Chelsea set an English top flight record for points (94) and Premiership record for most wins (29) in a season. It was our 30th League game here in a sequence in which we have lost just four times.
Match report: Manchester United 1 Chelsea 3
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Chelsea set an English top flight record for points (94) and Premiership record for most wins (29) in a season. It was our 30th League game here in a sequence in which we have lost just four times.
As United fans atempted to taunt the champions with: “You’re not Chelsea anymore,” they were overlooking the fact that three of their team, Ferdinand, Rooney and van Nistelrooy, cost more than any of the Chelsea side.
Ronaldo looked dangerous from the beginning and after six minutes hit an unclosed down 30 yarder which Cudicini dived to scramble round the post. From the uncleared corner, Rooney fired a low diagonal from the left which van Nistelrooy touched in. Chelsea claimed offside but referee Poll wasn’t interested. He was right. Ronaldo was offside but not interfering, van Nistelrooy was onside.
Chelsea were getting in some good positions and using Gudjohnsen’s brilliant technique up front to good advantage, but his lack of urgency sometimes slowed things down. Penetration has been a problem recently, and you wondered where an equaliser might come from.
It arrived after 16 minutes. Tiago, allowed space 30 yards out, chipped an anonymous ball goalwards, and Carroll was left glued immobile on his line, like an outfield player, as it clipped the post and dropped in. It was the Portuguese midfielder’s fourth goal of the season.
Old Trafford went quiet save for the Chelsea fans in the corner. “You’ve got to qualify…”; “Channel 5, Channel 5, Channel 5…” where, of course, Champions League games are often shown; “One Malcolm Glazer, there’s only one Malcolm Glazer…” You often get the best Chelsea songs at Manchester United.
The Chelsea choir became the main focus as the game grew into a technical battle, not the normal physical Premier League affair. It was all pretty even until Keane tripped Cole on the half hour and was booked. Keane apologised. Chelsea fans sang: “One Mick McCarthy,” and followed up with: “Hernán Crespo, Hernán Crespo, whoh-oh, whoh-oh…”, Crespo having knocked United out of the Champions League. Then it was: “Shhhh,” so everyone could appreciate the home crowd silence.
But this was still United and, after several outstanding Huth defensive headers, van Nistelrooy raced on to a Scholes pass and pulled back the trigger only to find Carvalho darting in to tackle and concede a corner. It was United’s fifth. Chelsea had had none. There were ten minuted to half-time.
Six minutes before half-time a wonderful counter after Tiago had won the ball finished with Gudjohnsen brilliantly serving Cole who lined up a 20 yard curler which shot past Carroll but just the wrong side of the post.
Rooney lost his rag. Poll had spoken to him once for dissent after another Keane foul, this time on Lampard, and with the Chelsea choir singing songs at him best not repeated here, he had a go at Gérémi from behind and received another lecture.
In stoppage time Rooney turned a low cross goalwards with Cudicini unable to get across but it hit Carvalho and the danger past.
Within seconds of the restart Gudjohnsen put Cole away and Carroll saved bravely at his feet. Cole needed treatment. It was still the away choir’s environment. “You’re still not singing…” they sang.
Cole then put Johnson in on goal but he failed to control the ball with just Carroll to beat. Within seconds van Nistelrooy was charging in on Cudicini after a through ball but the goalkeeper was sharp and brave off his line to grab possession.
The game wasn’t bad but was end of seasonish. All the same, Makelele was booked for dissent just outside Chelsea’s area after Gallas had fouled Ronaldo — Rooney put the free-kick over the bar — and then Ferdinand crashed into Gudjohnsen and was lucky not to be booked. Huth drove the free-kick into the wall. It was fabulously struck. He was lucky not to be arrested for attempted murder.
The game was opening up remarkably early in the second-half. Fletcher crashed a 30 yarder against Cudicini’s bar, a formidable shot. Chelsea countered, Cole and Gudjohnsen exchanged passes but Cole ran out of space on the edge of United’s area.
One hour had passed when Gudjohnsen repeated his trick against Fulham of controlling a Tiago through ball early and impeccably to race away from the central defenders. One on one with Carroll he chipped him with outrageous aplomb as he spread himself. It was his 15th goal of the season.
Van Nistelrooy was booked for dissent as Chelsea celebrated. Gudjohnsen turned to the fans as the team set back for their own half and joined in with an ‘Easy, Easy,’ chant.
Within minutes Lampard was booked for a foul on Ronaldo. And then Gallas charging forward blocked a Brown clearance and the ball rocketed just over the bar. Again the away fans chanted: “Easy, easy.”
With just under 20 minutes left the substitutions started. United attacked: Saha for Fletcher. Chelsea consolidated: Jarošik for Johnson. The experiment of playing Johnson as the wide-right attacking player hadn’t been a major success. Behind him, however, Gérémi was giving another solid performance at right-back.
Gallas became the second Chelsea player to be booked for dissent just outside the area and providing a free-kick ten yards closer to goal than the foul. Scholes’ shot was only just wide.
Chelsea, however, were defending well. When Ronaldo cavorted through, Huth stood up to him wonderfully forcing him to fire woefully wide.
The attacking was pretty good too. With eight minutes left Lampard nicked a pass from Gary Neville, got forward and crossed for Cole to turn in his eighth goal of the season. He may have been offside, but it was a champion performance.
“That’s why we’re the champions,” sang the choir.
Five minutes remained when Nuno Morais replaced Gudjohnsen. He went to left-midfield, leaving Cole as the central front man between Jarošik and him. But in the last minute Cole went off and Anthony Grant was sent on for his debut, the third Academy product to make his debut this season.
It seems that nothing can go wrong.
by Neil Barnett
