SM
Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa: 15 hrs 42 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

On this day: Chelsea beat Manchester United to move five points clear

:Headline: On this day: Chelsea beat Manchester United to move five points clear: ID:116551: from db_amp
On this day in 2009, Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

There are moments in every Premier League season that can be seen as defining. Whether it is a win against the odds for a struggling team to catapult them to a run of survival form or even a scrappy win to inflict defeat on a close rival. In a Premier League season won by just a single point, this was certainly Chelsea's defining moment.

Before the Blues hosted Manchester United on this day in 2009 the two teams were vying for top spot. Chelsea were two points clear of both United and Arsenal, which meant that an away win would see United leapfrog their opponents. A home win, however, would give Chelsea breathing room. A lot was at stake.

For United both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were absent, which left them with a very makeshift defence of Jonny Evans alongside Wes Brown, with John O'Shea at right-back. They were up against Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. On paper at least, the visitors were in for a tough time.

However, United being United were up for the big clash and on any other day probably would have taken the points. Sir Alex Ferguson perhaps saw that his defence would not be able to handle Drogba and Anelka on their own, so he added extra bodies in midfield and made a wall in front of Carlo Ancelotti's intricate diamond of Deco at the front and Michael Essien at the back.

Antonio Valencia and Ryan Giggs were on the wings, tasked with stopping Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic getting forward. In the middle were Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Anderson - the combativeness and tidy passing of the first two paired with the flair of the latter. Fletcher protected the defence, rarely straying from his position and as such neither Deco nor Michael Ballack could get any space or joy.

However, as is so often the case in football, the tactical battle is only half of it. On the pitch, luck and resilience play a part and goals can happen in an instant. Chelsea certainly had good fortune as Wayne Rooney was ruled offside in a very close decision and a slight pull from John Terry on Valencia's shirt. There was more fortune in the eventual winner, too. Fletcher was adjudged to have fouled Joe Cole, which might not have been given, and from it Terry headed his side in front.

Even though the Red Devils were tactically very good on the day, they fell apart all to often when they got near the final third. Most of their chances came from outside the box, with Petr Cech unlikely to be beaten from range. Rooney huffed and puffed and could have scored with two excellent strikes, but United in the end fell to their fifth away defeat from six against the league's big sides.

By the end of the season, this result would prove very important in the destination of the title. Chelsea ended with a record 103 goals, but claimed their third Premier League title by just the one point. It went down to the final day and Chelsea may well look back on this day being the one that they believed they could take the title back from United.

amp_article__116551 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2013-11-09 11:39:50:
html db last update - 2013-11-09 11:39:50 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .