Chelsea 2-1 Man United: Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 in a dramatic match at Stamford Bridge today to pull level at the top of the Premier League and keep alive their hopes of snatching the title from United's grasp.
Michael Ballack was Chelsea's scoring hero, deciding the game
with an 86th-minute penalty after heading the home side ahead at
the end of the first half.
The Chelsea players celebrated that goal by unfolding a
number eight shirt with "Pat Lampard RIP" on the back following the
death of midfielder Frank Lampard's mother on Thursday. He was
given compassionate leave by the club and missed the game.
Wayne Rooney equalised for the visitors when his 56th-minute
shot went in off the post after a careless backpass from Ricardo
Carvalho.
With two matches to play both teams have 81 points, although
United remain top because of a better goal difference.
Despite the defeat United will still win the title if they
match the same number of points that Chelsea collect from their
last two games at Newcastle United and at home against Bolton
Wanderers.
United's last two league games are at home to West Ham United
and away at Wigan Athletic.
Ballack's late winner came after Michael Carrick was judged
to have handled a cross from Michael Essien just minutes after Wes
Brown appeared to have also handled in the area.
Chelsea's appeals for that infringement were waved away by
referee Alan Wiley, but he pointed to the spot after Carrick
handled and Ballack kept his nerve to send goalkeeper Edwin van der
Sar the wrong way.
Chelsea took the game to United from the kickoff and the
visitors found themselves in trouble in the opening minute when
Brown's careless header forced goalkeeper van der Sar to scramble
low to his left to save.
The home side, who had to win to maintain their hopes of
catching United and winning the title produced some of their most
exciting and attacking football for months in the opening stages.
Michael Essien fired over the bar, Didier Drogba shot wide
and Joe Cole hit the bar as Chelsea surged forward in the hot
spring sunshine at Stamford Bridge where they are now unbeaten for
81 league matches since February 2004.
United, who trained in London on Friday after returning from
their Champions League semi-final first leg in Barcelona, looked
tired and jaded and lacking the spark that typified many of their
performances earlier in the season.
What was already turning out to be a difficult afternoon for
them took a turn for the worse when defender Nemanja Vdic was
carried off on a stretcher in the 15th minute after Drogba
accidentally kneed him in the face as they went for the ball.
The tall Serbian defender, who was hospitalised in Spain with
a stomach infection, lost a tooth in the collision and went off
with blood seeping from his mouth.
Chelsea maintained the pressure on United with Essien, Joe
Cole and Ballack combining superbly in midfield, while United's
attacks petered out ineffectually and it was just reward when the
home side went ahead at the end of the half.
Drogba did well to create space for himself and then provided
the perfect cross for the unmarked Ballack to head home past Van
der Sar's despairing dive.
United looked far sharper after the break and Rooney's goal
appeared to have secured them what would have been a deserved point
before Ballack's late decider.
"I think you saw today we want to win this Premiership to
take it away from Manchester United. I think we showed people today
we can match anybody," said captain John Terry.