Welcome To Manchester: Jose Mourinho.

Will Mourinho's Midas touch transform Manchester United?

The fans reaction at the sight of a crazy little Portuguese fella running down the touchline at Old Trafford after seemingly losing his mind was one of pure disbelief at the audacity of the man.

That man will get a totally different reaction from the United faithful when he walks along the side of the pitch to take his seat in the dugout at the Theatre of Dreams as the new Manchester United manager come August.

Jose Mario Dos Santos Mourinho Felix or more commonly know as The Special One, a moniker he bestowed on himself, brought his Porto side to Old Trafford back in 2004 and knocked United out of the Champions League on his way to lifting the famous trophy and cementing his place as one of the most sought-after young managers in football.

Fast forward twelve years and the 53-year-old is the man that United have pinned their hopes on to revive the fortunes of the great club after three seasons of underachievement in the hands of Moyes and van Gaal.

The one-time interpreter turned coach certainly will not lack in the self-belief that one needs to succeed at United and can fall back on his experiences at clubs such as Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea again. At each of those clubs, he led them to either domestic or European titles or even both. He also managed to get the backs up of the club owners with his outspoken views.

Mourinho crossed swords with United and Alex Ferguson in his first spell at Chelsea during his three years there and backed by Roman Abramovich's billions he built a title winning side that became a thorn in Fergie's side on more than one occasion.

He transformed Chelsea from an average side to Premier League champions for the first time in fifty years. During his first two seasons, he won the league twice, plus the FA Cup for good measure. The Champions League evaded him and this led to disagreements with the owner.

Following his fall out with Abramovich, Mourinho moved to mainland Europe in 2008. He continued his golden touch at Inter Milan guiding the Italian giants to two championships and the Champions League.

Then the lure of a move to Real Madrid proved too strong and he found himself pitting his wits in Spain against Pep Guardiola the coach at Barcelona. Even though he guided them to the La Liga in 2012 he missed out on the Champions League the following season and departed by mutual consent.

He surprised everyone by rebuilding his relationship with Chelsea supremo Abramovich and returned to West London for a second spell at the Bridge in June 2013.

In his first season back, he only managed to guide them to third in the table, but the following campaign, they completed the double of the Premier League title and League cup.

In August 2015, following the success of the previous season, Mourinho signed a five-year contract. However, come December, all was not well at the Bridge after losing nine out of sixteen games the pressure was on. There were clear signs coming from the club that they had problems. The players' body language and the fall out with the club doctor played out in the press and eventually club and manager parted company yet again.

Since the start of his enforced sabbatical, his name has been linked with the position at United on a daily basis and the worst kept secret in football was finally confirmed on May 27 following the dismissal of Louis van Gaal.

There is no doubting his winning mentality and it seems perfectly in tune with United's desire to return to the days of success enjoyed under Fergie. And his old friend and foe won't be too far away as Pep will be close at hand at the Etihad to ensure that their fight to be the dominant force will continue at a pace.

With the United faithful wholeheartedly behind him, Mourinho has already jumped over the first hurdle that Moyes and van Gaal managed to trip over through their inept tactics and philosophies, the fans' support.

Many have voiced their concerns that his ego might be too big for the hot seat at Old Trafford but consider United's past managers. They were not exactly shrinking violets Busby, Docherty, Atkinson and Ferguson were never ones to hide behind closed doors when something had to be said so expect some delightfully interesting press conferences.

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing how Mourinho sets out his stall in the transfer market. Who he brings in and more importantly, who he releases as he attempts to make his mark on the club from the start.

Mourinho's preference for playing with three central defenders and a strong midfield may not sit well with the present set of players who struggled with a similar system under van Gaal. He needs to build his own team, which may take more than one season to fulfil.

Many existing United players will be worrying whether or not they fit in with his plans or will be surplus to requirements. Mata springs to mind as he was allowed to join United while Mourinho was in charge at Chelsea.

