Manchester United Defeat Chelsea 2-0
I told you so.
Manchester United improve their English Premier League standings to 18 points, and maintain second place behind Arsenal, after defeating Chelsea 2-0 on their home pitch at Old Trafford last Sunday.
Chelsea had several of their star players on the injured list, such as Didier Drogba, Wayne Bridge, Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho & Michael Ballack. Not only was that a disadvantage for them, but they also had to deal with new manager Avram Grant, who recently replaced Jose Mourinho. Let’s just say that the Chelsea players and management are still trying to iron out some differences to be on the same page.
Of course, there is the mystique of Old Trafford, which really boosts the level of play for Manchester United. And definitely, it was prety obvious that the Red Devils would be in control over the Chelsea Blues in dominating the football match. To make things worse, the Chelsea side was reduced to ten men when Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel was sent off in the 32nd minute for a two-footed tackle on Patrice Evra.
“I’ve seen the sending off and it was a bit harsh. There was intent there and it could have hurt the boy, but some referees would have let it go,” Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson said.
With Chelsea down to ten men, it wasn’t long before Manchester United took advantage of the mismatch and scored a goal. Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez scored in injury time of the first-half, giving him his first Premiership goal for Manchester United. Manchester United captain Ryan Giggs curled a cross that Carlos Tevez headed into the net past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Manchester United had a lot of other opportunities to score with the offensive tandem of Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney wreaking havoc on the Chelsea defense. Cristiano Ronaldo also had a free-kick, but it was not a problem for Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
A minute from closing time, Manchester United’s Louis Saha went down in the penalty area after a small bump from Chelsea’s Tal Ben Haim. The referee pointed to the spot despite complaints from Chelsea. Louis Saha took the spot kick and drilled home the penalty to give Manchester United a 2-0 advantage.
Manchester United’s next match for the 2007-2008 English Premier League season will be against Birmingham City. Manchester United will be visitors to Birminghamm City at St. Andrews Ground.
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