MX23RW : Monday, November 25 07:39:25| >> :120:38701:38701:

Match Analysis: Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea

Sports Mole dissects the underwhelming goalless draw between Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premier League.

The highly-anticipated Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea finished as an underwhelming goalless draw at Old Trafford this evening.

In a game of no clear-cut chances, David Moyes and Jose Mourinho seemed content to settle for a point in the first clash of two title challengers this season.

Here, Sports Mole casts its eye over a disappointing 90 minutes.

Match statistics:

United:
Shots 12
On target 3
Possession 55%
Corners 4
Fouls 9

Chelsea:
Shots 8
On target 4
Possession 45%
Corners 1
Fouls 10

Was the result fair?

Yep. Neither side deserved anything more than a point. There may have been 15 shots over the 90 minutes but none of them were stand-out chances. Definitely an air of not wanting to lose rather than wanting to win.

United's performance

Moyes was certainly the more attack-minded of the two managers with his selection of three forwards but Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck struggled to really test Petr Cech, who kept his 200th clean sheet in a Chelsea jersey. Van Persie, in particular, had a quiet night at the office. Further back, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic didn't have much to deal with as Chelsea played without a striker for most of the game.

Chelsea's performance

Mourinho insisted that his selection of six midfielders wasn't a negative move but the lack of a spearhead made Chelsea rather limp going forward. In defence, John Terry put in a typically brave display and nullified the threat of Van Persie. Juan Mata didn't play at all and his exclusion will cast further doubts over his future as a Blue.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Wayne Rooney: The one man who stood out as wanting to really win the game was Rooney, chosen to start by Moyes against Chelsea, who have openly expressed an interest in him this summer. The England forward's run back and tackle to dispossess Ramires drew the loudest cheer of the night in a game of little goalmouth action.

Biggest gaffe

Hardly a gaffe to speak about on the pitch so we're going to have to give this to all of the players for simply not throwing caution to the wind enough and settling for a draw.

Referee performance

Martin Atkinson had a fine game with the whistle, handling the big occasion well and rightly waving away three penalty appeals.

What next?

United: It doesn't get any easier for United as they travel to Liverpool on Sunday lunchtime.

Chelsea: The Blues now have a weekend off in the league but take on Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday night.

ID:101002: cacheID:101002:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4823:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
United's Wayne Rooney battles Frank Lampard for possession on August 26, 2013
Read Next:
United, Chelsea play out stalemate
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!