Manchester United 1 Chelsea 2: Didier Drogba's controversial winner gives Blues a title tonic

Published: 04 Apr 2010 - 14:57:03

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Manchester United 1 Chelsea 2: Didier Drogba's controversial winner gives Blues a title tonic

With a degree of craft and the considerable help of some rank poor officiating, Chelsea manoeuvred themselves into pole position in this mesmerising race for the Premier League title with a deserved victory at Old Trafford which may have marked the end of Manchester United's three-year dominance of the domestic game. This match was a pallid, turgid affair for long periods, lacking the intensity and quality that might be expected when teams of this stature clash in a game of such magnitude, and it was undoubtedly overshadowed by some appalling refereeing by Mike Dean and his team. Controversial winner: Didier Drogba was in an offside position when he scored Yet, the twists and turns of the season offer a compelling drama andwhile United's campaign is in danger of collapsing around them whenBayern Munich arrive at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Chelsea march onconfident of capturing their first Premier League title since 2006. Troublesome trips lie ahead at Tottenham and Liverpool, but Carlo Ancelotti and his team deserve enormous credit. They, too, stared into the abyss of a failed season but a fortnightago. Dumped out of the Champions League by former manager Jose Mourinhoand having dropped points at Blackburn, their response indicates theyare worthy champions-elect, with 14 goals and three enormouslyimportant victories. Clinical: Drogba celebrates firing Chelsea to the top of the table Ancelotti would almost certainly have paid with his job had Chelseafinished the season without a trophy but his team are now favouritesfor the Double, with an FA Cup semi-final on Saturday against AstonVilla. 'We had to have a reaction after the Inter and Blackburn games andwe've come back very well,' said Ancelotti. 'But nothing is decidedyet,' he insisted, though he conceded this was 'an important victory'. Ancelotti has fond memories of this stadium, having won a EuropeanCup here with AC Milan, and he used his side's relative freshnessmagnificently, his players never allowing United to settle in a firsthalf dominated by Chelsea's possession. 'Our aim was to keep theintensity high from the start and we did that and kept control of thegame in the first half,' he added. 'It was important we didn't have a game this week as it allowed usto train well. You lose a lot of energy from Champions League games.' He made the correct call in the biggest selection decision of theweek. Nicolas Anelka started instead of Didier Drogba, who is nursing agroin injury. Ice breaker: Joe Cole fired Chelsea ahead after 20 minutes Drogba was suitably ruthless when unleashed, scoring within 11minutes of his entrance in the 68th, though he benefited from theineptitude of assistant referee Simon Beck, who failed to spot he wasoffside. 'It was a very tough decision' said Ancelotti of his selectiondilemma. 'For a player it is important to start. I understand that as Iwas a player. But for a coach it is less important. 'Didier couldn't train properly this week and I wanted to save himfor the end of the game. He scored a fantastic goal and helped theteam.' In truth, neither team was at their best in the opening exchanges.Joe Cole's delightful backheel to open the scoring on 21 minutes was arare moment of quality provided when Florent Malouda advanced goalwardsafter a weak challenge from Antonio Valencia with Gary Neville failingto close down the space. No consolation: Federico Macheda (right) bundles the ball home That aside, the first half was notable for a trio of potentialpenalties and United's wretched display. They barely registered a shot,with only Patrice Evra's strike forcing Petr Cech to make a save. They were unlucky not be awarded a penalty when Ji-Sung Park,playing off Dimitar Berbatov, danced into the box and was felled byYury Zhirkov on 27 minutes. Within three minutes, Neville had evened out that injustice,bundling over Anelka in the penalty area with a shoulder charge ofwhich Dixie Dean would have been proud. Less convincing was Berbatov'stumble on 44 minutes when Lampard appeared to win the ball. High and dry: Paul Scholes and Deco do battle Neville and Paul Scholes had awful afternoons and even the evergreenRyan Giggs showed his age. United were crying out for the wit of WayneRooney or the inspiration of a Carlos Tevez or a Cristiano Ronaldo. Drogba, on for Anelka, was clearly offside when fed by Saloman Kalou but smashed the ball inside Edwin Van der Sar's near post. United rallied when Nani crossed and Cech could only deflect theball into the chest of Federico Macheda, who pushed the ball across theline with his hand to ensure the incompetence of the officials eveneditself out. Yet, no one could dispute the justice of the result. Patrick Collins: Fergie must know United's problems go deeper than one offside goal Drogba may need surgery on groin injury at the end of the seasonMalouda: Chelsea isn't Hollywood - we work hard to win trophies hereRio Ferdinand's determined to follow Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes into the Manchester United history booksManchester United v Chelsea: All the drama from the title showdown as it unfoldedCHELSEA FC