Chelsea vs. Manchester United

With United depleted by injuries to both Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov, the defending league champions stifled Chelsea until the 76th minute but were ultimately unable to prevent England captain John Terry from heading Frank Lampard’s free-kick beyond Edwin van der Sar, though Nicolas Anelka may claim his toe had the final touch.

The result leaves Arsenal as Chelsea’s nearest challengers and means United have already now lost three times in the league.

Chelsea were going for a club-record 11th consecutive home wins and started with marginally the greater purpose. Branislav Ivanovic burst down the right flank and let fly with a left-foot shot which Edwin van der Sar did well to hold at the near post.

In the 10th minute, United responded when Wayne Rooney collected a pass from Patrice Evra and fired into the side-netting from the angle of the six-yard box.

Chelsea were struggling to settle into the game and most of the action was confined to the home side's half.

United were far more comfortable on the ball with the home side given little time to build from the back.

But a long cross from Michael in the 18th minute found the lurking Didier Drogba on the edge of the six-yard box but the Ivory Coast striker failed to direct his header on target.

Chelsea got a number of crosses into the penalty area as the game unfolded, but the quality of distribution was disappointing. This was epitomised by a Frank Lampard free-kick on the left in the 23rd minute that fizzed over the crowd in the box and went out for a goal kick.

The Blues did improve later in the half and forced a good save from van der Sar on the 30 minute mark. Anelka picked the ball up on the right flank, cut inside his marker, and quickly unleased a stinging drive that was headed for the far corner. The Dutch 'keeper appeared to see the shot late but managed to meet the ball with an outstretched palm.

Drogba then broke into the penalty from the right flank but his angled drive ended in the upper tier of the stand as referee Martin Atkinson brought proceedings to a finish for the opening period.

In the 50th minute Drogba got the better of United's John O'Shea but his 25-yard shot went wide of the target.

Wayne Rooney shot into the side-netting when he found limited space on the left, while Ryan Giggs lifted the ball over the cross-bar after latching onto Darren Fletcher’s clever through-ball.

With Berbatov unavailable due to a knee injury, Rooney was required to play as the main central striker and he consistently carried the greatest threat as United looked to punish Chelsea on the counter-attack.

There was a worrying moment for Chelsea in the 71st minute when Drogba was kicked in the chest by Jonny Evans. Astonishingly, Drogba was then booked by Atkinson.

Chelsea took the lead minutes later, Fletcher conceded a foul on the left wing and Lampard floated a brilliant goal into the penalty area. The cross was met with a flick header by Terry and the ball zipped into the bottom right-hand corner, 1-0 to Chelsea. United were furious, they thought the referee was wrong to award the initial infringement. Rooney was booked for his protestations.

There was a collective intake of breath when the fourth official indicated five additional minutes of injury-time, but Chelsea held firm to underline their status as favourites for the Premier League title.