Chelsea hold Manchester United to a goalless draw

Wayne Rooney was impressive for Manchester United

Nine years ago, Jose Mourinho made his Premier League debut at Stamford Bridge, with his team winning courtesy an early Eidur Gudjohnsen strike. The nature of his win that night would set the tone for his first Chelsea tenure: score a goal, then protect that lead until the end. But somehow, even as his side piled on the 1-0 wins, there was an attacking flair about them. They weren’t boring to watch. They could attack with speed and devastation.

Tonight, Chelsea were neither potent nor deserving of a win.

David Moyes named an unchanged squad from the one that tamed Swansea last weekend, while Mourinho sprang a surprise by starting six midfielders, with Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku on the bench.

The pre-match buzz was about how Moyes would not want to lose on his Old Trafford debut, while Mourinho was looking to further cement Chelsea’s current leadership on the league table. Throw in the Wayne Rooney saga, and the situation was tailor-made for a defensive United display.

But ironically, it was United who did most of the pressing in midfield, and were unlucky not to have scored. Most of their creativity came from Wayne Rooney, with Robin van Persie largely anonymous on the night. Rooney made several runs into the Chelsea box and later along the right wing, keeping Ashley Cole busy all night.

Chelsea were suffocated by their own midfield tactics. With no central striker to bother about, United’s defenders were able to pass the ball around in front of their box; Chelsea’s midfielders rarely ventured forward. Most of Chelsea’s attempts on goal came from outside the box – noticeably a swerving 57^th minute kick from Gary Cahill that Phil Jones nearly deflected into his own net. The next minute, Andre Schurrle hit the United goal-frame after a splendid counter-attack, but the offside flag was up anyway.

While Chelsea had the run of central midfield, the home team dominated along the wings – but United were more effective in making their dominance count.

While Mourinho had three strikers to call upon, none of these looked like a potential game-changer. He introduced Fernando Torres midway through the second half, but the Spaniard had little noticeable effect on the game. On the other hand, United again showed why they cannot afford to part with Wayne Rooney, who pressed and harried the Chelsea defence with the doggedness of a terrier. For once, the Special One looked lost for ideas. His midfielders looked uncertain about their role, and mainly acted to stifle Michael Carrick and company, rather than create anything of their own.

It was essentially a clash of systems, rather than a contest between quality players everyone was hoping for. On the night, Moyes was the superior tactician – and that wasn’t saying much.