He has already made the statement that the past three years has not been good enough for the club. However, he will need to rejuvenate a side bereft of that all important winning mentality added with a mixture of new blood that will also show his intent in the transfer market with a reported £200 million at his immediate disposal.

Bringing in new players without the promise of Champions League football is never easy, but his name and stature in the game should be enough to lure marquee signings to Old Trafford. Zlatan would be a good start.

United will surely go into the 2016/17 campaign on a more positive note than if van Gaal had remained. And you can expect the special one to produce a special season that will have all the United fans forgiving him for his over the top dance down the touchline all those years ago. In fact, they would love to see it again if it was in celebration of winning the league.

One thing is for sure and that is there will be no shortage of entertainment during his reign as manager.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United's Hopes Dented By Chelsea.

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 1

Diego Costa's goal in added time salvaged a point for Chelsea as United looked to have done enough to earn a hard fought win at Stamford Bridge.

Even with United lying in fifth place and Chelsea sitting in the lowly position of thirteenth, this is still one of the biggest clashes in the Premier League and as a spectacle it didn't disappoint.

Since they last met six weeks ago both teams have had a slight improvement in their fortunes, but are both still struggling to find the rhythm needed to surge further up the table.

Following United's two wins on the bounce and six goals scored, Louis van Gaal unsurprisingly decided to show faith in the side that convincingly beat Stoke in midweek: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick, Fellaini, Mata, Lingard, Rooney and Martial.

The selection meant youngster Borthwick-Jackson would continue to gain valuable experience at the back while Carrick and Fellaini continued together in midfield and the quartet of Mata, Lingard, Rooney and the ever impressive Martial were given another chance to prove their quality together up front.

With Rooney edging ever closer to Bobby Charlton's all-time scoring record of 249 the emphasis had to be for him and his teammates on an all out attack against a Chelsea defence who have struggled for form this season.

Chelsea got the game underway with the fantastic away fans making the loudest noise inside the stadium.

United started the brighter of the two sides with Borthwick-Jackson proving he has crossing ability by delivering a superb ball into the box that unfortunately evaded everyone. Positive play from the away side.

With Darmian providing an outlet on the right United seemed to have a good balance in attack. It was that youngster Borthwick-Jackson, who had the first speculative effort on goal from distance which lacked power. However, it showed the confidence is growing in the full back.

Five corners in the opening eleven minutes showed exactly how dominant United had started the game. They just had to turn that dominance into goals.

Carrick tried his luck with a low drive that didn't really trouble Courtois in the Chelsea goal, but at least, United was having a go.

The home side hardly had a look in during the opening fifteen minutes as United were first to every loose ball and when they did manage to string some passes together the away side harassed them into mistakes.

Martial and Mata combined well on the left and the French striker let loose with a drive that the keeper had to dive at full stretch to tip the ball past the post. A brilliant strike and save to match.

Mata was clearly enjoying his return to his former stomping ground as he pulled the strings in most of United's attacks.

Daley Blind was certainly getting plenty of practice taking corners from the left and right, but couldn't find the killer ball and most were aimed at Fellaini who failed to make contact with any of them.

It was Diego Costa's first ever match against United and his frustration began to boil over as decisions didn't go his way.

In a rare corner for Chelsea, De Gea pulled off a fine reaction save from a Magic header. United would have to be on their toes as the home side slowly got their game together.

Costa came the closest for Chelsea just after the half hour mark when he dragged his shot wide of De Gea's far post this was then followed by a chance for Oscar who blasted a good chance over at the near post.

United's play had gone slightly off the boil as they let Chelsea see more of the ball and their high tempo of the opening twenty minutes had disappeared.

The one time Fellaini did manage to connect with a Blind corner, he could only direct his effort wide.

A cross from Darmian two minutes from half-time only needed the slightest of touches from Rooney to give United the deserved lead, but he couldn't quite get to the ball in time. Then the play switched to the other end where there was a huge claim for a penalty as Terry's snapshot seemed to hit Blind's arm. Thankfully referee Oliver only awarded a corner.

