Sunday September 18, 2011 Day 5 Finished Old Trafford

Manchester United 3 - 1 Chelsea

  • Smalling 8’
  • Nani 37’
  • Rooney 45’
  • Torres 46’

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  1. United prevail in classic encounter

    United prevail in classic encounter

    Manchester United assumed control of the Premier League when maintaining their 100 per cent record with a 3-1 win over Chelsea. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Manchester United
    • Chelsea
    • - Don't forget you can watch highlights of this match, along with every Premier League game, from 00:01 on Monday morning (UK only).
    • 90+4' FULL TIME. A quite wonderful game of football comes to an end at Old Trafford. There is too much to sum up in a brief line, so I strongly adivse you click 'summary' above to get a rundown of the action.
    • 90+2' We will have five minutes of added time.
    • 90+1' Incredible! Rooney races away on the left and squares for Berbatov, who passes up a virtually open goal when allowing Cole to clear off the line! Madness!
    • 88' What a game this has been at Old Trafford. Quite simply a joy to watch. Unless you are Fernando Torres that is.
    • 86' Rooney heads at Cech at the near post. He could well have had a third hat-trick in three games today.
    • 85' Fletcher brings down Mata 30 yards from goal to earn a yellow card.
    • 84' The miss of the season, nay, the century. Torres skips around De Gea and has an open goal, but skews his left-foot shot wide of the post. That is just horrible to watch. Sad almost.
    • 83' Berba tries and fails to get on the end of a cross from the right wing for United.
    • 80 Now Valencia is booked for a challenge. Cole, it must be said, was lucky to avoid a red in that Hernandez incident.
    • 79' Dimitar Berbatov gets a rare run out when replacing Hernandez.
    • 79' John Obi Mikel is on for Meireles.
    • 78' Cole is booked for the challenge on Hernandez, which was horrible, but apparently as the ball was out of play Dowd does not give a penalty.
    • 77' Rooney hits the post! The striker scuffs his effort from Evra's cross and sees the ball strike the base of the post. Hernandez attempts to fire home the rebound and finds the side netting, only to be caught by a very late challenge by Cole.
    • 76' On the Rooney penalty, Infostrada tell us that means only eight of 18 penalties this season have been converted. That is very, very low.
    • 75' Torres wants a penalty when his flicked pass appears to strike the arm of Evans, before Ivanovic lefts fly from range and rifles the ball well wide. Chelsea have had 19 attempts to United's 8.
    • 73' A cross from Young strikes the arm of Ivanovic but Dowd decides against a penalty. That would have been extremely harsh.
    • 72' Unlucky for Torres! He drills one shot in at De Gea and then blasts over the bar with the follow-up. Perhaps he should have done better in that situation.
    • 70' Torres embarks on a mazy run and wins a corner off Valencia. Chelsea take it quickly and Mata attempts to find Lukaku, only for Evra to come across and block. Excellent defending.
    • 69' Romelu Lukaku is on in place of Sturridge to add more presence in the centre of the Chelsea attack.
    • 68' Carrick is forced to head away from his own six-yard box following a good cross from Meireles. Chelsea have been pretty decent since the break.
    • 68' Phil Jones meets the cross from Young but heads behind when well placed. He was stretching a touch but could and should have done better.
    • 67' Rooney smacks the free-kick against the wall before then hitting another deflected effort behind for a corner.
    • 66' A delightful passing move from United is brought to an unsatisfying conclusion when Evra produces a sloppy pass. United win a free-kick 25 yards from goal though.
    • 65' Mata and Anelka combine well on the edge of the box but can't fashion a shooting opportunity.
    • 64' Sturridge has come across to the left wing to try and get at Valencia now, with Anelka switching to the right where Evra awaits him.
    • 63' That will mean Valencia drops in at right-back, which is a thrilling prospect. Carrick in the midfield is less so.
    • 62' Torres and Smalling are involved in a coming together and United prepare two subs. Smalling and Anderson replaced by Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick.
