EPL [ 7 ]: Manchester United 2 - 0 Chelsea

Barclays Premier League
Old Trafford, Sun 23 September
MANCHESTER UNITED 2
Tevez (45), Saha (89).

CHELSEA 0

The Reds moved second in the Barclays Premier League table on Sunday after Carlos Tevez grabbed his first United goal and Louis Saha capped off a deserved 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Chelsea's John Obi Mikel was sent off in the first half, but even before that point, United were always in control and never looked like ending this match with anything other than three points.

The goings-on at Stamford Bridge earlier this week took centre stage in the build-up to the game. However, during his Friday press conference, Sir Alex was insistent that Jose Mourinho’s departure would not overshadow the greatest need – three points – in what he said would be an important, if perhaps not decisive, meeting in the race for the title.

And that mindset was clear from the start, with United playing an attacking 4-4-2 formation as Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez spearheaded the Reds' attack for the first time. And the former quickly stamped his mark on the game. Rooney latched onto a ball Ryan Giggs won in midfield, and carrying the ball forward he took on his marker Tal Ben-Haim and curled a shot towards the far top corner. Petr Cech had to be at his best from the off, finger-tipping his save from the jaws of the upright.

The new man, Avram Grant, wasn’t aiming for a rapid departure from the brand of football Mourinho preached, sticking to the Portuguese coach’s 4-5-1 template, with width and expansive, attacking play – high on Roman Abramovich’s wish-list – clearly not yet applied. The missing Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard further blunted Chelsea’s attacking options.

Just short of the 20-minute mark, Evra and the entire Stretford End were up in arms as Joe Cole appeared to catch the Reds' left-back just inside the area. Referee Mike Dean ushered away the protests.

United’s forward triumvirate of Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo began increasingly to cause Chelsea significant problems. Paul Scholes picked out their forward runs with relative ease. All three attackers had shots that troubled Cech, and Sir Alex’s side were edging closer to finding the breakthrough.

All the goalscoring opportunities were United’s. Rooney controlled a poor Ashley Cole clearance and crossed to the far post, where Giggs narrowly side-footed over. More than the chances, red shirts were first to every ball, strong in defence, organised in midfield, eager to get on and play from free-kicks and positive in everything they did going forward.

United were to be given a further boost in the 32nd minute when John Obi Mikel went into a challenge on Patrice Evra and lifted both feet off the ground. Fortunately he didn’t follow through, otherwise the Frenchman could have seriously been injured. It was maybe harsh, but the referee considered it dangerous enough to send the young Nigerian from the field.

Advantage United, perhaps. But it still needed the goal the home side’s play deserved. It almost arrived five minutes from time when Nemanja Vidic, the match-winner against Everton, rose above Chelsea’s defence to test Cech again.

The breakthrough finally did arrive in injury time at the end of the first half. Giggs curled in an inviting cross to the front post and Tevez darted into space, heading past Cech. It was nothing more than United deserved, and what better time for the Argentinian to score his first goal for the club?

The second half brought, as expected with Chelsea down to ten men, long periods of possession for the Reds. And with United rock solid in defence, wave after wave of attack came with the rain that raked across Old Trafford.

Chelsea never really looked like equalling United in any department all afternoon. The sending off undoubtedly didn’t help their cause, but from the very start the Reds showed they wanted this victory more than the visitors.

Joe Cole was lucky to stay on the field after a challenge caught Ronaldo on the ankle and could have caused injury. He was booked and can count himself lucky.

But United had the final say of the afternoon when substitute Louis Saha, on for the impressive and tireless Tevez, was pulled back in the area by Ben-Haim and the referee pointed to the spot. The Frenchman, having earned the penalty, stepped up to take it, despite the inevitable offer from Ronaldo to take over duties if he should be required. Saha welcomed his second goal of the season with a strike down the middle of the goal.

Saha had the chance to add a second in injury time. The forward raced away from Ben-Haim and controlled Carrick’s raking ball forward perfectly before firing his shot narrowly over.

The victory breaks the trend of 1-0 wins – United were headed for a fifth on the trot before Saha’s penalty – and moves the Reds to second in the table, two points behind Arsenal. Chelsea must surely now be asking questions of their ability to reclaim the title. For United, the defence of it gathers momentum.

Team Line-ups

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs (c); Tevez (Saha, 79), Rooney.
Subs not used: Kuszczak, O’Shea, Nani, Pique.

Chelsea: Cech; Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Terry(c), A.Cole; J.Cole (Pizarro, 76), Mikel (sent
off 32), Makelele, Essien, Malouda (Wright-Phillips, 69); Shevchenko (Kalou, 59).
Subs not used: Cudicini, Alex.

Attendance: 75,633