Half-time and it's a little surprising that it ended goalless as both sides had more than their fair share of chances to score if not for the brilliance of the two keepers at either end who both made some fine saves.

Chelsea had to be the happier of the two teams as they made their way down the tunnel as it had been United who enjoyed the majority of the play. The visitors could have been down to ten men and a goal behind if the referee had awarded the penalty against Blind in the last minute. However, they must have also felt aggrieved not to be ahead at the break after a commanding half that included ten corners to the hosts three.

United started the second half with the same eleven hoping to get only their sixth win at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.

The Red Devils started at the same pace as they had in the first half with both Rooney and Martial coming close to breaking the deadlock as United forced the pace.

Lingard was the next to test Courtois with a shot from the edge of the area and the keeper was equal to the task with another fine save.

There was a lengthy stop in play as the Chelsea defender Zouma fell awkwardly after trying to attempt a clearance. The young defender was stretchered off clearly in a lot of pain. Let's hope it's not too serious. The delay in play would have a significant bearing on the result.

Then on the hour came a goal of pure class from Jesse Lingard that even had van Gaal jumping out of his seat. Standing on the edge of the area with his back to goal Lingard controlled a ball that was crossed by Borthwick-Jackson and was touched on by Rooney.

In one fluid movement Lingard spun and smacked the ball on the turn into the top corner of the net and this time, Courtois had no chance. A brilliant strike from a player on top of his game and a goal United fully deserved.

De Gea was at his world class best as he saved at his near post from a strike by Ivanovic. A truly instinctive save from the keeper. He then followed that up with another stop this time from Fabregas at the other post. It looked like nothing was getting past him today.

Rooney tried his trademark overhead kick, but pulled it just wide at a point in the game that United would dearly have welcomed a second goal with fifteen minutes left.

With almost ten minutes to go in the match van Gaal made his first change by replacing Fellaini with Schneiderlin to provide a fresh pair of legs in the middle and the first thing he does is to announce his presence with a crunching tackle.

Chelsea tried their best during the last ten minutes by peppering the United penalty area with cross after cross, but the away defence stood tall to a man and blocked all that was thrown at them even if it meant bookings for Smalling and Blind.

Goal hero Lingard was replaced by Memphis for the final few minutes of the match and he received high fives from all on the bench.

Then in the first minute of the six added on Costa broke United hearts as he grabbed the equaliser after he rounded De Gea and placed the ball into the net. Borthwick-Jackson made a last ditch effort to intervene but to no avail.

The last throw of the dice by van Gaal was to make a change by introducing Herrera for Mata.

Costa almost rubbed salt into the wounds by adding a second at the death, thankfully for United De Gea stood his ground and made a point blank one-handed save low to his right.

Full-time and the game ended as a contest all square. Of the two sides, United will feel they should have taken all three points and will head back up north ruing their missed chances and allowing Chelsea to gain the momentum at the end.

The standout performance had to be from David De Gea who certainly prevented Chelsea from scoring on at least three or four occasions with top class saves, but was helpless to prevent their equaliser.

The way the top of the league is taking shape United need points as quickly as possible if they are to gain a top four finish as there is already six points between them and Man City in fourth. If they go about their upcoming fixtures in the same frame of mind as they did against Chelsea then they still have a chance of Champions League qualification starting with Sunderland away next weekend.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United's Year Draws To A Close.

Manchester United 0 Chelsea 0

How the mighty have fallen.

If someone had said at the start of the season that by the time United host Chelsea in the last match of 2015 one would be stuck near the bottom and the other would have failed to win in their last seven games that person would have been locked in the madhouse and the key thrown away, yet here we were.

Down the years, this fixture has had an important bearing on the outcome of the Premier League with each side battling it out in some classic encounters. However, it was more about honour this time round than points. The bottom line was that for both teams this was a match that neither could afford to lose.