    • 60' What a match this has been, and what a weekend. Brilliant entertainment all round.
    • 58' Rooney looks to have found space as he drives towards the Chelsea box but is crowded out by blue shirts. United pour forward again but Ramires is back well to cut out Rooney's attempted pass for Hernandez.
    • 57' Well Terry might have been booked there but at least he saw Rooney replicate his aberration from Moscow in 2008. Speaking of the Chelsea skipper, Dowd has another talk with him after the spot-kick is missed.
    • 57' Rooney slips! He sends the penalty wide!
    • 56' Terry booked before Rooney takes the pen for being chatty.
    • 55' Penalty to Man Utd! Nani brought down by Bosingwa after he hits the bar and then tries to tap in from the rebound.
    • 55' Young fires in a low effort that Cech saves and then De Gea turns one round the post at the other end. Chelsea's corner is headed out by Jones.
    • 54' Chelsea attempt to catch United cold with a quick throw as Meireles takes the ball forward but the Portguese is halted by a fine challenge from Anderson.
    • 53' Nani skips away from two challenges on the right wing but cannot find a United shirt with his cross. The Portuguese has been in fine form today.
    • 51' Meireles delivers a lovely pass over the top of the defence for Mata but he can't make a connection with the ball on the stretch.
    • 49' United look to respond but Evra cannot find Hernandez with a cross into the box. So will Chelsea get back in this game or will they be crushed, just as Arsenal were? I'd say the former is more likely.
    • 49' Ramires is penalised for a foul on Rooney and goes into Phil Dowd's book.
    • 47' That was like the Torres of old. A lovely goal and only his second in 24 games for Chelsea.
    • 46' GOAL! 3-1! Torres scores his second goal for Chelsea just 30 seconds into the second half. Anelka makes an immediate impact with a wonderful reverse pass and Torres finishes in style, lifting the ball over De Gea. Lovely stuff.
    • 46' Nicolas Anelka comes on for Lampard as Villas-Boas makes a tactical switch.
    • 46' KICK OFF!
    • - Want to discuss that crazy first half? Get in contact on Twitter. Tom Adams on Twitter
    • 45+2' HALF TIME. Well, well, well. United have been utterly ruthless here. They don't deserve to lead 3-0 but lead 3-0 they do, and it is a long way back from here for Chelsea.
    • 45+2' Jones played an important role in the goal as he exchanged passes with Rooney in the build-up and then showed good determination to stick in his leg as Chelsea tried to clear.
    • 45+1' We will have two minutes of added time.
    • 45' GOAL! 3-0 Manchester United! Rooney tucks the ball home to give United a possibly insurmountable lead. The ball nicely into his path after a bout of pinball in the Chelsea box and it was the easiest of finishes.
    • 44' Replays show that Nani may well have been offside when Evans's pass was delivered. Which means both goals have a hint of controversy.
    • 42' Stat from Infostrada: "Andre Villas-Boas is unbeaten in his last 37 league matches as a manager, since Academica lost 3-2 to Benfica on 18 April 2010."
    • 41' Cole gets an attempted cross all wrong, much to the delight of the United fans in attendance.
    • 40' Young finds an inch of space down the left and fires in a strong cross that Cech does well to snatch out of the air. There is something about this United side, isn't there?
    • 39' United don't really deserve to be 2-0 up but they have punished Chelsea with both of their shots on target. The visitors have had the better weight of chances; the hosts find themselves in control.
    • 38' GOAL! 2-0 Manchester United! Nani with an absolute screamer. Jonny Evans picks out the winger with a sumptuous cross-field pass and Nani meanders infield before unleashing a brutal shot into the top corner. That was rapid.
    • 36' Stat from Infostrada: "Chelsea have lost four of their last five PL matches against traditional Big Four clubs, and each of the last three away from home since a 2-0 victory at Liverpool in May 2010."
