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Chelsea chances look slim and none
TEAMtalk sees no way that Chelsea can win this season's Premier League after witnessing their disappointing display at Manchester United.
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Like all good spies Jose Mourinho will have taken away a detailed intelligence report from Old Trafford.
It will have made dire reading for his former club Chelsea.
It will question what has happened to the miserly defence which characterised his days at Stamford Bridge.
It will record the demise of Didier Drogba, who looks a shadow of the striker who once appeared to run through brick walls for Mourinho.
It will note with some glee, you suspect, that Chelsea under Luiz Felipe Scolari have still to beat one of the big clubs in the Premier League having been defeated 3-0 by Manchester United.
In truth, it will record that Chelsea look stale and lack pace. A side growing old. Short of ideas. No fight. No fluency.
Finally, it will report that United, while still far from their best, will prove the toughest of opposition when Mourinho's Inter Milan team come to Old Trafford in the Champions League next month.
The fact is that if Manchester United win their two games in hand they will have overhauled Liverpool at the top of the league and will be five points ahead of Chelsea.
That would be a significant lead, one which could break the back of Chelsea's challenge and hole the Chelsea reign of Scolari below the water line.
Scolari's authority increasingly has been doubted these past weeks.
The bottom line is that while Scolari can put his World Cup medal on the table, as well as a host of other honours from Brazil, he has never looked assured in the Premier League.
It would be wrong to say there was a lot between the sides. There wasn't. There was a gulf, especially in a second half which United dominated.
Scolari, of course, was supposed to bring a more attacking verve to Chelsea. Yet there is no more dynamic intent under Scolari than there was under Mourinho.
The full-backs, Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole, cross the halfway line a shade more often these days but they are still set up to protect rather than to create.
That perhaps remains the main difference between United and Chelsea and why Sir Alex Ferguson's men are more likely to prevail over the course of the season.
United's first instincts are to get forward. They take risks, back their talent and possess more game-breakers in Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
And, lest we forget, the evergreen Ryan Giggs.
Giggs, even deep into his 30s, gives United the option of running and dribbling deep from the heart of midfield. He opens up tight matches and even in such auspicious company was the game's most influential performer.
Yet when the first goal arrived it came, as so often in football, from a set-piece, a corner flung over by Giggs and headed home by Nemanja Vidic.
If Chelsea placed defenders on the line it surely would have been saved. But they do not and it was not.
A routine goal then to break the ice in a match which may yet have such significance when the title is handed over come May.
A goal which simply would not have been conceded in the days of Mourinho when set-pieces were a defensive work of art.
Rooney and Berbatov added two more in a second half which was remarkable from Chelsea's perspective only for proving that Drogba and Nicolas Anelka cannot play effectively together and that Chelsea are a side on the slide.
On this evidence it is difficult to see Scolari turning them around.
You cannot ignore it. Chelsea look like a team in need of the inspiration once supplied by the spy in the stand.
Man Utd 3 - 0 Chelsea
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Your Comments
UglyMe (Manchester United fan)
"I don't believe it is over for Blues. Not just yet! It is only one match. I admit the impact is huge, but Chelsea is big team, and big teams stand up stronger when they fall. Remember Manchester's setback when they were knocked out the group stage in CL. We stood back and conquered the whole world. I still believe it is either Manchester or Chelsea for PL this season. Chelsea are only 4 points behind Liverpool (who started to drop form), with 17 matches left, saying over to Chelsea is just stupid."
FINSKI (Chelsea fan)
"i wonder those fans who thinks that our title race is over, i believe that its our work to support our team when its hard. We have new coach, new players and new formation what doesnt work very well. i believe LFS is working his brains out to get things work and he will succeed."
FINSKI (Chelsea fan)
"Blue lisbon (chelsea fan) I agree, its not over yet, dont understand this article at all. How many points we were behind last season and how many points it was before last game...i wonder if someone pays these morans who are writing this crap. You are still behind us ManUnited ;)"
a_eddie007 (Chelsea fan)
"i admit, chelsea's title race this season is over......"
ronaldoholic (Manchester United fan)
"agree with the posters here who remind the writer of above article that it is way way way too early to write of Chelsea! They are still one of three main contenders for the title. This was just one game. Yes, it might prove vital for Uniteds chance of winning and the adverse effect for Chelsea's ditto, but it is much too early to say anything about that. Seems strange to draw a conclusion like that from just one game of football. LFC and United could go onto drop points in other games where CFC can gain points dropped in this game, it is a very likely scenario. This season has proved so far that it is not so predictable as the past three-four seasons as all the top teams are dropping more points this year than normally! It was a very important game to be sure, but to say at this point that the big loss rules out Chelsea of the title running is just ridiculous!"
blue lisbon (Chelsea fan)
"seriously,very poor article guys.Who needs to be playing their best football in January??? True there may be problems at the Bridge but surely we'll be there the end of the season,this is the "blip" period. No big deal. KTBFFH"
yangguo (Manchester United fan)
"This is only 1 game lost against an in-form ManU. As long as Chelsea can bring their game up for the upcoming matches, I believe Chelsea is still up there with ManU. Even if we don't win the title, I would rather see Chelsea or the Gunners(though almost impossible this season) than a Loserpool to take the title."
wilsonid (Newcastle United fan)
"start of the season I said Chelsea were getting old and wondered if their players had the desire - we got the answer to that question earlier than today's game against MU, which only served to underline it. Good luck to MU - SAF sets them up to try and win games. Even far from their best, they were more than a match for the same old grinders we have had to endure for far too long - or have people really forgotten the number of dull, last gasp and damn well fortunate results Chelsea picked up to earn their title...."
mattsmith (Manchester United fan)
"Talk about knee jerk reaction! Chelsea were poor today but they and United will still challange for the title, no doubt about that!"
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