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United keep vessel watertight
By Patrick Barclay at Stamford Bridge | |
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Chelsea (0) 0 Manchester United (1) 1 THERE was no spectacular show from Manchester United this time. A workmanlike production, enhanced by the first goal of Phil Neville's senior career, sufficed to kill off any lingering hopes of the Premiership title Chelsea may have harboured. The best the Londoners can expect now is to finish immediatly behind United, which would provide an opportunity to enter the Champions' League - not one for which they are fitted on recent evidence under both the departed Ruud Gullit and his successor Gianluca Vialli. Indeed, since Christmas they have lost five of eight League matches and that is relegation form. With Vialli in charge, Chelsea have reached the Coca-Cola Cup final but here, as at Leicester last weekend, they were unable either to obtain a point or a goal. Vialli's replacement of himself with Tore Andre Flo towards the end acknowledged one of the more obvious reasons: a lack of pace up front, where Vialli and his fellow veterans Mark Hughes and Gianfranco Zola struggled to break down a United defence that suffered anything but an adverse effect from the loss of Gary Pallister in the first half. Pallister never looked comfortable before succumbing to back trouble, an all too familiar affliction that renders him extremely doubtful for Wednesday's first leg of the Champions' League quarter-final in Monaco. Once Henning Berg had joined the splendid Ronny Johnsen in an all-Nor- wegian partnership, however, United were watertight and the advantage supplied by Neville never came under serious threat. That entertainment was sparse - the youngster's expertly contrived and executed goal apart - did not bother Alex Ferguson, who declared himself more pleased than after the 5-3 triumph in the FA Cup two months ago. "It means a lot more," said the United manager, "because of the competition. At the start of the Premiership I thought Chelsea would be our major challengers, and our concentration had to be really good today. In big games you need that." It was a scrappy contest on a windy morning when we had wondered how much of a difference Dennis Wise, suspended from the Cup match, would make. He was certainly evident, pushing Nicky Butt, kicking out at Paul Scholes and eventually, after elbowing Butt, becoming the first player to incur 10 cautions in the Premiership this season. But Wise also played some football that helped Chelsea at least to match United for half an hour. The goal, as Vialli said afterwards, changed everything. "We made mistakes and the best team in England punished us. They could sit back, wait for us, and counter-attack. We did our best but it wasn't enough. They didn't give us space." Butt had a great deal to do with that. Though nature caused him to tangle with Wise from time to time, Ferguson used him principally on the left side to counter the advances of Dan Petrescu and employed Phil Neville in central midfield. It was new to Neville, as far as I am aware, yet he performed efficiently and took his goal with a composure that was scarcely the most prevelant characteristic of the day. The build-up was nice and careful, too, Teddy Sheringham receiving the ball back from Andy Cole before playing in Neville, whose low shot went across Dimitri Kharine and just inside the far corner. Before this, Kharine had saved from Cole, easing home anxiety raised by Michael Duberry's aberration, but there was just as much early action at Peter Schmiechel's end while Johnsen built a towering display. It should have surprised no one, as Ferguson implied afterwards: "Ronny has played many good games for us. With his electric pace and excellent reading of the game, he's without question one of the outstanding centre-backs around." Nor did Berg lose much by comparison. The pair were in difficulty only once, towards the end of the first half, when Petrescu burst through the middle and got swerve on a shot that Schmiechel fingertipped over. The rest was frustration for Chelsea. Ferguson had kind words for them afterwards when, bearing no scars from a pre-match hand-bagging session with Sky's Andy Gray, he was asked to review the Premiership season so far. "I think that in general the quality has been better," he said. "The progress we made up to December was remarkable, especially after losing Roy Keane." Referring to their wobbles last month, he added: "Sometimes there's a draining effect in the new year. But we've got most of them fit again and we're close to our strongest side today." Was this a handily timed lift for morale with Monaco looming? "It won't do us any harm, that's for sure." How