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Chelsea and Manchester United have been two of the greatest clubs in English history. During the reign of Sir Alex, either Chelsea or United were the league winners in 8 of the 9 occasions from 2003 to 2012.
The two teams have had a number of talented players playing for them. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs all have been involved in matches against Chelsea. On the other side, Chelsea boasted the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and many more.
The battle between the teams has always been amazing to witness and this Saturday will be no different. Jose Mourinho will visit his former team at the Stamford Bridge where most of the thrilling contests between the sides have taken place.
Chelsea have a steady and settled team going into the match as joint table toppers. On the other hand, United are reeling but this is the much important momentum gainer for them before their tough task with an Old Lady. Eden Hazard’s ominous form will be a real test for the United defence.
Jose Mourinho isn’t the only one visiting his former team, Juan Mata is too. Mata has played wonderfully for Chelsea in most of his clashes vs United and he has to regain his old fire if Manchester is going to have any bragging rights over London. A real mouth-watering clash. We revisit the best Chelsea-United matches from all competitions in recent times.
Chelsea vs Manchester United, Stamford Bridge, EPL, 28th October 2012
The 2012 -13 Premier League title race was heating up going into the month of November. Chelsea were sitting atop the table four points clear of Sir Alex’s Manchester United. To get the competition heated up this tie dropped in the middle of the title race.
This match started in the worst possible way for the league leaders. Chelsea lost possession in the middle of the field and United broke off. Ashley Young went through the middle with Rooney on the wings. Rooney saw Van Persie’s arrival into the box and picked him out. Van Persie’s shot turned off the post right into the unlucky David Luiz, who had the last touch before the ball went in.
Chelsea defence was completely out of shape as proven by the second United goal. Carrick came forward and easily played Valencia in the far side.
Without much pressure from David Luiz, Valencia had no problem in driving the ball low into the box. At the end of the cross, Van Persie was given all the time he needs to cut it into the net. Even Martin Tyler was confused, “Where are the blue shirts in the box?” he exclaimed.
Chelsea started attacking but they weren’t beating David De Gea. The young keeper kept out a neat free-kick from David Luiz, a close-range header from Tim Cahill and a poised header from Fernando Torres, leaving the lead intact.
It was Juan Mata who pulled things back for Chelsea at the stroke of half-time with a beautiful free-kick. Chelsea nearly equalised by a horror misplaced pass by De Gea, but the Spaniard made up for his mistake with an even better 1v1 save against Mata.
Chelsea started the second half strong and equalised within 10 minutes of play. Oscar swiped in a cross and Ramires fired a header from close range to make things even.
De Gea was called into action again by Eden Hazard and he was still unbeatable without a poise. Things changed quickly and the momentum that Chelsea had, went down to an abrupt stop. Branislav Ivanovic tripped Ashley Young who was clearly in on goal. Referee Mark Clattenburg showed him a straight red.
Minutes later, Torres was running alone at the defence and trickled down. Torres went down hoping for a free-kick, instead, he was shown a second yellow for a dive and Stamford Bridge erupted in agony.
As if it wasn’t enough to anger them, Javier Hernandez tried to turn in a shot attempt by Van Persie but Cech was up to the mark. The ball was driven back in by Rafael Da Silva and turned in by Chicharito. But alas, he was clearly offside, even behind Cech when the ball was played in.
We saw everything in the game. Own goal, a correctly given red card, a wrongly given red card, an offside goal and, despite everything, a great game of football. United went on to win the Premier League and Chelsea fell off to third place.
Manchester United vs Chelsea, Wembley Stadium, FA Community Shield 2009
The Community Shield in 2009 was an affair between the 2008-09 EPL Champions Manchester United and the FA Cup Champions Chelsea. Chelsea had only managed a draw against United when they played at Stamford Bridge the previous season. At the Old Trafford, United romped past Chelsea with a 3-0 victory.
This was Carlo Ancelotti’s first competitive match as Chelsea manager after his appointment.
The proceedings at the iconic Wembley Stadium got off to a flier. Chelsea nearly got the lead off a tricky Frank Lampard corner turned goal-wards. Patrice Evra headed the bounced ball into the bar for the clearance. Manchester United broke the deadlock with few simple passes and a long-range stunner from Nani.
It only took 10 minutes for the Red Devils to get off the mark. Nani was absolutely pocketing Branislav Ivanovic, who wore out during the toil. United came close to adding to their lead with Ji-Sung Park but Petr Cech made a scrambling save. A few moments later Didier Drogba wasted an opportunity to level the game but he took a poor shot straight at Ben Foster.
Chelsea went out of the frying pan right into the fire, Manchester built immediately from Foster’s save. Berbatov got a neat one-two with Park and ran right into the open Chelsea box. Cech ran out of his lines to make a terrific save off Berbatov. Park attempted to hit the rebound by Cech grabbed onto the ball.
