A dramatic night at Old Trafford saw Manchester United snatch a draw from Chelsea’s grasp after Didier Drogba had headed the visitors into the lead.
Chelsea dropped points for just the second time this season, and for the second time in Manchester, but maintained their unbeaten start to the season.
An early blow for Chelsea was not having Diego Costa or Loic Remy available for injury but, as he proved, Didier Drogba is a worthy replacement.
A heated affair saw Chelsea finish with 10 men and left bitterly disappointed as Robin van Persie claimed a huge poin t for United and stopped Mourinho’s side going eight points clear of Manchester City.
Thibaut Courtois was the busier of the two keepers during the first half, making difficult saves from van Persie and Di Maria look simple as he plucked them out the air.
Didier Drogba had Chelsea’s best effort of the game, forcing an instinctive save from David De Gea from the edge of the area after a good pull-back from Willian.
Chelsea should have had a penalty after Chris Smalling hauled Branislav Ivanovic down from a corner, but Phil Dowd seemingly missed the challenge and waved play on.
However, apart from a van Persie effort that was smothered by Courtois, neither side looked like they deserved to have a lead going into the break.
Whatever Mourinho said at half-time, however, seemed to work as Chelsea came out and instantly pressured United and seemed to embrace their rare tag of favorites at Old Trafford.
Their quick start to the second half was rewarded as Didier Drogba rolled back the years; rising highest to nod home a Cesc Fabregas corner at the near post. Mourinho’s men ahead and silence Old Trafford.
Eden Hazard would have been the most relieved man in the stadium after the corner from which Drogba scored came from a chance which the Belgian really should have scored, but De Gea pulled off a stunning save.
Mourinho’s intentions were clear when he bought on John Obi Mikel with over twenty minutes to go, with the defensive midfielder replacing Oscar who had run his socks off yet again.
Chelsea never looked as if they would extend their lead; Willian went close with a curling effort before Branislav Ivanovic fired harmlessly across the face of the United net.
Chelsea’s ‘defend what we have attitude’ was to be punished after Branislav Ivanovic was shown a second yellow for a silly trip on Di Maria, and Robin van Persie fired home from the resulting freekick to earn the hosts an important point.
Mourinho looked sour as he made his way down the tunnel after a draw which, if offered at the beginning of the game would seem like a good result, but the manner in which Chelsea lost it made it feel like two points dropped instead of one gained.
However, Chelsea now sit four points clear of Southampton at the top of the league while their closest title contenders in Manchester City are six points behind and lie in third place.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Courtois: 10 – Outstanding, demanding performance. Caught everything and could do nothing about Van Persie’s powerful strike.
Ivanovic: 4 – Did his job throughout the game, came close to scoring but gave away a silly foul which cost his side. Will now miss next game.
Terry: 8 – Can’t fault his performance. Nothing special, got on with his job. Captain fantastic.
Cahill: 7 – Played it safe alongside JT. Could do nothing about United’s goal.
Filipe Luis: 8 – Thwarted the threat of Di Maria well. Worthy replacement for Azpilicueta.
Matic: 9 – Runs Courtois close for player of the match. Simple passes, breaking up play as usual. Took a a couple of hefty blocks for the cause.
Fabregas: 6 – Not his finest Chelsea hour. Uncharacteristic passing, but got his eighth assist of the season in setting up Drogba.
Hazard: 8 – Ran through players as if they weren’t there. Glaring miss will be forgiven as it eventually lead to Drogba’s opener.
Oscar: 7 – Nothing too glamorous, but did his shift defensively as usual and played a few nice passes.
Willian: 6.5 – Similar to Oscar. Nothing special but did his shift, struggled to get into the game but tracked back well.
Drogba: 7 – Occasionally held the ball up well and impressed considering it was his first PL start in over 2 years. Rose brilliantly to give Chelsea the lead.
- Cesc Fabregas has more goal assists already this season than any Chelsea player managed in 2013-14
- Robin van Persie has now scored seven Premier League goals against Chelsea, but this is the first away from Stamford Bridge
- Didier Drogba has scored his first Premier League goal since March 2012
- Ivanovic will miss Chelsea’s league cup game vs Shrewsbury in midweek due to his red card today
- Azpilicueta is still suspended for two more games after red card vs Palace
