Man Utd 1 Chelsea 1

Guest · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 12:06 am Post subject: Man Utd 1 Chelsea 1

November 27, 2006

RICARDO CARVALHO cancelled out Louis Saha's first-half strike to deny Man Utd a six-point lead at the top of the Premiership.

Saha had cast aside the misery of his midweek spot-kick miss at Celtic to put the hosts in front on 29 minutes.

But Chelsea found their form in the second half and Carvalho rose at the far post to head home Frank Lampard's far-post corner.

The result - which sees United retain their three-point cushion - was probably acceptable to both sides.

But Sir Alex Ferguson will be less than pleased if the damage inflicted on Cristiano Ronaldo by Ashley Cole's late tackle proves to be serious.

Given that Saha failed to handle the pressure of his Champions League spot-kick, it was soon obvious that Saha was bearing no mental scars.

The ex-Fulham man latched on to Wayne Rooney's fine pass and cut inside Carvalho on the edge of the area.

Saha then unleashed a precise low shot which beat Carlo Cudicini at his right-hand post.

Chelsea were their usual measured selves but tested Edwin van der Sar only once during the opening period - Geremi forcing the Dutchman to punch clear with a snap shot.

In fact, the biggest imprint they left on the first half was through Drogba's reckless elbow on Nemanja Vidic.

Undoubtedly, the Ivory Coast forward has been one of the major stars of the domestic campaign.

But TV replays showed him looking back to check where Vidic was before he aimed an elbow at the Serb's face.

Referee Howard Webb, who kept a good balance throughout the game, produced only a yellow card when a red might have been warranted.

Jose Mourinho made one of his famous half-time substitutions in an attempt to get his team to impose themselves more.

The tactic, which saw Arjen Robben introduced for Geremi, worked as Chelsea set up camp around the United box.

But with Frank Lampard in one of his more profligate moods, failing to test Van der Sar with a hat-trick of chances and not beating the Dutchman when he did get one, it appeared the champions were about to slip six points adrift of their hosts.

The Blues' salvation arrived from an unexpected source when Carvalho rose to meet Lampard's far-post corner with a firm header which crashed in off the underside of the bar.

Chelsea looked more likely to force a winner - but in truth, neither side came that close to getting one.

The sight of Ronaldo limping off late on after being caught by Cole will have brought a few worry beads to Ferguson's brow.

While United remain on top, the respective substitutes - Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea against Robben, Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira - suggest an advantage in squad depth for Chelsea which will not be easily overcome.