Louis van Gaal's United had the lost the previous four matches, three in the league, and in doing so raised question marks over the Dutchman's tenure as manager of the Red Devils. Chelsea's free fall from last year's glory saw them dispense with the services of their 'special one' as they sat in the precarious position just above the bottom three.

For such an important match van Gaal made a handful of changes from the depressing defeat away at Stoke on Boxing Day and his starting XI consisted of: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Young, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Herrera, Rooney and Martial.

Out went the dismal duo of Jones and Fellaini along with Carrick and Memphis and in came Darmian, Schneiderlin, Rooney and Schweinsteiger, whose steel had been sorely missed during his three-match ban.

United's intent to silence their detractors was there for all to see as early as the second minute when Mata let fire with a blistering strike from the edge of the area that rattled the visitors crossbar.

It was Chelsea's turn to come close when Terry tested De Gea with a header from a corner that the Spaniard acrobatically turned away. Five minutes in and already it was turning out to be a post- Christmas cracker.

Schneiderlin was the next to come close after Rooney had played the ball delightfully into his path, but his effort bent agonisingly wide.

After fifteen minutes it was all about the home side as they controlled all parts of the pitch in a way that hadn't been seen for many weeks, they just needed a goal to cement their commanding possession rate, but that's easier said than done based on their shyness in front of goal this season.

Next to come within a whisker of breaking the deadlock was Martial who, after some nifty footwork inside the area unleashed a low shot that beat keeper Courtois, but struck the bottom of the post when most in the stadium thought it was in. Including an excited Sir Alex Ferguson who was seen leaping out of his seat.

This was really exciting stuff from United and you wondered why they hadn't been in this form apart from when their backs are against the wall. They were not allowing Chelsea to spend time on the ball and showed a spirit that has been lacking recently.

There was a legitimate shout for a penalty to United as Martial seemed to have been clipped as he weaved his way towards goal but referee Atkinson waved play on. A close call to say the least.

Rooney was a different player in attack and was exerting the type of enthusiasm the faithful hadn't seen for ages and it was the captain who tested the keeper just before the half hour mark with a rasping drive that must have stung the keeper's palms.

The only downside was a yellow card picked up by Schneiderlin for a foul on Willian after a 50-50 challenge apart from that all was looking good for United. They just needed that all-important opener.

During the last ten minutes of the first half, the visitors saw more of the ball, but Smalling and Blind dealt comfortably with the threat of Hazard who continually dived to con the referee into winning free kicks and Smalling fell for his tricks by conceding a foul on the touchline and received a booking for his trouble.

Just before halftime Schweinsteiger obeyed the shouts of the crowd to shoot, unfortunately his strike from distance was always rising over.

Half-time and even though it had been United's best team performance for a long time it was still locked at 0-0. It was the same old problem of not being able to finish off the moves, having said that they did hit the woodwork twice and showed that they could play with width provided by Darmian on the left and Young down the right.

Chelsea were definitely there for the taking in the second half if only United could keep up the pressure.

United kicked off the second half attacking their favoured Stretford End with van Gaal wisely making no changes to the side that had performed so well in the first forty-five minutes.

It was Chelsea who laid down the marker at the start and it was that man between the posts who came once again to his side's rescue with De Gea making an outstanding double save first from Pedro then the follow up from Azpilicueta. Brilliant from undoubtedly the best keeper in the world.

United quickly regained control of the game with Rooney trying to pull the strings up front aided by the hard working trio of Martial, Mata and Herrera.

Hazard was by this time spending more time on his backside than on his feet.

There was almost the opener the home side craved after ten minutes as Martial delivered a superb cross from the byline that Herrera met in the six-yard box, but luckily for Chelsea the ball struck the keeper and it squirmed wide for a corner. The keepers were certainly being kept busy in this period.