Chelsea will feel as they prepare to meet Real Betis in Seville on Thursday night is another matter. "We'll be ready with the right attitude," Vialli promised. "I was quite happy with the performance today, if not the result, and we're just going to have to keep performing to as high a standard as possible in the Premiership because that's the best preparation for Europe and the Coca-Cola Cup final." He defended the 4-3-3 system the former Juventus striker says he came to relish in Turin. It might have been designed for him, though Zola was again a peripheral figure yesterday, unsuited to his role on the left. "I think we have the right men to make it work," Vialli insisted. "I know it is a difficult way to play football and that it will take time for the players to understand exactly what we have to do, but the secret is to attack all together and defend all together. "Maybe we are not there yet, but the only way to get things right in the future is to keep playing like this. We did it well against Arsenal in the Coca-Cola semi-final, after all. Of course, it's very tiring but if we're physically and mentally ready, we can do it. The solution lies in working in training and all the players are responding very well." And so it is off to sunny Spain with the distinct worry on Chelsea's behalf that their problems have barely been touched by Gullit's abrupt disappearance. Their potential, of course, is limitless. But though their chairman, Ken Bates, makes play of their supposedly sophisticated status as the only genuine West End club, at least one more objective expert in football administration tells me he has never seen a club so hopelessly unprepared for such success as they have achieved so far - or the sustenance of same. Immediately after Gullit parted company with them, he alluded to this in talking about instances of dubious professionalism such as the loss of their kit after the Cup final last season and various other cock-ups. Still, the stadium is coming up to scratch and as usual it was packed to the rafters (except the West stand, which has none yet) for this reassertion of United's superiority. __________________________________________________________ Chelsea (0) 0 Manchester United (1) 1 P. Neville 31. Chelsea: Kharine, Petrescu, Leboeuf, Clarke, Vialli (Flo 78), Hughes, Wise, Duberry, Le Saux, Di Matteo, Zola.Subs not used: Hitchcock, Lambourde, Newton, Nicholls.Booked: Wise, Zola, Leboeuf. Manchester United: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister (Berg 28), Beckham, Butt, Cole, Sheringham, P. Neville, Scholes.Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, McClair, Solskjaer, Thornley.Booked: Butt, Beckham, Cole. Att: 34511 Ref: S W Dunn (Bristol) __________________________________________________________ Neville's first goal give United victory over Chelsea By Mike Collett LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Defender Phil Neville, playing out of position in midfield, scored the first senior goal of his career to give Manchester United a deserved 1-0 win over Chelsea in the English premier league on Saturday. The only goal of a disappointing, untidy match full of niggling tackles and personal feuds at Stamford Bridge, came after 31 minutes when 20-year-old Neville's angled shot went in off the base of goalkeeper Dmitri Kharine's far post. The strike and the move that led to it was one of the few bright moments and started with a break out of the middle from Denis Irwin. His pass found Teddy Sheringham who played a one-two with Andy Cole before lobbing the Chelsea defence with a pass to Neville who opened his scoring account in his 74th match for the club. ``I thought I was offside,'' he said afterwards, although television replays proved he clearly was not. ``I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do when I found myself in that position, it was an unusual place for me to be.'' United manager Alex Ferguson added: ``It was a bit of a surprise seeing Philip score,'' he said, ``But he kept his composure and took the chance very well.'' The result put United back on the winning path after losing to Barnsley in the F.A. Cup on Wednesday and opened up a 12-point gap on their nearest challengers who were playing later on Saturday. But Ferguson admitted that the match was a poor spectacle between two teams at the top of the table. ``The wind, the pitch, didn't help and it was a scrappy game. But we defended very well and I am very, very pleased we won, far more pleased than when we beat them here in the Cup last month. ``I thought Chelsea were going to be a major challenger for the title this season, but they are now 14 points behind us with 10 matches to play. This has made it very difficult for them.'' There were 16 bookings in the previous