Extraordinary Game At Old Trafford

Manchester United's game against Chelsea was rather extraordinary. So extraordinary in fact, that Fernando Torres scored a goal. He may have evened the anomaly out later with a hilariously awful miss, but the very fact that he actually scored a goal on a football field is bizarre beyond belief. But enough of the blatant, casual abuse of poor old Fernando Torres who didn't actually have too bad a game at all, let's get down to the match.

It was a game billed as "magical" pre-match by Sky, and the first half certainly had a whiff of fantasy about it, with three goals scored by Manchester United, which on another day may never have happened. Smalling opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a powerful header thanks to a sublime cross from Ashley Young. Nani then got in on the act just as Chelsea were pressing the home side with a stunning display of individual skill and technique, while Rooney topped the half off with his ninth of the season.

Yet the first two could have easily been called for offside, and the third was incredibly lucky to fall conveniently into Wayne Rooney's path. At this point in the game, United had attempted around four shots on goal, scoring three. This compared to Chelsea's 10 or so, and you'd need to applaud United for the clinical edge they possessed against their biggest test of the season.

They may not have been at their best, but with a front three with the quality of Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney and Nani, all in magnificent form, it didn't matter. Chances were always going to be created with those three leading the line, and all three played a big part in at least one of the goals scored. It comes as no surprise that with those three, United have put a brilliant 21 goals past their opposition in only five games.

The central midfield pairing of Anderson and Fletcher is a very different two from that of Anderson and Cleveley, but United welcomed back their virus-struck Scot, who has always been a player for the big games. He put in a solid display as usual, while the Brazilian, who has had an impressive start to the season was able to get back on track after a shaky, sloppy start which saw him gift Chelsea the ball a number of times.

The second half could have been so different, and United fans were worried when Torres struck just 30 seconds into the half. Not too worried however, because despite Torres scoring a very rare goal to make some believe that the magic of the game could help Chelsea's cause, Manchester United simply do not lose a three goal lead at home.

Chelsea pressed, and certainly had golden opportunities to score at least a couple more, but a mixture of fierce defending, poor finishing and sheer luck prevented any more goals hitting the back of the net. Rooney missed a penalty, Hernandez was on the end of a shocking tackle in the penalty area which could rule him out for a few weeks, and as mentioned before, Torres missed a sitter.

A thoroughly entertaining game ended with Manchester United remaining at the peak of the Premier League table, clear by two points after Manchester City drew away at Fulham leaving United the only team in the top division with a 100% record.

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