Premier League match time returns to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea host Manchester United, in an initial match on Tuesday, March 1, a match originally scheduled to be played on December 19 and postponed due to of bad weather.
Chelsea’s match against Fulham should be all about Torres, who replaced Drogba in the starting eleven as the primary striker for the Stamford Bridge team. While preferring Torres to Drogba, Chelsea gave greater control in midfield. Fulham were determined as always in defense and Chelsea failed to convert the half chances they had to show for all their superior possession.
David Lutz used the game to show his considerable skill. The Brazilian had more creativity than the entire midfield combined, and his only fault was an outburst on Dempsey in injury time, which resulted in a penalty kick for Fulham, which Dempsey himself took. And Cech made a brilliant save to prevent Lutz’s lone mistake from taking away from his amazing performance. The loss of two points has made Chelsea’s title defense an impossible mirage.
In their match against Wigan in match week 28, United were off-color until Hernandez put them ahead in 17 minutes. Meanwhile, Wigan created a couple of scoring chances and the Old Trafford team have Van der Sar to thank for not letting Wigan convert any of เลื่อนแข่งพรีเมียร์.
Rooney was lucky that he was not sent off for what looked like a deliberate elbow by James McCarthy in the 10th minute. The iconic striker had a hand in 3 of the 4 goals, of which the third scored. The first goal that happened after his pass to Nani (absolutely brilliant on the day) on the right flank was passed to Hernandez, who converted. Hernandez scored another goal in 74 minutes; Rooney made it 3-0 in 84 minutes, and three minutes later Fabio finished the count with United’s fourth goal of the game. The result has given United 4 points free for Arsenal at the top of the table and 15 points from Chelsea, who are in 5th place.
Head to head, from the last league matches between Chelsea and Manchester United, the Stamford Bridge team has won 3, while United have won 2, with the remaining game drawn.
In their last 6 league games, Chelsea have recorded 3 wins, 2 losses and draws, while Manchester United have 5 of their last 6 games, while losing the rest. Chelsea have won 8 out of 12 home games this season, while losing and drawing 2 each. Manchester United have 4 lost 1, while pulling the remaining 8 out of 13 games on the road.
In their last Premier League match, Chelsea left 0-0 away at Fulham, while Manchester United’s last match, away at Wigan, ended 4-0 in their favor.
In the defending champions, Manchester United can expect tougher opponents than the basement team Wigan. But in its current form, it would be a steep challenge for Chelsea to take a full three points away from Tuesday’s match.
Chelsea’s starting eleven against Fulham consisted of: Cech, Ivanovic, David Lutz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Anelka, Torres and Malouda. Drogba and Kalou played as substitutes.