two matches between these sides this season, and Saturday's match was another bad-tempered affair, with saw another six players booked -- three from each team. It will not live long in the memories of many of the 35,000-plus crowd who saw it. United, who beat Chelsea 5-3 in the Cup at Stamford Bridge eight weeks ago, largely dominated again thanks to tireless work in midfield from David Beckham, Nicky Butt and the outstanding Paul Scholes whose blocking tackles continually thwarted Chelsea's attacks. Ronny Johnsen, the man of the match, was superb in the heart of the United defence, which restricted Chelsea to just three clear scoring chances. Former United striker Mark Hughes missed twice and Italian Gianfranco Zola once. The only time United keeper Peter Schmeichel was really tested was when he palmed a powerfully-hit long-range shot from Dan Petrescu over the bar in the first half. The match was played early on Saturday before the full league programme to give United added time to prepare for Wednesday's European Cup quarter-final against Monaco. But their preparations will be upset by central defender Gary Pallister limping off in the first half with what was feared to be a recurrence of a long-standing back injury. ``Wednesday's match is a huge match for us and this has certainly helped us prepare for it,'' Ferguson said afterwards, ``I that Gary will be fit, we will just have to wait and see.'' Chelsea are also playing in European competition next week, against Real Betis in Seville in the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup on Thursday. __________________________________________________________ March 1 1998 FOOTBALL United savour morning glory Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge Chelsea 0 Manchester United 1 MANCHESTER UNITED may have their eyes on a greater prize, but there was no hint of European distraction about their work yesterday, when they applied themselves with muscular diligence to the task of extending their domestic hegemony and emerged with due reward for a job well done. After the disappointment of their FA Cup defeat at Barnsley, a deserved away win was a timely pick-me-up as they head off for Monte Carlo and Wednesday's European Cup quarter-final against Monaco. A match which featured six international strikers of world renown had an unlikely winner in the svelte shape of Phil Neville who, with Glenn Hoddle present, did his World Cup prospects no harm by scoring his first goal for United from his temporary midfield role. Unfortunately, for the second weekend in succession, United's satisfaction with a good win was marred by an injury that threatens to keep a key player out of the Monaco tie. Against Derby County eight days ago Ryan Giggs was laid low with a damaged hamstring; yesterday Gary Pallister withdrew from the fray 28 minutes after the 11.15 kick-off with a recurrence of the back trouble which has plagued him. With the centre-half they rate the best in the country doubtful for Wednesday, United were grateful for proof of Ronny Johnsen's form and fitness. Commanding and composed, the Norwegian defender was, by a street, man of the match. Mean-spirited and occasionally spiteful, the game was no classic. Littered with six bookings and countless sly fouls, it needed a better referee than Bristol's Steve Dunn, who missed too much, to put the lid on a profusion of simmering feuds. Chelsea were provocative, but United can compete as well as they play, and were in no way fazed when the going got tough. With 10 games to go, the defending champions are 10-1 on to retain their title, and it would be a foolish man who wagered against them. In contrast, Chelsea's championship ambitions, already on life support, were finally laid to rest. Fourteen points off the pace, they were as ordinary here as they were in losing at Leicester a week before, and even the runners-up spot for which Gianluca Vialli, their new manager, is aiming may be beyond them. The swirling wind and a lively pitch were mitigating factors, but the football produced by two teams of high repute was disappointing and an event of high expectation dissolved into a fractious scrap. Vialli kept the same side for the second match running. Deploying three forwards, himself included, he wants to play like Juventus, but lacks the personnel to make his 4-3-3 work. Duberry is no Ferrara, Wise no Zidane and the man himself is certainly no Del Piero. Part of the problem is that the front three are all past their best and, although Vialli will not admit it, a reversion to 4-4-2 can only be a matter of time. Without Giggs, United played it safe on the flanks, with Nicky Butt on the left and Phil Neville just inside David Beckham on the other side. Compact and competitive, their security was such