Nip and Tuck

27 November 2006



Man U 1 – Chelsea 1

The forces of good didn’t triumph over Manchester United yesterday, but Chelsea did manage a draw at Old Trafford. The Mancunians still hold a 3 point lead in the table, but it could have been 6 this morning. Chelsea also could have tied it up, but given the way they played the first half, walking out of Manchester with a draw was a moral victory.

For the first 29 minutes, the game looked a bit too physical for any good to come of it. Wayne Rooney, against whom it is hard to cheer, was all over the place, causing trouble for Chelsea’s defense. Surprisingly, though, Manchester’s goal came at the end of the first half hour from Louis Saha, a shot threaded brilliantly between Frank Lampard, then the outstretched hand of Carlo Cudicini and past the post. Mr. Saha managed to redeem himself in the eyes of the fans with this shot having missed a penalty against Celtic in the Champions League match last week.

Jose Mourinho, Chelsea’s manager, made a couple of changes going into the second half that swung the game back the right way. Arjen Robben came in for Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso (who not surprisingly, is known as “Geremi”), and Michel Essien dropped to right back. This created better flow and more room as Mr. Essien knows how to move up when needed.

The equalizer was a smooth header from Ricardo Carvalho, who deflected a Frank Lampard corner into the net. Mr. Saha was on the line and might have been able to clear the ball, but he simply didn’t have enough time to react.

Looking at the table in November and predicting the leader six months along is a very dangerous way to bet. That said, it is clear that one of these two teams will take the Premiership on current form. Bolton, a tough side, is in third trailing Man U by 11 points, meaning Bolton would need to win four games more than Manchester United to take the title. That doesn’t happen very often even with 24 more games to go. Chelsea, may the Gods bless each and every one of them, need to step up their play. Andrei Shevchenko and Michael Ballack need to earn their money pretty soon, and with Petr Cech gone with a fractured skull, Mr. Cudicini needs more confidence going after the high shots. The good news is the next time they play Manchester U, it’s at Stamford Bridge.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.


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