    • 35' Here's United's second attempt as Rooney bends one off target after riding the challenge of Meireles in the centre of the park.
    • 34' By the way, Fulham have just scored against Manchester City to make it 2-2 at Craven Cottage! Fulham v Man City matchast
    • 33' Torres glances on a cross from Cole from the left and Sturridge brings the ball down well before rifling a volley into the chest of De Gea at the near post. Chelsea have had 10 attempts to United's one!
    • 31' Torres attempts an audacious overhead kick from about 15 yards following a cross from Sturridge but his effort flies wide. Worth a go, just.
    • 30' I still can't quite believe that Ramires missed that chance. It was made all the worse because Sturridge was queuing up behind him and would certainly have buried it. The young forward was very unimpressed.
    • 28' Now De Gea flaps at a cross, but recovers and grabs the ball. By the way, me highlighting a mistake by the Spaniard doesn't mean I'm part of a shadowy group plotting the downfall of the Spaniard, whatever Fergie might have you believe.
    • 26' What a miss! Mata slips in Torres and the Spaniard squares for Ramires, who absolutely must score. With the goal at his mercy though he fires straight into the body of De Gea. Shocking.
    • 25' Nani, again, with a superb ball into the box and Meireles anticipates the cross well to get in front of Rooney and prevent him from converting.
    • 24' Nani releases Hernandez with a delightful pass with the outside of his boot but the Mexican just fails to get the necessary control and cannot test Cech.
    • 23' Torres wags his finger at the referee when being penalised for a pull on the shirt of Jones but it was the right decision.
    • 22' Lampard blasts a shot wide after a clever flicked pass from Raul Meireles on the edge of the box. Chelsea have stepped things up in the past five minutes or so.
    • 21' Sturridge pulls back a decent cross from the byline but cannot find a Chelsea shirt in the centre of the box.
    • 20' Rooney unexpectedly sprays the ball left instead of shooting from the set-piece. United fail to carve out decent chance and the United supporters appeal in vain for handball when the ball does not strike Frank Lampard anywhere near his arm.
    • 19' Nani produces a sharp spin following a pass from Rooney and is brought to ground by Cole. It appeared as though Phil Dowd was contemplating a booking but the England man escapes punshment.
    • 18' Cech claims the set-piece though as Young fizzes one in.
    • 17' Nani utilises his strength to dump Ivanovic on his backside but the defender sticks out a leg to deny the winger and concede a corner.
    • 16' Torres with a loose touch and Chelsea lose possession. Rooney takes charge and after United find Young with a diagonal ball, he finds Cech.
    • 14' From the corner, Branislav Ivanovic gets ahead of Jones and forces De Gea into a decent save.
    • 13' United march forward on the break as Phil Jones turns the ball over but Nani cannot beat Cole with his attempted cross into the box. Now Chelsea respond and Lampard has a shot deflected behind for a corner.
    • 12' Torres with a big chance! Anderson with an awful square pass in front of his own box and the Brazilian is so fortunate to see Torres scuff his shot just wide of the far post.
    • 11' Juan Mata curls in a deep cross and although Torres leaps well to head back across goal, the ball is easy for another Spaniard, De Gea, to claim in his box.
    • 10' With Man City winning 2-0 at Fulham thanks to two goals from Sergio Aguero, Manchester United make their own statement by taking an early lead. Both sides have 100 per cent records so far of course.
    • 9' Stat from Infostrada: "Chris Smalling scores Manchester United’s 19th goal of the season. They can become the second club to score 20+ goals after five PL matchrounds. Today’s opponent Chelsea netted 21 times in the first five matches of last season."
    • 8' GOAL! 1-0 Manchester United! Ashley Young delivers a delicious free-kick to the back post and Chris Smalling loses his marker to head in. He was offside but the assistant didn't spot it.
    • 6' Patrice Evra attempts to trick his way past Jose Bosingwa in an advanced position but shows the right-back too much of the ball and loses possession. Chelsea have plenty of players back at the moment.