that Peter Schmeichel made only one save worthy of the name, from Dan Petrescu. The cup-tie between the two sides had been splenetic as well as dramatic, and Vialli found it necessary before the rematch to call for restraint from Frank Leboeuf and Beckham, who had exchanged unpleasantries first time around. Vialli called for maturity, a commonsense approach that bodes well. Unfortunately, nobody listened. Butt and Dennis Wise were pushing and grabbing at each other early, and an unpleasant tone was set. Beckham was booked for protesting too vehemently when Wise stamped on Butt, then the Chelsea captain had his name taken for exacerbating the situation. United were never reluctant to get involved, but were more sinned against than sinning. On such occasions, Wise is often the catalyst for trouble, and his provocative behaviour here called to mind Ferguson's old remark, that the little spitfire could cause a row in an empty room. The goal was a shining gem in this base setting. Denis Irwin supplied Teddy Sheringham who, on receiving a return pass from Cole, dinked a lovely ball over the Chelsea defence for Phil Neville to score with crisp composure, right to left. Given a lead to protect, United defended it in numbers, withdrawing at the first hint of danger and challenging Chelsea to break them down. Presented with the initiative, Wise showed the better side of his nature by orchestrating a fight-back of sorts, but a lot of huffing and puffing came to very little and it was United, attacking on the break, who were closest to a second goal. And so to Europe. United travel to Monte Carlo tomorrow, Chelsea play Real Betis in Seville on Thursday. We must hope for more appetising fare than this. Chelsea: Kharine, Petrescu, Leboeuf, Clarke, Vialli (Flo 78), Hughes, Wise, Duberry, Le Saux, Di Matteo, Zola. Manchester United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister (Berg 28), Beckham, Butt, Cole, Sheringham, P Neville, Scholes. Scorer: P Neville 31. Booked: Butt (35min), Beckham (43min), Wise (43min), Zola (50min), Cole (66min), Leboeuf (84min). Referee: S Dunn (Bristol). Attendance: 34,511. Copyright 1998 The Times Newspapers Limited. __________________________________________________________ March 1 1998 FOOTBALL United 11 points clear at top of table MANCHESTER UNITED eased the pain of their midweek FA Cup defeat at Barnsley, and at the same time all but ended the challenge to their League title from Chelsea, with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, writes Joe Lovejoy. Gianluca Vialli, Chelsea's new player-manager, conceded defeat in the championship race when he saluted the runaway leaders as "the best team in the country and one of the best in Europe". United accepted the compliment with good grace, but are anxious to render the "one of" part redundant. They will resume their quest for the European Cup in Monaco in confident mood, buoyed by a deserved away win and an impressive rehearsal of the cat-and-mouse tactics they will use in Wednesday's quarter-final. Only a back complaint which threatens to rule out Gary Pallister marred Alex Ferguson's satisfaction, and there was compensation for the United manager in a man-of-the-match performance from Pallister's centre-back partner, Ronny Johnsen, and reassurance in the renewed availability of David May, who was rested yesterday. "Johnsen has played many good games like that for us," Ferguson said of his injury-plagued defender. "He is an outstanding player. I just hope he can stay fit long enough to prove it." The United manager accepted that a fractious, frenetic match, littered with six bookings, had not been good to watch, but cited a lively pitch and difficult wind in mitigation. He preferred to dwell on his team's defensive solidarity: "We defended really well and allowed them no chances to speak of." Ferguson said he was "much more pleased" with yesterday's "solid" performance than he had been with the 5-3 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup last month. He showed x-ray vision way beyond any of the players on view by identifying signs of a return to the barnstorming form with which his team carried all before them in the first half of the season. "There were periods when we showed glimpses of that style," he said. "It was always going to be impossible to maintain it. As the season goes on you get injuries and suspensions and you can't keep the same team that was doing so well when they were fit and fresh in the early weeks. But we were nearly back to full strength, and as we get them all fit we're starting to produce those magic moments again." The return of Paul Scholes after illness had been a bonus. He had been told to rest for 10 days, but felt fit enough to train on Friday, and responded eagerly