Matic had the best chance of the half as he was played clean through only to let the rush of blood go to his head as he blasted his effort high, wide and handsome. It was a similar moment to the effort from Torres when the sides met before.

The home crowd rose to their feet in unison when it looked like Mata had been brought down inside the penalty area, however, not for the first time the official waved away the appeals of the players. So, with Hazard's antics and no decisions going United's way the referee was not making many friends in the stadium, apart from Chelsea's followers of course.

The first change made by van Gaal was in the 69th minute when he replaced Darmian with youngster Borthwick-Jackson. Hopefully, the young defender wouldn't be too overawed by the importance of the match.

At last, justice was forthcoming as Hazard was cautioned for a high tackle on Young.

The second change for United came in the 76th minute when Mata made way for Memphis. At this point, either side could have sneaked the win with United looking the most likely as Memphis almost connected with a cross by Young.

Schweinsteiger showed his commitment to the cause by receiving a yellow card for a professional foul to stop a certain break by Chelsea.

The last throw of the dice by van Gaal was to bring on Jones in place of Blind in defence for the final ten minutes of the match.

A brilliant interchange between Herrera and Borthwick-Jackson down the left wing ended when Rooney hit the young full back's deep cross over at the far post. Great play from the youngster which must have filled him with so much confidence.

In the end, a draw has to be a huge disappointment for United as they had played so well from the start and clearly had the appetite for the fight, but the same old problem rose its head and that is the end result. It's fantastic to watch breathtaking attacking football, but if you can't put the chances away then it amounts to nothing. At least the United players put in the effort and had to count themselves unlucky.

There were many players in red that worked hard for their manager. None more so than Ashley Young, who went about his job as a wing back with great gusto by mounting attacks combined with a couple of defensive interceptions that saved his team at vital moments.

Following the match there will be more calls for a change in management and that will be debated over social media for days to come. At least, the players attempted to right the many wrongs of late and pulled together as a team, which is more than can be said for the so-called fans who wore 'Mourinho United' scarves inside the Theatre of Dreams.

Thanks for reading and a Happy New Year to all.

Miles Dunton.

Should van Gaal Face The Chop?

People called for the head of King Louis XVI in the French revolution because his power had become the hatred of the people. So is it time for Manchester United to dispense with the services of their manager?

This week social media was alive about whether Louis van Gaal had burnt his bridges at United and many wondered if he would become the latest managerial casualty after a poor week of results, but it was elsewhere that the hatchet fell as Chelsea decided that enough was enough and sacked, Jose Mourinho, to fire fresh speculation that the special one could end up at Old Trafford.

However, there is one problem with that scenario and that is we already have a manager and a proven one at that. Sure, the results haven't been going exactly to plan, but to pull the plug on van Gaal's tenure half way through the season could have worse repercussions for United's present campaign.

Sitting in the top four and within only two wins from the top doesn't count as a disaster just yet. If results are not forthcoming quickly, then the manager's position will become unattainable come the summer, but to call for his head now could be a recipe for disaster.

Once his squad is back to full strength and he can be allowed to add to it in the January transfer window then there is no reason why the team can't put a run together and challenge for the Premier league, FA Cup and Europa League. We have never been a team to back away from a challenge in difficult circumstances and now is not the time to start down that road.

Some may not agree with van Gaal's philosophy, but at the end of the day he got us into this, therefore, he should be given the chance to get us out. There is only a handful of managers with the pedigree to manage a team the size of United and van Gaal is certainly among them.

Everybody makes mistakes and granted many have been made. The biggest being United's elimination from the Champions League, even the great Ferguson experienced that same fate, but he had the backing of all the fans to continue in the position and so should van Gaal, for now.

If at the end of the season there is nothing to celebrate then that will be the right time for the club to weigh up their managerial options and if they decide to begin next season with a new man at the helm then so be it. But for now, the most important thing is for all the fans to get behind the manager and the players even if they don't agree with everything that's going on.

