would have found the 18th-minute opener even vaguely admirable.
Having put his side's obvious failings in possession down to a
one-off in Munich last week, Ferguson must have been worried to see
the same fault reappearing quite so often, quite so soon.
There is no doubt the ankle injury Rooney suffered in Germany
had a negative effect on United. But the fault lay much deeper,
their play too ponderous to have any impact. All across the
midfield, United were wasteful in possession. And with Florent
Malouda giving Gary Neville a right old runaround, Chelsea took
complete command.
No consolation: Federico Macheda (right) bundles
the ball home
The disappointment for Ancelotti must have been that his team
did not make the most of their possession. Edwin van der Sar denied
Cole on one occasion and Nicolas Anelka had a couple of shots
blocked but clear-cut chances were rare.
Even Chelsea's opening goal was not a golden opportunity in that
sense. Malouda was invited to run into the home box and although
Darren Fletcher eventually reacted, the Chelsea midfielder had the
strength to hold him off and cut the ball back to the near post,
where Cole got in front of Patrice Evra and found the net with a
neat back flick.
High and dry: Paul Scholes and Deco do
battle
It took United a long time to respond. And when the rally
eventually came, it took the form of a couple of debatable penalty
appeals and referee Mike Dean was not impressed either when Yury
Zhirkov chopped down Park Ji-sung and Dimitar Berbatov fell under
Frank Lampard's challenge.
Had Paulo Ferreira shown more conviction when he raced to meet
Cole's excellent through-ball at the start of the second half, the
contest would have been over. Instead, the full-back failed to find
either the far corner, or Anelka, and United, who at least speeded
up a little bit, remained alive.
Crunch time: Darren Fletcher and Frank Lampard
joust in midfield
The escape certainly seemed to galvanise the hosts, who for the
first time made Chelsea's defence creak. Berbatov, the man of whom
so much was expected in Rooney's absence, was just off target with
a couple of headers and, off balance, Park was unable to keep his
shot on target after a forceful Fletcher run had carved Chelsea
open.
The introduction of Drogba midway through the second half
emphasised the Blues' strength in depth compared to their hosts,
who were forced to rely on the talents of teenager Macheda when
Ferguson needed to reinvigorate his side.
Predictably, Drogba had an immediate impact, even if he was
offside as he collected Kalou's pass before drilling his shot past
Van der Sar.
Down, and almost out, United responded instantly as Cech pushed
Nani's cross onto the on-rushing Macheda. The ball bounced slowly
into the Chelsea goal to set up a dramatic ending. But the Blues
were worthy winners at the end.
Behind glass, in the executive box where he watched from, Rooney
could only wonder what might have been.