when Ferguson asked him if he felt up to playing. Just as pleasing to the managerial eye had been Phil Neville's effective performance in an unfamiliar midfield role. The young defender enhanced his World Cup prospects in front of Glenn Hoddle, who was at the match, with a demonstration of the versatility the England coach prizes, scoring his first goal for United to win the game. "He is mobile, quick and confident enough to play there," Ferguson said. "His speed off the mark leaves opponents standing, and he showed good composure in taking his goal. He didn't rush it." Vialli was a subdued, reflective figure after his second League defeat in succession. "I thought we played quite well," he said, but his face told a different story. "We did our best, but maybe it wasn't good enough, and we have to do better. I can't say we were unlucky because we didn't create enough chances. "Manchester United are the best team in England, but there is still second place to play for. That is very important, now that it brings a place in the Champions League." Vialli faced a grilling on his tactics but said he would not sacrifice his attacking principles (or presumably his place in the team) by switching from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Blackburn ended a barren spell of three League matches without a goal, rattling five past Leicester City at Ewood Park, but there were some tense closing moments as a 5-0 lead was whittled down to 5-3 with nine minutes remaining. Martin Dahlin scored his first goal since September before Sutton helped himself to three goals in 22 minutes. A fifth from Colin Hendry just past the hour stung Leicester into action. Stuart Wilson led the way on 68 minutes, Muzzy Izzet scored with 10 minutes to go, and then within a minute, Robert Ullathorne, who had just arrived on the pitch as a substitute, stepped in to close the gap further. Stan Collymore was inspired by the visit to Villa Park of Liverpool, his former club, grabbing a brace as Aston Villa made it one match and one win for their new manager, John Gregory. Leeds crashed 1-0 at home to Southampton, who had Carlton Palmer sent off, and Dion Dublin scored his 18th goal of the season as Coventry won 3-0 at Crystal Palace, their seventh successive win in all competitions. Copyright 1998 The Times Newspapers Limited. __________________________________________________________ Neville goal stretches United lead to twelve points LONDON, Feb 28 (AFP) - England defender Philip Neville playing in central midfield took Manchester United twelve points clear of the chasing pack in the English Premiership on Saturday morning as the champions beat Chelsea 1-0 in a fiery match. It was Neville's first senior goal, and will fuel United with confidence ahead of their Champions' League clash with Real Betis on Wednesday night. Chelsea, meanwhile slip further into the Premiership chasing pack. It was superb interplay involving Denis Irwin, Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole sent the 21-year-old Neville through on Dmitri Kharine just after the half-hour of a frantic and bad-tempered clash. The only downside for Ferguson was the sad sight of Gary Pallister forced off after aggravating his long-term back problem, making the centre-half a real doubt for the trip to Monaco. The Manchester United manager appeared pleased with the result. "The refereee has a hard job to do in this type of game. I don't think the referee handled it particularly well. We're in good shape at the top of the league but we know we are going into a hard game on Wednesday," said Ferguson. With five changes overall, this United side included the return of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes -- the latter having had no chance on Wednesday evening -- into the midfield, although the surprise was that Butt was on the left, counteracting the threat of Dan Petrescu. The biggest danger, however, was one of tempers exploding. Luca Vialli had warned his side to be mature and at least Frank Leboeuf seemed to be obeying that instruction. But to describe Dennis Wise as a hothead would often be an understatement, and the home skipper was the common denominator in most of the unsavoury head-to-heads that were to break into more nasty conflagrations as the game went on. More worryingly for Ferguson was Pallister's back problem, apparent early on as he was caught in possession by Roberto Di Matteo, although Scholes got him out of trouble then. Then Gianfranco Zola, starting on the left with licence to roam, ghosted past the England man before firing into the crowd and as Pallister signalled to the bench, Henning Berg was sent into action. But in the 31st minute, after the otherwise subdued Mark Hughes had headedover at the other end, United went