After Nemanja Vidic headed United ahead on the stroke of half-time, the Red Devils were dominant. Chelsea, on the other hand, were clueless - outplayed across the park throughout the second-half. Pensioners skipper John Terry was left rattled by the Old Trafford crowd as Chelsea looked totally devoid of ideas, forcing Luiz Felipe Scolari to admit that their title aspirations had been dealt, in his words, some "very big damage".

Sir Alex Ferguson raised plenty of eyebrows with his team selection. Michael Carrick was left on the bench with Ryan Giggs named in centre-midfield. Gary Neville was also preferred to Rafael Da Silva at right-back as Fergie turned to his experienced heads.

Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand, contrary to reports, didn't recover from a back problem meaning young Jonny Evans continued his learning experience with another big ninety minutes. Rooney and Berbatov started up front with Carlos Tevez on the bench. Tevez didn't get on the pitch - but the superb reception he received during his touchline warm-up will show player and manager how much the fans appreciate his efforts.

The first-half was a largely scrappy affair played with a fierce temper. Referee Howard Webb flashed a booking to Frank Lampard after only three minutes. That was the first of eight yellow cards handed out as the match threatened to boil over on a handful of occasions.

Chelsea played their best football in the early stages but were hopeless in attack with Didier Drogba looking almost disinterested at times. United's first cast-iron chance came through Dimitar Berbatov on the half-hour - the Bulgarian, in typically casual fashion, hit a tame shot straight at Peter Cech from close-range. He should have done a lot better.

United kept pressing and the goal came seconds before the half-time whistle after a moment of controversy. Cristiano Ronaldo headed home from a Ryan Giggs cross, after Wayne Rooney had taken a sneaky short-corner unnoticed by anyone on the Old Trafford terraces. The linesman clearly didn't notice either - flagging for Webb to rule out the goal, seemingly thinking that Giggs had whipped in the corner from the wrong position.

The Reds protested but it didn't matter as United re-took the corner and found the target again. Berbatov flicked on Giggs' corner and Vidic nodded home a brave header at the far post. Old Trafford erupted - it was an incredible atmosphere all afternoon - and United marched down the tunnel boasting a goal advantage at the break.

Scolari threw on Nicholas Anelka from the bench at half-time as he looked to add some spark to Chelsea's frontline - but United went onto dominate the final forty-five minutes, making the flustered visitors look hugely ordinary. Giggs, in particular, was instrumental in midfield as United comfortably won the battle in the middle of the park and frustrated Chelsea's lame efforts to carve out chances.

The lead was doubled on 63 minutes as Rooney turned home a dangerous cross from Patrice Evra, with the result given an emphatic edge with three minutes to play as Berbatov poked home a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick. Chelsea fans - who had disgraced themselves with unsavoury chants to our Portuguese winger - were already streaming for the exits long before United's third and final goal.

"Are you watching Merseyside?" rang round the terraces as United showed Rafa Benitez and co their title credentials. The Reds were not even at their very best - but outbattled and outfought sub-standard Chelsea in the second-half to tie up a crucial three points.

Full Time - Manchester United 3-0 Chelsea
Attendance - 75,455

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

Manchester United Poll