In the second half, Chelsea romped right back into the game. Florent Malouda looped a ball into the box which was parried unconvincingly by Ben Foster. The ball fell right into Ricardo Carvalho who headed the ball into the net. United dealt a tough blow as Nani was helped off the pitch following a discomforting shoulder during the hour mark.
Controversy hit the game soon after. United was coming forth to a serious threat from Rooney. Chelsea managed to blast the ball forward and to their joy, it fell right into Didier Drogba. Drogba had Anelka and Lampard alongside in a 3v2 situation. He picked Lampard up whose shot took a big piece of Foster’s glove, hit the sidebar and bounced into the line before coming back out.
The problem, however, was at the other end. Patrice Evra was clearly fouled as he let go off the ball to Rooney by Michael Ballack. The referee didn’t blow the whistle and neither did Chelsea stop the play as Evra grimaced in pain. The goal would never have been scored had the free-kick been awarded.
Chelsea held on somehow until the 90th minute but the masters of late goals struck late again. Ryan Giggs treaded a desperation through ball to Wayne Rooney. Rooney finished under pressure from the defenders and Cech to tie things up and send the game to the dreaded shootouts.
Lampard stepped up first for Chelsea and converted. Giggs went first in line for United and he executed a very poor penalty, with no power and placement which Cech easily save off his long legs. Ballack, Carrick, and Drogba then scored for their respective teams in that order. Patrice Evra was next up for United.
Evra with a carbon copy of Giggs penalty, no power and neither any precision just rolled the ball into the diving Cech. Deco stepped up to seal the deal and had to rotate with Salomon Kalou, as per the order given to the referee. Kalou didn’t mind the business and he blasted the ball into the top corner giving Ancelotti his first title as Chelsea manager.
Chelsea vs Manchester United, EPL, 5th February 2012
This was another classic from the 2011-12 season. Chelsea was trying to stay in contention for a Champions League spot while Manchester was trying to topple their rivals from the other end of the city at the top.
Manchester had two quick penalty shouts denied, first an unconvincing one from Ashley Young but the second a far more reasoned one from Danny Welbeck. United came forward to more dangerous attacks, Rooney’s low cross to Welbeck just put off by Ivanovic.
Chelsea hit the front after a great build up attack which culminated in Sturridge’s inside pass that hit the back of the net, off Jonny Evans. Manchester attempted a comeback from Ashley Young’s shot but it was saved by Cech. Around the 40 minute mark, Manchester threatened again with a great passing between Welbeck and Rooney. Welbeck’s shot was saved by Cech.
The second half got off to the horrendous start for United. Torres set the ball rolling and in 25 seconds, with an 11-pass move, Torres crossed the ball into Juan Mata who blasted a volley past De Gea, with the 12th touch of the ball. Things hit rock bottom for United when David Luiz headed the ball unmarked, past De Gea, off Juan Mata’s delivery in the 50th minute. It seemed all but over for the Red Devils at the Bridge.
53 minutes down, Rooney to Giggs and Giggs found a through ball to Patrice Evra on the far side of the box. Sturridge brought Evra down in the box and Howard Webb pointed straight to spot. Rooney stepped up and fired in from 12 yards out right into the top corner. 15 minutes later, Rooney found Hernandez who was running into the box. Hernandez came under pressure from Ivanovic and passed away to Welbeck.
Ivanovic went straight to Welbeck and clipped his trailing leg. Howard Webb pointed to the spot yet again to frustrate the Stamford Bridge. Rooney smashed in, the bottom corner in the opposite direction this time. Manchester crawled their way back to 2-3 with around 20 minutes still to play.
Chelsea managed to fire a shot at goal but it was dealt with easily by De Gea. Antonio Valencia went on a rampant run through the right flank in around the 82nd minute. Valencia crossed to Rooney. Rooney’s spectacular shot was saved by Cech and the rebound fell to Ryan Giggs. Giggs crossed back in to find the head of Javier Hernandez.
The masters of late goals left it late yet again but they came back from 3-0 down in the 50th minute to equalise at 3-3 in the 84th minute. Mata tried to get the lead back off a spectacular free-kick but De Gea managed to save it and tip it to the bar.
Chelsea vs Manchester United, 31st October 2012, Capital One Cup
The year of 2012 was truly a classic one in the battle for supremacy between Manchester and Chelsea. The two had already met in the league before in a six-goal thriller in February and also three days prior to this 9 goal thriller. When United visited the Bridge, three days before, they won the game by a goal and also sparked some controversy with Torres’ red card and the offside goal.
Chelsea, hurt by the injustice in the league which closed down the gap between them, and United had a shot at redemption in the cup. True to their standards, the Blues dumped United out in a nine-goal thriller.
United went into the game without Rooney, De Gea, and their regular defenders. Chelsea had an early chance to go in front. A brilliant counter by Drogba and an even better cross set Sturridge free but he slipped inside the box.
