United beat Chelsea after crazy 90 minutes at Old Trafford
Torres' terrible miss
By Chris,
September 18 2011
In a match which saw Fernando Torres miss the easiest of chances and Wayne Rooney fire a penalty hopelessly wide, Manchester United scored three first-half goals to a record an excellent 3-1 victory over title rivals Chelsea. Chris Smalling, Nani and Rooney hit the target for the home side at Old Trafford.
Sunday’s game was a bizarre combination of calamity and class as United made it five wins from five in the Barclays Premier League.
There was a hint of offside about United’s opener after only eight minutes.
Smalling was left unmarked by Chelsea’s defence and he latched onto Ashley Young’s free-kick to nod home.
Nani doubled the lead on 37 minutes with a fantastic long-range effort before Rooney fired home the easiest of finishes on the stroke of half-time.
However, the three-goal lead flattered United. Chelsea had squandered a host of excellent chances to the despair of their travelling fans.
The Londoners got themselves right back into the game almost immediately after the re-start as £50million man Torres scored his first goal of the season.
But United had the chance to seal the win on 55 minutes from the penalty spot as Nani was hauled down by Boswinga and Staffordshire-based referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot.
Rooney, however, slipped as he ran up and hit the spot-kick hopelessly wide of the target.
His embarrassment was overshadowed by Torres’ late miss in front of the Stretford End. The Spaniard showed class to comfortably round David De Gea before hitting a pathetic effort off target!
Substitute Berbatov, who had replaced Javier Hernandez on 79 minutes, missed a late chance to erase any flagging doubt as to the destination of the points, but United held on to win once again.
Full Time – Manchester United 3-1 Chelsea
Attendance – 75,455
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