Chelsea vs United: The One that Juan Returned (but left without a point)

Reunited & It Feels So Good

Chelsea versus Manchester United is never a match without some dramatic talking points — but they aren’t always the ones that happen on the pitch. Just today (two days after the match for those of you reading this in the future —hi mum!) there was some concern that all Mourinho’s careful foil-Fellaini planning would have to be scrapped just before the match.

Mourinho had spent the better part of last week training his side to deal with United’s unexpected target man — apparently using Ruben Loftus-Cheek as a stand in. However, a doorman had thought he’d seen Fellaini arrive on match day and promptly told Mourinho he wouldn’t be playing. JM had the good sense to suss out that it was actually Fellaini's brother, once again highlighting his next-level genius. Who would ever suspect that there is another person in the world who thinks that a unibrow and fuzzy hair is a style to aim for?! Only Jose sussed out that there could be two.

Of course, Jose Mourinho’s secret weapon was handily dispatched on Saturday. Kurt Zouma was the bigger, better, and suitably quaffed shadow to Marouane Fellaini. There were some who intimated that Fellaini could not / would not be bullied in midfield. Those are people who underestimated both Zouma and his many talents and the man that put him there. Mourinho was never going to put Fabregas in a position to mark Fellaini. He’s feisty - but you can only punch a knee cap so many times.

For those who opted to overlook the tactical genius of putting Zouma on Fellaini probably also got bogged down by those cursed possession statistics. Possession is all well and good in a grand attempt to not allow your opponent to score — but possession means nothing if you don’t do anything with it. Although Manchester United saw a lot more of the ball than Chelsea, they didn’t often look like they were prepared to do anything with it. That in part had to do with El Gatita up front. There was a time that Falcao embarrassed Chelsea and drove some people to drink mojitos until they couldn’t have told you the scoreline that night. *ahem* That time is not now. Falcao has not had a shot on target since January. Actual January. Chris Smalling has scored three goals since Falcao last hit the target! Chris Smalling!

For all that talk about possession, you’d think someone would address the brief possession De Gea’s arm had with the ball outside his area. And whether the PotY candidate (but ulitmate loser to Eden Hazard) should in fact have remained on the pitch. At least Mike Dean and his assistants ensured a consistent level of refereeing for the season. And not a ‘campaign against Chelsea’ for those of you who are about to get shouty about it. I just mean the referees by and large have been poo (other adjectives are available).

Didier Drogba is certainly worthy of a mention for his performance. He hasn’t always looked like the Drogba of old this season - but Saturday’s performance was immense. He created loads of space for Eden Hazard to be, well, Eden Hazard. That man battled from start to finish and end to end. He and Hazard were unlucky not to link up for what would have been a special second goal. Obviously karate kicking a ball into the net is special even from a rebound.

Although some criticised his performance on Saturday, I thought Juan Mata was immense for a player who clearly wanted to be playing for the opposition. He ran his little socks off and some of his pinpoint precise passes were worthy of sitting back a moment just to admire them. One person may or may not have suggested grabbing him in the corner to switch his shirt. But that person may not have had the upper body strength to get Mata over the hoardings - even if he is only little. He, deservedly, got a brilliant reception from just about every fan in the ground. And then stayed back to hug every single Chelsea player as they came off the pitch — even the ones he hadn’t played with. *sigh*

The Chelsea juggernaut rolls on. Although the win isn’t inherently necessary for Chelsea to win the league, Mourinho will want to continue his stellar record against bezzie mate Arsene Wenger next week after they tired themselves out in extra time against the mighty Reading.

Moment of the Match: David De Gea’s celebration for Wayne Rooney hitting the wrong side of the net

Roll on Sunday. 9 points to go

jb x

PS: Things that my birthday great - Chelsea's win over United, Hazard's goal, Cudicini's suave stroll around the pitch at halftime phwoar, Tactics Tim ruining someone else's Steven Gerrard's birthday