    • 5' Jonny Evans get a boot in to halt Fernando Torres on the edge of the box as he collects the ball following a sloppy pass from Hernandez. Daniel Sturridge picks up the ball but drags his shot wide.
    • 4' Decent chance for Chelsea. Frank Lampard dinks a nice pass out to Ashley Cole and his mis-hit effort bounces across the face of the goal to Ramires, who sees David De Gea stick out his right boot to block his low effort.
    • 3' Ashley Young takes a touch away from his marker in midfield and launches a searching pass out towards Nani on the right wing. However he puts far too much on it.
    • 2' A ball over the top attempts to find Javier Hernandez but there is no early goal for the striker this time. Remember how he outstripped David Luiz to score last season?
    • 1' KICK OFF!
    • 15.59 Rouslan Halil has this to say on Twitter: "I believe that Chelsea is going to win this match 1-2. at least i hope so. cheers" Get on touch on Twitter
    • 15.57 Stat courtesy of Infostrada: "If both Manchester clubs win today, this will be the first PL season in which two clubs will have a perfect record after five matches. It has happened twice in English top flight history, in 1905/1906 (Stoke and Derby County) and 1908/1909 (Manchester United and Newcastle United)."
    • 15.55 Want to give us your pre-match predictions or get something off your chest? Use the comments section below or get in contact with me on Twitter and I will throw a few of your comments in. @tomEurosport
    • 15.50 Both teams line up in an attacking shape which suggests we are in for a nice open game. Chelsea aren't even fielding what you would describe as a natural holding midfielder away at Old Trafford. That is pretty brave from Villas-Boas.
    • 15.45 So can Chelsea be the side to halt this talented young United side? Ferguson's men have won their past 17 home games in the Premier League, which is a pretty daunting statistic.
    • 15:40 Eurosport-Yahoo! pundit Paul Parker believes that Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is the right man to lead Chelsea back to glory, but only if he is allowed to do things his way by club owner Roman Abramovich. Parker: Villas-Boas must help Chelsea evolve
    • 15:35 The Daily Star Sunday has a powerful back page on Sunday morning, with a headline reading 'Plot to Destroy De Gea' as they run with quotes from Sir Alex Ferguson suggesting the media are relishing the thought that Manchester United's summer signing will be a flop in England this season: "There is obviously an agenda on De Gea and we experienced that again on Wednesday," the United boss said. Paper Round: The plot to destroy De Gea
    • 15:30 Sir Alex Ferguson has no fresh injury concerns. Nemanja Vidic (calf), Tom Cleverley (foot) and Rafael (shoulder) remain sidelined, whilst Danny Welbeck (hamstring) is not expected to be available until next week. Rio Ferdinand is not in the squad again, so the nascent partnership of Jonny Evans and Phil Jones gets its sternest test yet. Manchester United team page
    • 15:30 Chelsea are once again without Didier Drogba. The striker will not be risked at Old Trafford three weeks after his sickening head injury, meaning manager Andre Villas-Boas starts with Fernando Torres up front, flanked by Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge. Branislav Ivanovic is preferred to David Luiz at centre-back, while Ramires returns after being suspended for Tuesday's Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen. Chelsea team page
    • 15:25 Man Utd: De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Evans, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young, Rooney, Hernandez. Subs: Lindegaard, Berbatov, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Fabio Da Silva, Valencia /// Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Meireles, Lampard, Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Subs: Turnbull, Luiz, Romeu, Mikel, Malouda, Lukaku, Anelka.
    • 15:20 Champions United can go clear of Manchester City at the top of the table if they better the result of their local rivals, who are playing away to Fulham at the moment. Chelsea could also go top if they win in Manchester and City lose in West London. A nice bit of geographical symmetry there. Premier League table
    • 15:15 Welcome to Eurosport-Yahoo!'s live coverage of the huge Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford!