in front, although few other than the real optimists would have put their money on the scorer. It was a typical United goal however, swift interpassing finding the way through, and Neville's assured low finish made a mockery of the fact that he had never found the net before. The goal saw the undercurrents boiling over, Wise and Butt continually involved, and both of them -- along with David Beckham -- brought to heel by the cards of Steve Dunn. A Vialli shot was deflected onto the bar before Petrescu's run and shot brought the first save of the game from Peter Schmeichel, although United still had something extra, Cole's explosive pace almost creating something out of nothing on half-time. Off-target efforts from Hughes and Wise were symptomatic of Chelsea's malaise, a lack of self-belief evident, and United were cruising. Chelsea pushed forward in the later stages, Tore Andre Flo having replaced player-boss Vialli, but never with any realistic hope of finding a way through, Berg and Ronny Johnsen Norwegian rocks at the heart of the defence. Ferguson's only gripe was with the officials, the United boss racing from his dug-out to confront the linesman when he ruled one ball still in play. It summed up United's superiority. Chelsea knew they had been well-beaten. ______________________________________________________________________ Chelsea v Man United 28/02/98 11.15 Chelsea (0) 0 Man United (1) 1 FT P. Neville 31 Unlikely hero Phil Neville broke his goal duck to give Manchester United the perfect Champions' League send-off and kill Chelsea's title tilt stone dead. The England defender was handed an unfamiliar central midfield role as Alex Ferguson made five changes from the side knocked out of the FA Cup in midweek. Neville had never scored a senior goal in his career before today, snatching at the few opportunities he had been presented with. But when superb interplay involving Denis Irwin, Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole sent the 21-year-old through on Dmitri Kharine just after the half-hour of a frantic and bad-tempered clash, he made no mistake to put his side 12 points clear, for a few hours at least. Keeping his head, Neville drilled right-footed into the bottom corner from 12 yards. Kharine was given no chance and Neville set off for the celebration routine he perhaps felt would never get demonstrated in public. Not surprisingly, he was mobbed by the corner flag, buried under a red-shirted avalanche as United celebrated a moment that pared the championship field down to a realistic three. The only sour note for Ferguson was the sad sight of Gary Pallister forced off after aggravating his long-term back problem, making the centre-half a real doubt for the trip to Monaco. But otherwise this was a highly effective and satisfactory morning for the champions, always far too good for a Chelsea side which tried to beat the rapier with the bludgeon, yet never struck a blow. That seemed possible from the outset. Whatever Ferguson's protestations to the contrary, this was a far more recognisable United side than the one which had lost at Barnsley in midweek, more like the team which will play in France on Wednesday. It included the return of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes - the latter having had ``no chance'' on Wednesday evening - into the midfield, although the surprise was that Butt was on the left, counteracting the threat of Dan Petrescu. A measure that seemed important in the early stages as the Romanian made some dangerous incursions down the right, Gary Neville clearing one low cross. The biggest danger, however, was one of tempers exploding. Luca Vialli had warned his side to be ``mature'' and at least Frank Leboeuf seemed to be obeying that instruction. But to describe Dennis Wise as a hothead would often be an understatement, and the home skipper was the common denominator in most of the unsavoury head-to-heads that were to break into more nasty conflagrations as the game went on. More worryingly for Ferguson was Pallister's back problem, apparent early on as he was caught in possession by Roberto Di Matteo, although Scholes got him out of trouble then. Then Gianfranco Zola, starting on the left with licence to roam, ghosted past the England man before firing into the crowd and as Pallister signalled to the bench, Henning Berg was sent into action. United had been far the crisper in their passing, and even if this was not the one-sided FA Cup mauling of January, they looked the more likely. Cole's persistence almost brought the opener, Kharine blocking, a wall of blue shirts preventing Sheringham turning home the rebound, and Butt firing the loose ball over. But in the 31st minute, after the otherwise subdued Mark Hughes had headed over at the other