Chelsea1-Man Utd1

The hotly anticipated match has been played and stalemated.There was no shortage of fireworks and overheated fuses.Majority of my readers probably watched the game or have already read reports on BBC,Eurosport or Skysports online.So I will not bore you with the minute details.
Man Utd probably did themselves a huge favor by scoring first in this game,otherwise it could have been a whitewash.They were outplayed and looked like they constantly gasped for air under the cush from their "boring-boring" rivals.

Any Man Utd fan who after watching today's game does not recognize that chelsea now has much more than their team can muster under stretch is living in a fools' paradise.The most ardent of those fans would probably inundate anyone who cares to listen with complaints on how Terry's red was reversed and how Vidic's absence weakened their defence today.That would do stand-in defender Johny Evans loads of injustice because quite honestly,he got his team out of jail several times in this game.

Ronaldo was on the bench,but so was Drogba.Deco picked up an injury just before kick-off,so this was by no means Scolari's choice starting eleven.Essien is a long time absentee.
Nothing could be stranger than Mike Riley's decision to blow the final whistle before chelsea had had a chance to take a last minute free kick after Ferdinand bundled Drogba over at the edge of the box. I remain convinced that the heavy presence of Man Utd and Arsenal influences in the rank and file of the FA will continue to ensure bias in favor of those 2 teams.Decisions go their way even on away grounds..like that stone cold penalty after Edwin Van Der Saar brought down Anelka.He was off the field because of injury...but he should have been sent off really.

Arsenal fans who may be singing "look who's top of the table now" need to check their fixture list again.They still haven't played anyone in the so called top four and have already lost to Fulham(!) this season.Arsenal flatter to deceive.They've done that for the last 5 seasons.Frankly,I don't envy Arsenal fans...I don't know how they keep doing this to themselves.You must be a masochist to remain an Arsenal fan these days.This team has no staying power...and the league has been won in the past 5 seasons only by teams with some staying power.Arsenal will fizzle after January.The premiership remains a marathon,not a sprint.

My biggest worry for Arsenal is the Dubai led renaissance in the blue half of Manchester.Seriously,there is a genuine possiblity Arsenal may not finish in Champions league places at the end of the season...especially if Man City sustain the form they displayed against Pompey today and Al Fahim spends some of those billions in January.I presume that the Keane-Torres partnership will come good for the Kop soon in making that assessment.

Finally,I appreciate good honest football analysis.Last year,I acknowledged Man Utd's superiority ahead of the pack despite being a Chelsea supporter.This year,only a blind man will not agree that Chelsea is stronger than the rest of the pack.

Your comments are welcome.Keep them clean and respectful.

OMC.