  • Summary

    • 90+1' Incredible! Rooney races away on the left and squares for Berbatov, who passes up a virtually open goal when allowing Cole to clear off the line! Madness!
    • 84' The miss of the season, nay, the century. Torres skips around De Gea and has an open goal, but skews his left-foot shot wide of the post. That is just horrible to watch. Sad almost.
    • 77' Rooney hits the post! The striker scuffs his effort from Evra's cross and sees the ball strike the base of the post. Hernandez attempts to fire home the rebound and finds the side netting, only to be caught by a very late challenge by Cole.
    • 72' Unlucky for Torres! He drills one shot in at De Gea and then blasts over the bar with the follow-up. Perhaps he should have done better in that situation.
    • 70' Torres embarks on a mazy run and wins a corner off Valencia. Chelsea take it quickly and Mata attempts to find Lukaku, only for Evra to come across and block. Excellent defending.
    • 55' Penalty to Man Utd! Nani brought down by Bosingwa after he hits the bar and then tries to tap in from the rebound.
    • 46' GOAL! 3-1! Torres scores his second goal for Chelsea just 30 seconds into the second half. Anelka makes an immediate impact with a wonderful reverse pass and Torres finishes in style, lifting the ball over De Gea. Lovely stuff.
    • 45' GOAL! 3-0 Manchester United! Rooney tucks the ball home to give United a possibly insurmountable lead. The ball nicely into his path after a bout of pinball in the Chelsea box and it was the easiest of finishes.
    • 38' GOAL! 2-0 Manchester United! Nani with an absolute screamer. Jonny Evans picks out the winger with a sumptuous cross-field pass and Nani meanders infield before unleashing a brutal shot into the top corner. That was rapid.
    • 26' What a miss! Mata slips in Torres and the Spaniard squares for Ramires, who absolutely must score. With the goal at his mercy though he fires straight into the body of De Gea. Shocking.
    • 25' Nani, again, with a superb ball into the box and Meireles anticipates the cross well to get in front of Rooney and prevent him from converting.
    • 14' From the corner, Branislav Ivanovic gets ahead of Jones and forces De Gea into a decent save.
    • 12' Torres with a big chance! Anderson with an awful square pass in front of his own box and the Brazilian is so fortunate to see Torres scuff his shot just wide of the far post.
    • 8' GOAL! 1-0 Manchester United! Ashley Young delivers a delicious free-kick to the back post and Chris Smalling loses his marker to head in. He was offside but the assistant didn't spot it.
    • 4' Decent chance for Chelsea. Frank Lampard dinks a nice pass out to Ashley Cole and his mis-hit effort bounces across the face of the goal to Ramires, who sees David De Gea stick out his right boot to block his low effort.
    • 15:25 Man Utd: De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Evans, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young, Rooney, Hernandez. Subs: Lindegaard, Berbatov, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Fabio Da Silva, Valencia /// Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Meireles, Lampard, Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Subs: Turnbull, Luiz, Romeu, Mikel, Malouda, Lukaku, Anelka.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.1 7
      Defenders
      Goal Substitution Out62′ 6.9 -
      7.1 7
      6.3 -
      6.8 -
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card 5.9 -
      Substitution Out62′ 6.3 -
      Goal 7.3 8
      7.3 -
      Strikers
      Substitution Out79′ 6.8 6
      Goal 7.3 8
      Subs
      Substitution In62′ 4.8 6
      Substitution In79′ 6 -
      Substitution In62′ Yellow Card 5.8 6
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      5.3 -
      Defenders
      5.1 -
      5.3 -
      Yellow Card 5.1 -
      Yellow Card 5.1 -
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out79′ 5.2 -
      Yellow Card 5.4 -
      Substitution Out45′ 5 -
      Strikers
      Substitution Out68′ 5.2 -
      5.8 8
      Goal 6 -
      Subs
      Substitution In45′ 6.1 -
      Substitution In79′ 4.1 -
      Substitution In68′ 4.1 -

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