Manchester United suffered just their second Barclays Premier League defeat of the season with a 2-1 loss to Chelsea. Wayne Rooney gave United the lead in the first half, but goals from David Luiz and Frank Lampard, albeit a penalty, after halftime saw Chelsea keep their slim hopes of retaining their title alive, and dented the Reds’ advantage at the same time.
Sir Alex Ferguson went with an unchanged starting XI for the first time in 167 games, but some of the Reds did not offer enough to prove the United manager was wise to do so.
Edwin van der Sar – 8
Ferguson should pull out all stops to make sure that van der Sar changes his mind on retirement at the end of the season, because the big goalkeeper still has so much to offer.
John O’Shea – 5
Started for the fifth consecutive match, and even though O’Shea put in a couple of good tackles, the lead up for both goals came on his side of the defense.
Chris Smalling – 6
The young center-back finally showed that he is human after all, and it will be a big test of his character to see how he responds to conceding the penalty.
Nemanja Vidic – 8 (Man of the Match)
The unbelievable commitment and desire that Vidic showed throughout the match is why Ferguson decided to name him the club’s long-term captain.
Patrice Evra – 6
Fantastic going forward and helping the United attack, but when doing the job that he gets paid to do, Evra’s performance was less than desirable, and he should have closed David Luiz down a lot quicker for their opening goal.
Darren Fletcher – 5
As much energy as he has, Fletcher lacks the ability to properly distribute a pass over 20 yards.
Michael Carrick – 7
Consistently gets criticized for his lack of work rate, but Carrick was by the best United midfielder on the pitch at Stamford Bridge.
Paul Scholes – 6
Was hit and miss against Chelsea, Scholes was unlike he usual self by giving the ball gave away on a few occasions that invited his opposing midfielders to get into advance positions.
Nani – 5
Registered his league-leading 15th assist, but Nani allowed the Chelsea defenders to ease him out of the match a bit too easily with their physical approach, so he was not his normal influential self.
Wayne Rooney – 6
Scored his second goal in as many games with a well taken strike in the first half, but when United needed someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck, Rooney was not up to the task.
Javier Hernandez – 6
Handed a rare start, but Hernandez looked to be a bit out of his element and, like Nani, he was not ready for the physical approach.
Ryan Giggs – 6
Made his 606th league appearance for the Reds, and played a couple of great balls, but to no avail.
Subs:
Dimitar Berbatov – 5
Another big game benching for the Bulgarian, and was not able to get in the game when he came on for Hernandez
Fabio – 5
Created a half chance towards the end, but not enough time to make a serious impact.
Overall – 6
Manchester United has now lost two of their last three matches away from Old Trafford, which they will need to turn around quickly if they have any hopes of reclaiming the Barclays Premier League title.
Watch highlights of Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd
Submitted by The United Religion