The ball is firmly in the Dutchman's court as he tries to get the team back on track and I for one am willing to stick my neck out and say that at the end of the season we will have something to shout about.

Do we really want to be one of those clubs that bows to pressure and take the easy option of wiping the slate clean? I think not.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Manchester United Fixtures Preview 2015/16

It seems that last season has only just finished but this week saw the release of next season's fixture list.

All the fans have their own preference of which match to look for first whether it be by team or date. The most important matches have to be the Liverpool fixtures followed by the derby dates.

There is, of course, no such thing as an easy season, however, Louis van Gaal must have been quietly confident when he saw the fixtures as it has thrown up a fairly easy start and end to the season with the hardest of the matches coming mid-season which gives the team time to get into a winning rhythm.

The Red Devils will kick off their season with by far the biggest match of the opening weekend at Old Trafford against Spurs followed by an away trip to Aston Villa then it's Newcastle at home.
August ends with a tricky journey to Wales to take on Swansea who started our season off with a defeat last year. In the middle of those games, United will have the not so small task of the UEFA Champions League qualifying matches.

A collective spirit is needed.

There will be the dreaded international break before our first big clash in mid-September at home to Liverpool, memories of last season's double over them still fresh in the mind. Two more games in September see us play the much improved Southampton away and Sunderland, who were so lucky to escape the drop last time round, at Old Trafford.

Rooney scores against Arsenal.

October will prove a difficult month as it starts with two matches away first a visit to the Emirates to play Arsenal followed by Everton. Then it's the first local derby at home to Man City. Last season was sweet against the Gunners and City but sticky versus the toffees. Crystal Palace will provide the opposition at Selhurst Park at the end of the month.

The three matches in November seem to be relatively straightforward, if that's possible for United, they are WBA at home, newly promoted Watford away and Leicester away.

Ashley Young in his Watford days.

The month will see a return to Vicarage Road for Ashley Young, who started his career at Watford. It's been eight years since The Hornets were last in the top flight.

The busy festive month of December will see United play in a total of five matches three home and two away. It starts with a home game against West Ham with their new manager Bilic then a trip to the south coast to play Premier League debutantes AFC Bournemouth who we last played in the FA Cup back in 1989.

Another newly promoted side Norwich will visit Old Trafford then Boxing Day will see all the fans dressed as Santa at The Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke. Come the end of the year will hopefully be a match that is going to have a strong bearing on the Premiership title, Chelsea at home.

AFC Bournemouth celebrating promotion

The first match in 2016 will see the visit of Swansea to Manchester followed by a break in the league for the FA Cup 3rd round. After which United will be on their travels to Newcastle and Anfield the scene of Juan Mata's heroics last time we played there. The month will end with Southampton at home.

February starts with former red Mark Hughes bringing his Stoke side to Old Trafford which will be followed by United playing Chelsea at Stamford bridge on the 58th anniversary to the day of the Munich air disaster. Sunderland away comes before yet another big clash of the month Arsenal at home.

Mata the Anfield hero.

Hopefully, by the time March comes around United will be well placed for the league run in and will host Watford then visit WBA. Crystal Palace at home will be followed by our last match against one of our possible major opponents for the league, Man City at the Etihad. It would also be nice to think that United will be still involved in the knockout stages of the Champions League and the FA Cup.

The last seven matches in April and May appear to offer United a chance to end the season strongly and it starts with Everton at home then Spurs away. By the time we play Villa at Old Trafford and West Ham away, we could be potentially gearing up for silverware in the league or one of the cups or dare I say both.

Our last three games of the league season are Leicester at home followed by Norwich away, then Old Trafford will witness the last match of the campaign as Bournemouth will hopefully be trying to spoil the Champions' celebrations.

I foresee United getting off to a flying start compared to the stuttering beginning last season. Louis van Gaal has now had a year in the Old Trafford hot seat and will have learnt from his and the teams' mistakes of the previous season. Add to that the new arrivals that have been signed to strengthen the squad and there is every reason to be optimistic about the chances of being able to challenge on all four fronts next season.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

A bridge too far for United.

