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Commentary

Chelsea Take all the Points

March 1, 2011 — by Sean

Luiz was lucky to have not picked up a second yellow

You’d have never known Chelsea were having a rough run of form with the way they turned around what looked to be a losing outing today. Statistics suggest they were producing more chances and even controlling the game, but the reality was that they were lucky to get out of the first half only a goal down.

United looked bright up top, and Chicarito, preferred to Berbatov at the start, was linking well with Rooney and Nani up the left (Fletcher on the right saw almost none of the ball in the opening period). On fifteen minutes United created a wonderful chance. The little Mexican pea turned well with the ball before sliding through Chelsea’s center and feeding an overlapping Evra, only for the Frenchman to play a ball just slightly in front of an onrushing Rooney unmarked inside the six.

Manchester continued to work up their left, while Chelsea were hampered in attack by their narrow formation. Ramires was working well enough on the right, but was locked in battle with Nani and Evra, and only when Anelka would move into the corner ahead of him did Chelsea find a way to get the ball into a crossing position. Malouda was constantly drifting inside and receiving the ball where Lampard might have been better placed. Though he had plenty of space to his left, and surely has a step on O’Shea sat in United’s right back, the French Guinean continuously tried to force the ball through the center of the defense.

Ferguson’s charges were first to strike, a revitalized Rooney working in tight space with Nani again from the left. David Luiz, the big Brazilian centerback who looks to be Chelsea’s best signing in some time, had been managing Rooney very well up to that point, but on the goal he was separated from his mark when Nani went past Ibramovic, forcing the Brazilian to readjust. Ibramovic, who had been holding his own against Nani, simply didn’t step quickly enough to his new assignment, leaving Rooney time to line up his shot and blast home from just outside the box. 1-0 to United and Chelsea didn’t look like they had a way back.