end, United went in front, although few other than the real optimists would have put their money on the scorer. It was a typical United goal however, swift interpassing finding the way through, and Neville's assured low finish made a mockery of the fact that he had never found the net before. The goal saw the undercurrents boiling over, Wise and Butt continually involved, and both of them - along with David Beckham - brought to heel by the cards of Steve Dunn. A Vialli shot - from a seated position - was deflected onto the bar before Petrescu's run and shot brought the first save of the game from Peter Schmeichel, although United still had something extra, Cole's explosive pace almost creating something out of nothing on half-time. The jet-heeled Cole nearly embarrassed Leboeuf soon afterwards - Zola of all people had been booked for a foul on Irwin - and with Chelsea falling back on hit and hope, it became increasing hit and hopeless. Schmeichel was not being tested, Cole always on the point of making a decisive contribution, and while the margin was just one, the gap seemed much wider. Scholes volleyed over before a move of real class, Beckham clipping onto Sheringham's head and Butt throwing himself at the ball but steering just too high, summed up the quality chasm. Off-target efforts from Hughes and Wise were symptomatic of Chelsea's malaise, a lack of self-belief evident, and United were cruising. Chelsea pushed forward in the later stages, Tore Andre Flo having replaced player-boss Vialli, but never with any realistic hope of finding a way through, Berg and Ronny Johnsen Norwegian rocks at the heart of the defence. Ferguson's only gripe was with the officials, the United boss racing from his dug-out to confront the linesman when he ruled one ball still in play. It summed up United's superiority. Chelsea knew they had been well-beaten. Chelsea: Kharine, Petrescu, Leboeuf, Clarke, Vialli (Flo, 78), Hughes, Wise, Duberry, Le Saux, Di Matteo, Zola. Subs not used: Hitchcock, Lambourde, Newton, Nicholls. Booked: Wise, Zola, Leboeuf. Man United: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister (Berg, 28), Beckham, Butt, Cole, Sheringham, P. Neville, Scholes. Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, McClair, Solskjaer, Thornley. Booked: Butt, Beckham, Cole. Attendance: 34,511. Referee: S W Dunn (Bristol). ______________________________________________________________________ Chelsea 0 Manchester United 1 By Martin Lipton, PA Sport Chief Soccer Writer Unlikely hero Phil Neville broke his goal duck to give Manchester United the perfect Champions' League send-off and kill Chelsea's title tilt stone dead. The England defender was handed an unfamiliar central midfield role as Alex Ferguson made five changes from the side knocked out of the FA Cup in midweek. Neville had never scored a senior goal in his career before today, snatching at the few opportunities he had been presented with. But when superb interplay involving Denis Irwin, Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole sent the 21-year-old through on Dmitri Kharine just after the half-hour of a frantic and bad-tempered clash, he made no mistake to put his side 12 points clear, for a few hours at least. Keeping his head, Neville drilled right-footed into the bottom corner from 12 yards. Kharine was given no chance and Neville set off for the celebration routine he perhaps felt would never get demonstrated in public. Not surprisingly, he was mobbed by the corner flag, buried under a red-shirted avalanche as United celebrated a moment that pared the championship field down to a realistic three. The only sour note for Ferguson was the sad sight of Gary Pallister forced off after aggravating his long-term back problem, making the centre-half a real doubt for the trip to Monaco. But otherwise this was a highly effective and satisfactory morning for the champions, always far too good for a Chelsea side which tried to beat the rapier with the bludgeon, yet never struck a blow. That seemed possible from the outset. Whatever Ferguson's protestations to the contrary, this was a far more recognisable United side than the one which had lost at Barnsley in midweek, more like the team which will play in France on Wednesday. It included the return of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes - the latter having had "no chance" on Wednesday evening - into the midfield, although the surprise was that Butt was on the left, counteracting the threat of Dan Petrescu. A measure that seemed important in the early stages as the Romanian made some dangerous incursions down the right, Gary Neville clearing one low cross. The biggest danger, however, was one of tempers exploding. Luca Vialli had warned his side to be "mature" and