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

Chelsea grabbed the points after being outplayed by a dominant Manchester United.

After the euphoria of beating City in the Manchester derby here was a true test of how far United have come under the guidance and philosophies of Louis van Gaal.

On the back of six straight wins in the Premier League, United travelled to the capital full of confidence.

Chelsea, who will only have themselves to blame if they are not crowned champions, welcomed the Red Devils to Stamford Bridge for a re-match against the Dutch master and his Portuguese protege.

The first meeting between LvG and Mourinho ended in a stalemate after a late, late equaliser for United by Robin van Persie back in October.

There was bad news for United in the build up to the match with four players ruled out with differing injuries. Michael Carrick, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Daley Blind were all left back in Manchester.

The team that Louis van Gaal chose still had a strong look about it though: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw, Rooney, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young, and Falcao.

Subs: Da Silva, Di Maria, Januzaj, Van Persie, Valdes, Blackett and Pereira.

Wayne Rooney was used in midfield in the absence of Carrick. That gave Falcao the chance to impress in the starting line-up after being on the bench in recent matches. With only a handful of games left to convince the manager and the fans that he has a future at Old Trafford.

Robin van Persie was handed a place on the bench after recovering from his ankle injury alongside Angel Di Maria.

In the bright London sunshine, United started the match.

Three minutes in and the first chance of the game fell to Wayne Rooney. Luke Shaw broke down the right and pulled a great ball back for the captain who let fly with a shot that most of the crowd, and De Gea, thought had gone in but was just wide.

Great start by United just what was needed.

Three minutes later and defender Shaw had a blast from the edge of the box which was blocked on its way to the goal.

It wasn't until the seventh minute that Chelsea had half a chance which De Gea managed to save for a corner.

In the first ten minutes, it was United who had started the better of the two sides especially down the left with Shaw and Young.

The away fans were in fine voice as always as they tried to spur their team on.

After 11 minutes and it was all United as Herrera tried his luck from distance but pulled his drive wide.

A minute later young defender Paddy McNair tried brought the ball confidently out from defence and fired a shot just wide.

On the quarter hour mark, Shaw won a corner after excellent work down the left flank. A bright start from Shaw in his first match for a while.

You got the feeling that United had to capitalise on their possession and grab a goal before Chelsea got their game together. United were by far the dominant team but they just needed that final ball to be of better quality.

Ander Herrera was having a great match in the middle of the park and the majority of United's creative play came through him.

Chelsea definitely looked out of sorts as United pressed up onto their defence. However, the home side seemed content to let United come at them.

In the 25th minute, Mata broke on down the right and produced a cross which was crying out for a red shirt to get on the end of it but the danger was cleared.

Two minutes later saw Chelsea's first real chance on goal for Oscar but his effort was blocked by Fellaini.

Just before the half hour Falcoa gave away a needless free-kick in a dangerous area which Drogba shot straight into the wall.

Ander Herrera continued to dictate the United attacks from deep, providing Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini the freedom to find pockets of space.

Drogba went through the back of Herrera but received no caution.

After 34 minutes as the ball travelled towards United's penalty area De Gea rushed out and looked to have handled the ball before clearing, but luckily the referee and his assistants didn't notice.

Then in the 37th minute a major blow to all United's domination as Chelsea scored through Eden Hazard. He received a neat back-heeled pass in the area from Oscar and gave De Gea no chance one on one. A goal of similarity to Mata's effort against City last week.

United let it slip having enjoyed the majority of possession.

Straight after the goal Herrera went down the other end of the pitch and won a corner.

In the 40th minute, Falcoa was unhappy after a tussle with John Terry. On further inspection, the Colombian was right to be annoyed as Terry quite clearly clobbered him with a forearm smash to the back of the head, but as it was Terry the referee saw nothing untoward.

