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Solskjaer to the rescue as Chelsea make United toil
By Henry Winter | |
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Man Utd (1) 2 Chelsea (1) 2 A REMARKABLE game, full of sound and fury, saw eight bookings, controversy aplenty and a late equaliser from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against a team who continually bedevil the Red Devils. United conceded the Premiership high ground, on goal difference, to Arsenal but could have suffered worse here. Chelsea, who have lost only twice during Alex Ferguson's 10 years at Old Trafford, made up for Sunday's defeat by Arsenal with a spirited display, confirming they will influence the championship race. Ferguson had predicted a "mighty battle". The players took him at his word. Five cautions littered a fractious first half, even one for Gianfranco Zola who epitomised the mood of near lawlessness with a reckless challenge on Gary Neville. The only red-blue harmony came when Mike Atherton and Alex Stewart performed the half-time lottery. The England cricketers had just witnessed an opening period scarred by indiscipline. Chelsea's elegant passing, which saw Zola and Gustavo Poyet excel, stirred feelings of frustration in United. The mercury rose quickest in David Beckham. Baited by the visiting supporters, this fine young midfielder again allowed heart to rule head, running around in heated search of the ball rather than observing his duties. Such tactical indiscipline set the scene for Chelsea's 23rd-minute goal. Beckham, whose responsibilities included keeping an eye on Graeme Le Saux's forays, charged infield from his right-flank station, hunting the ball but leaving an inviting space behind. Chelsea worked the ball to Le Saux, who advanced before despatching a 20-yarder straight at Peter Schmeichel. Such was the velocity of Le Saux's shot that it crashed off the goalkeeper into Henning Berg and spiralled back in over Schmeichel. Chelsea were in the mood, counter-attacking with speed and style, almost stretching the lead when Mark Hughes's header was inadvertently cleared by Gary Pallister. Another thrilling move saw the ball race from Hughes to Poyet to Zola before Hughes's shot was saved. The game was boiling up, almost boiling over. Roy Keane kicked Poyet. Gary Neville kicked the ball. This was United at their petulant worse. Then fortune smiled on them. Andy Cole and Karel Poborsky looked at least a yard offside when Pallister's through-ball cleared Chelsea's back-four. As apoplexy gripped the visitors, Cole raced on before sliding the ball to Paul Scholes, who scored with ease. The men in blue swarmed around the linesman, swiftly joined by Ruud Gullit, all incensed at such iniquity. The controversies continued. Le Saux, Keane and Andy Myers indulged in a surly bout. Keane, hardly setting a captain's example, then tangled with Poyet, foolishly risking another yellow card. The half finished with Beckham left on the floor; Dennis Wise skulked away in the background. United enjoyed good possession after the break but Chelsea's cutting edge was sharper. Dan Petrescu, beautifully released by Poyet and Zola, drew an exceptional save from Schmeichel. But the United goalkeeper was soon beaten, following a magnificent 67th-minute move. Paul Hughes carried Ed De Goey's ball down the right before releasing Petrescu. The Romanian's low cross curled slightly away from Schmeichel, who may have been distracted by Zola's run. The ball slithered on to the unmarked Hughes, who punished those who once lauded his every touch. Ferguson sent all his attacking forces, one of whom, Teddy Sheringham, should have equalised from Solskjaer's clever pass. But United's resilience brought them a point, Solskjaer curling in a splendid equaliser two minutes from time. _________________________________________________________________ Man Utd (1) 2 Chelsea (1) 2 Scholes 36, Solskjaer 86; Berg 25 og, M. Hughes 68. Man Utd: Schmeichel, Neville (Giggs 80), Irwin, Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole, Poborsky (Solskjaer 66), Keane, Scholes (Sheringham 66), Berg. Subs Not Used: Johnsen, Van Der Gouw. Booked: Keane, Scholes, Irwin. Chelsea: De Goey, Petrescu, Leboeuf, Lambourde, Poyet, M. Hughes, Wise, Le Saux, Myers, P. Hughes, Zola (Flo 89). Subs Not Used: Gullit, Vialli, Hitchcock, Nicholls. Booked: Lambourde, Zola, Wise, P. Hughes, M. Hughes. Att: 55,163 Ref: G S Willard (Worthing). _________________________________________________________________ Paul Scholes celebrates his controversial equaliser. FERGUSON CALLS GULLIT OFF-SIDE By Rob King, PA Sport Football Correspondent Ruud Gullit blew his legendary cool for the first time as a football boss at Old Trafford tonight and was accused of sparking 15 minutes of intimidation and "an absolute battle" by Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson. Gullit led a storm of protests to the referee's assistant after Paul Scholes' first half equaliser, claiming that Andy Cole was offside when he set up the goal. The Chelsea manager's actions in the 2-2 draw upset Ferguson who said: "I have watched the video of the first goal, the controversial goal and it was clearly on-side. "There was so much controversy that the point of Cole's run will be missed. But Chelsea's defender, at least those on the near side, must know he was on-side. "That is what soured the game, them trying to intimidate the referee and linesman. For the next 15 minutes it was an absolute battle. "One or two players on both sides were lucky to stay on the pitch and half-time came at the right time. "It was all argue, game stop, argue, game stop with the referee under pressure. "The referee handled it well in the second half and the players controlled themselves better. There was still a lot of passion, still bookings but nothing silly." But Chelsea's dreadlocked Dutchman was all smiles after thematch and said: "That's football - it's all about emotions." There were suggestions that he clashed with West Sussex referee Gary Willard in the players' tunnel as the teams left the field at half-time. However, the referee issued a statement through United spokesman Ken Ramsden after the game saying: "I did not speak to Gullit at all, he came nowhere near me." Gullit, questioned about his first explosion, replied: "That says everything." But he praised his team, who have lost only twice in 32 years at Old Trafford and led first through an Henning Berg own goal and then former United hero Mark Hughes before first Scholes' equaliser and then an 85th minute strike by comeback substitute Ole Solskjaer. "The way they played under very difficult circumstances, I can only be proud of the team," said Gullit. "I'm not going to talk about any episodes because the game was so good. Everything was in it, it was an extraordinary game. "If you play at the top you have more games like this, it was firey. "I did not see this as a test - everything has been a test for us in the last couple of weeks and people keep saying we can't do this and we can't do that. "But we have a good team and we showed it today. They stayed calm, that is why I am so proud of them. "That's the difficulty of this job: to keep them calm. After the break Chelsea still played good football, they weren't frustrated by anything. "Of course it was there in the back of the head. It's very difficult, very emotional playing against the champions. "It's difficult for the players to keep their head in a game like that for a lot of reasons." Ferguson also slammed his own team adding: ``We dug ourselves out again. I don't know how many times I've done that in the last few years. ``It tells you something about our character but also how careless we can be. Against a team like Chelsea you don't need that.'' But he praised the goal by Solskjaer saying: ``It was a magnificent finish. There was no draw back, it was a real goal-scorers goal.'' He also had Teddy Sheringham back in action after two cracked ribs and said: ``It's good timing with relation to next Wednesday.'' © PA Sporting Life |
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