at least Frank Leboeuf seemed to be obeying that instruction. But to describe Dennis Wise as a hothead would often be an understatement, and the home skipper was the common denominator in most of the unsavoury head-to-heads that were to break into more nasty conflagrations as the game went on. More worryingly for Ferguson was Pallister's back problem, apparent early on as he was caught in possession by Roberto Di Matteo, although Scholes got him out of trouble then. Then Gianfranco Zola, starting on the left with licence to roam, ghosted past the England man before firing into the crowd and as Pallister signalled to the bench, Henning Berg was sent into action. United had been far the crisper in their passing, and even if this was not the one-sided FA Cup mauling of January, they looked the more likely. Cole's persistence almost brought the opener, Kharine blocking, a wall of blue shirts preventing Sheringham turning home the rebound, and Butt firing the loose ball over. But in the 31st minute, after the otherwise subdued Mark Hughes had headed over at the other end, United went in front, although few other than the real optimists would have put their money on the scorer. It was a typical United goal however, swift interpassing finding the way through, and Neville's assured low finish made a mockery of the fact that he had never found the net before. The goal saw the undercurrents boiling over, Wise and Butt continually involved, and both of them - along with David Beckham - brought to heel by the cards of Steve Dunn. A Vialli shot - from a seated position - was deflected onto the bar before Petrescu's run and shot brought the first save of the game from Peter Schmeichel, although United still had something extra, Cole's explosive pace almost creating something out of nothing on half-time. The jet-heeled Cole nearly embarrassed Leboeuf soon afterwards - Zola of all people had been booked for a foul on Irwin - and with Chelsea falling back on hit and hope, it became increasing hit and hopeless. Schmeichel was not being tested, Cole always on the point of making a decisive contribution, and while the margin was just one, the gap seemed much wider. Scholes volleyed over before a move of real class, Beckham clipping onto Sheringham's head and Butt throwing himself at the ball but steering just too high, summed up the quality chasm. Off-target efforts from Hughes and Wise were symptomatic of Chelsea's malaise, a lack of self-belief evident, and United were cruising. Chelsea pushed forward in the later stages, Tore Andre Flo having replaced player-boss Vialli, but never with any realistic hope of finding a way through, Berg and Ronny Johnsen Norwegian rocks at the heart of the defence. Ferguson's only gripe was with the officials, the United boss racing from his dug-out to confront the linesman when he ruled one ball still in play. It summed up United's superiority. Chelsea knew they had been well-beaten. © PA Sporting Life ______________________________________________________________________ NEVILLE'S GOAL WORTH THE WAIT Phillip Neville described his first goal in a Manchester United shirt as "a great feeling" after the 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. United have gone 12 points clear at the top of the Premiership before this afternoon's matches. Neville said: "Somebody said that in 93 games I have scored one goal, I hope I do not have to wait another 93 games!" he joked on Radio 5 Live. "It is a great feeling, especially when you score in such a big game." Neville admitted that he was getting used to playing in a midfield role rather than as a defender. "It shows the faith the boss has in me especially when you look at the people on the bench." Neville was reluctant to talk about some of the fierce tackles in the match. "There is so much to play for. If you play against the top of the table and there are no tackles there is something wrong. "Off the pitch the players will have a drink. It is just out there when you are after each other." He said that United will be tuned in to the radio on the coach back to Manchester. "We will be listening to the results at Villa Park and Leicester and hope we end the weekend with a big lead." Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli accepted his side had been well-beaten even though only one goal settled the clash with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. "They're having a great season and can win the Premier League and the Champions' League, because they're good enough," said the Italian. "They're very well prepared mentally and physically, all tuned in and can achieve both. They have everything to be a successful team - and they're never happy." © PA Sporting Life |
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