Eden Hazard was proving to be Chelsea's danger man as he got more involved in the game following his strike, but to United's credit they kept plugging away at Chelsea.

As the first half ended it was all United with great approach play but with no penetration and they were unlucky to be behind from Chelsea's only real chance of the match but showed that they have the quality in the team to turn it around in the second half.

Manchester United began the second half as they had finished the first with controlled possession.

Unfortunately, Radamel Falcao was not having a productive day up front and once again seemed to be struggling to impose himself on the game.

51 minutes into the match and Chris Smalling did well to break up a Chelsea attack after Rooney had lost possession far too easily. Rooney was most definitely needed up front.

Two minutes later Drogba was up to his old tricks again as he fouled McNair to earn himself a yellow card then as his team countered he failed to put away a chance to make it 2-0.

United were so on top of the game it was like they were the home team and Chelsea had parked the bus in front of their goal and waited for the counter attacks. It was frustrating to watch and must have been even more frustrating for the players.

In the 56th minute, Ivanovic was cautioned for a foul on Shaw on the edge of the area. Mata delivered the resulting free-kick but it sadly came to nothing.

On the hour came a speculative shot from McNair which was well saved by Courtois and then Mata came close to converting a Shaw cross.

It was still all United but with no goal to show for all their efforts. As Falcao was producing another dull performance surely it was only a matter of time before Louis van Gaal made the changes needed to turn the match around.

After 62 minutes, Oscar was booked for a foul on the ever impressive Herrera.

Shortly afterwards yet another United attack as Shaw crossed, Fellaini laid the ball off to Rooney whose shot was blocked for a corner.

With less than 25 minutes to play Falcao had his first effort on goal but was wide of the mark.

Rooney did his best in midfield but was sorely missed at the spearhead of the attack.

Louis van Gaal decided on a double substitution in the 69th minute as Mata and Young were replaced by Di Maria and Januzaj. I would have preferred to see Robin van Persie introduced instead of Januzaj as the Dutchman would have been more of a threat than the young Belgian.

70 minutes on the clock and there was Falcao in the box producing a snapshot that was blocked at close range by Cahill.

Since the changes that were made by United Chelsea enjoyed more of the ball.

Falcao's best chance came in the 76th minute as he was put through by the lively Shaw but hit the outside of the post with a thunderous left- footed shot.

Shaw, who had impressed on his return to the team today, was replaced for the final ten minutes by Tyler Blackett. I think Shaw had literally run himself into the ground against his boyhood club.

Into the last ten minutes and it was still all United as they desperately searched for that all-important equaliser.

In the 82nd minute, a Di Maria corner was narrowly headed over by Rooney.

You got the feeling that with Chelsea's defensive tactics and United's inability to convert their chances that it was not going to be the Red's day.

Into the 4th minute of injury time and controversy as Herrera was booked for a dive in the area when he was obviously clipped by Cahill for a certain penalty.

However, the referee had decided that the Spaniard had deliberately tried to deceive him for a spot kick. Both players came head to head in a heated end to the match.

Final score 1-0 to Chelsea.

In a game that was totally dominated by United, it is still unbelievable how they managed to lose the match against a Chelsea team whose only real chance on target was the goal. But if you don't score you end up with nothing, which is exactly what happened.

All credit to the Red Devils for going there and trying to win the match. If not for a lack of finishing in the final third it would have been a totally different result.

Man United deserved more from the game but only have themselves to blame for not capitalising on the possession they had in abundance. Falcao once again flattered to deceive in another tepid display that will not endure him to van Gaal's future plans.

Sure, United weren't helped by some key injuries, especially to Carrick, but they showed their newly found collective spirit and can take heart from their display and hold their heads up high.

Next up is a tricky away trip to Goodison Park to face Everton. I fully expect the duo of Rooney and Fellaini to be fully pumped up to face their old team and for United to come away with the three valuable points needed in their quest for runners-up spot.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.