CHELSEA CAN'T STOP US

 

 

Last time round, Chelsea were our main title rivals under the managership of Carlo Ancelotti. However due the bad weather that hit in the middle of that season, we didn't get to face them till relatively late on. First time round was a 2-1 defeat to the Blues at Stamford Bridge however right at the end of the season came an awesome 2-1 win at Old Trafford which effectively won the title for us. United have never done the double over the Blues in the Premiership era though. The last time we pulled it off was when John Hollins was Chelsea manager during the First Division campaign of 1987/88. We won 3-1 at Old Trafford with Brian McClair, Gordon Strachen and Norman Whiteside hitting the net and 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with Steve Bruce and Republic of Ireland international Liam O'Brien hitting the net.

This time around, well thanks to Roman Abramovitch's itchy trigger finger, Chelsea have yet another new gaffer. Andres Villas-Boas, formerly a scout at Stamford Bridge during the Mourinho era and even now still younger than Giggsy. Still, his guys certainly could not be written off as title rival this time around, if they won this Premiership match at Old Trafford, they would take top spot from us. Both sides came to the game with relatively fresh sides. For United it was 4-4-2 with De Gea in goal, Smalling right back, Jones and Evans in central defence, Nani right mid, Anderson and Fletcher centre mid, Young left mid, Rooney and Hernandez up front.

United weren't in much of a mood to hand around, after a few early dodged bullets then an 8th minute Young freekick saw the Chelsea defence caught off guard and Smalling opened his account for the season. After that, credit where credit's due it was the Blues who were giving us plenty of grief but our Spanish goalie simply put on his best display yet for United and saw them off. Then in the 37th minute Nani cruised through the Chelsea defence to put United two up. Then in injury time a messed up Chelsea clearance fell to Rooney and the assasin wasn't going to miss on current form. Toughest match of the season? Not from where I was sitting.

However in the 46th minute Nicolas Anelka set up Fernando Torres who slotted it in for the Blues. After that United looked to respond but when your deadliest assasin hits the deck during a penalty attempt you know that things won't be 'that' straightforward. However 'steady as she goes' turned out to be the order of the day for the latter stages of the match with the Chelsea defenders getting increasingly desperate and a well-known scumbag injuring one of our assasins. When the opponent's biggest name assasin fires a late opportunity spectacularly wide though, you know you'll be allright. Chelsea fans will complain at the opportunities they blew but for United it's still the best start to a league campaign in the Premiership era.

Elsewhere, Man City faced Fulham at Craven Cottage. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring for City in what was overall a relatively even half but there were certainly times when the Blues look intent on burying their oppents however the game was still up for grabs at half time. Aguero then grabbed his 2nd pretty much as soon as the 2nd half started only for City's defence to let then down and Bobby Zamora and Danny Murphy levelled the game for Fulham with neither side able to get a winner. That leaves United still top of the Premiership, two points ahead of nearest rivals City, who amongst others must wonder what it'll take to slow us down.

North of the border, Aberdeen faced Kilmarnick at Pittodrie in the SPL. Paul Heffernan opened the scoring for Killie with Dean Shiels making it two and leaving the Dons yet again in trouble before Considine pulled one back before half time. Mawane went on to grab an equaliser for the Dons early in the 2nd half and were generally they better side after that. However they weren't able to find the winner which would have allowed them to move further up the table. Craig Brown certainly felt that his guys should have completed the turnaround and that it was a missed opportunity, though doesn't think that the Reds have had much luck in their recent games.

Elsewhere, St Johnstone beat Motherwell 3-0 at Fir Park with a Motherwell og allowing the Saints an early lead and with Well unable to make their first half edge count, the Saints buried their opponents in the latter stages of the match. Inverness CT were beaten 3-1 by Dundee United at Tannadice Park with the home side opening the scoring and though Caley quicly equalised, the Tangerines grabbed two more goals either side of half time. That allows Aberdeen to move up to 10th in the SPL, three points behind St Johnstone and the top half of the table and still just a point ahead of Inverness CT and relegation. There is still plenty of time for the Dons to move up the table though.

Back soiuth of the border, Exeter faced a Premiership big gun in the form of Liverpool at St James' Park in the Carling Cup 2nd round. Luis Suarez opened the sciring for the Premiership side but by half time it still looked as though the Grecians were in the match. Then Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll hit the net early in the second half and it looked as though City's dream was over. However Paul Tisdale's crew weren't quite done yet and Daniel Nardellio slotted a penaly for City but any further efforts at a comeback just weren't going to happen. Ultimately this Exeter side made club history just by getting this far but here they were given a reality check.

(Image taken from This is Exeter)

Elsewhere, the mugs of the round turned out to be QPR, beaten 2-0 at Loftus Road by L1 Rochdale, the lower leaguers hitting the net either side of half time but ultimately QPR gaffer Neil Warnock wasn't complaining, seeing the compettion as a distraction. Then Championship Crystal Palace beat Wigan 2-1 at Selhurst Park, wrapping the game up by half time with the Premiership side only able to find a too-little-too-late goal in the dying seconds of the match. That still leaves 18 Premiership teams left in the competition though including those teams playing in Europe that will only get to enter the competition in the next round.

One of those teams is of course United and the 3rd round draw has already been made. The Reds will face Championship Leeds at Elland Road. Now the Reds and Whites certainly have plenty of history and while it's been several years since our old rivals were last seen in the top flight, it wasn't that long since they mugged us in the FA Cup. Furthermore as per usual Fergie is expected to give the second stringers a run out in this competition. Leeds themselves are midtable in the Championship at the moment. How much of a problem are they going to cause our reserves on their turf. It'll certainly be a tough one but I'll give the Reds the benefit of the doubt.

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