Chelsea went behind due to a school-boy error from Petr Cech. Cech threw the ball into the isolated Oriol Romeu while he had no support. Giggs and Welbeck went straight in on the ball and Giggs had the easiest task of sliding the ball past Cech. 10 minutes later, Chelsea found a way into the box. Moses was brought down in the edge by Alexander Buttner and Chelsea received a penalty kick. David Luiz zipped the ball past Anders Lindegaard to equal the scoreline.
Javier Hernandez restored the lead, thanks to a perfectly weighted through ball which released him through the defence. Mata drove in a perfect corner into Gary Cahill. Cahill’s shot which at first look seemed a goal-line clearance was allowed as a goal.
Chelsea’s equaliser lasted only 7 minutes. Nani started a brilliant attack with his ball control in the midfield and he was the one to finish with a neat return pass from Anderson. Chelsea had a clear penalty denied when Mata’s attempted pass clipped the defender’s hand.
Manchester was on the brink of a 3-2 victory at Bridge for the second time in 4 days. Chelsea though got a lifeline through a rookie tackle by Scott Wootton on Ramires. Eden Hazard stepped up and he went without power straight down the middle.
The match went into extra time and Wootton’s misery continued.
A lobbed ball over the defence meant for Sturridge went straight to Wootton. In an attempt to pass it, Wootton headed the ball really softly for Sturridge to capitalise. Sturridge went with the ball, rounded Lindegaard and finished to give Chelsea a 4-3 lead.
Hazard went on a berserk run in the second half of extra time and set Ramires up with a tidy pass while United’s defence looked on. Ramires rounded the keeper and finished past Lindegaard to surely dump United out of the cup. There was an anti-climax as Giggs converted from the spot in the very last minute but it was too little too late, even for the masters of late goals.
Chelsea took sweet revenge to their loss in the league and went through to the quarterfinals.
Chelsea vs Manchester United, Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, UEFA Champions League Final 2008
Chelsea and Manchester United’s face-offs were not limited to the league and domestic cup matches. Two of the English football powerhouses went face to face in the grandest stage in Europe in 2008. Moscow acted host to one enthralling final by the end of which it was ecstasy in Manchester and heartbreak in London.
Avram Grant’s Chelsea overcame Liverpool in an all English semi-final and Manchester United defeated Barcelona to confirm an all-England final. Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to score with a brilliant header off an inch-perfect cross from Wes Brown. Edwin Van Der Sar’s razor-sharp reflexes, on the other hand, kept Michael Ballack’s close-range attempt out of the goal.
United could have gone two up but it was Petr Cech’s turn to show some heroics.
Wayne Rooney dribbled into a counter and looped a ball into Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo cut the ball into the box which was met by a close-range header from Carlos Tevez. Cech parried away in desperation but the rebound was met with the poised right foot of Michael Carrick. Cech recovered quickly from the first save and stuck out a huge right palm to deflect Carrick's shot.
Cech’s heroics were followed up by a goal at the half-time whistle. Drogba dropped a grounded shot but the deflection from Rio Ferdinand fooled Van Der Sar. While Van Der Sar was unlucky because of the deflection, the ball fell in sweetly for Frank Lampard to even things up.
Chelsea came ever so close to leading, Drogba’s shot came back off the post. Without much proceedings, the match went into extra time. Chelsea had a chance in extra time: Lampard’s left-foot shot came dangerously off the crossbar and Joe Cole messed up the rebound.
Manchester United came close to leading in extra time as well. Ryan Giggs hit a shot into an open net but John Terry headed the ball out before it lifted too high. Things got really heated starting from a conflict between Tevez and Terry. Soon Scholes, Giggs, Ballack, and Drogba all got involved in an intrigued and heated argument.
The referee in an attempt to regain control reached his pockets and lifted the yellow card towards Ballack and Tevez. He showed a straight red to Drogba for a push and a slap on Nemanja Vidic. The match ended at 1-1 and went into the dreaded shootouts.
Tevez, Ballack, Carrick, and Juliano Belletti stepped up in that order and executed their respective spot-kicks to perfection.
Next in line was Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was pretty unsure about the penalty, he shimmied during the run to confuse Cech but he didn’t budge. Ronaldo went to Cech’s right-hand side but Cech saved the ball with authority to shift the tie towards Chelsea.
Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, Ashley Cole and Nani converted from the spot. One successful kick and Chelsea could have been the champions. The captain Terry stepped up with rain pouring hard in Moscow. Terry did beat Van Der Sar but he slipped during his run up and the ball came off the post and went out. Nicolas Anelka was the one who missed the last penalty as Moscow turned red.
Cristiano Ronaldo cried on the floor with tears of joy while Terry wept tears of agony following a nightmare miss off the line. The Champions League final was perfection, Ronaldo the hero in regulation could have been the villain from the spot while Terry the hero in regulation became the villain from the spot.
