Blues undone by man in black

Once United had scored, with Carlos Tevez notching his first goal for the club, Chelsea enjoyed no more than a meaningless rally. Those seeking to have their emotions stirred were best advised to keep their eyes on the referee, writes Kevin McCarra.

The contrast with the Jose Mourinho era took the expected form. Avram Grant’s Chelsea lost to Manchester United, a failing almost unknown when the Portuguese was in charge. Football, admittedly, is too complex ever to be covered by that sort of bald summation. On September 23, for instance, the outcome must have been affected by the dubious red card for the visitors’ midfielder Mikel John Obi when the match was goalless.

Once United had scored, with Carlos Tevez notching his first goal for the club, Chelsea enjoyed no more than a meaningless rally. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side remembered to keep ample numbers behind the ball and spirited breaks by the visitors petered out, with no genuine saves required of Edwin van der Sar. Those seeking to have their emotions stirred were best advised to keep their eyes on the referee.

The most that can be said for Mike Dean is that he was entitled to show a red card and to give a penalty. The official, though, will not be pardoned for making those decisions in incidents that did not merit them. While Mikel overreacted after losing control of the ball in the 32nd minute, the stretching challenge that bit into Patrice Evra’s left ankle merited a caution instead of the third dismissal of his Chelsea career.

There was no relation between the real incident and the two-footed lunge indicated by Dean. Penalty rulings were equally haphazard. With less than a minute to go Tal Ben Haim, face to face with Louis Saha, made the merest contact with the substitute and the Frenchman, cocking a snook at the laws of physics, fell forward. His conscience did not distract him from converting the penalty.

Grant, as different from his predecessor at Stamford Bridge as the rest of the human race, later made his complaints without attempting an amateur’s impersonation of an esoteric Mourinho tirade.

His side, on other occasions, had sinned and been absolved by Dean.

Joe Cole did foul Evra inside the penalty area in the 18th minute, yet the offence went unrecognised. The same Chelsea midfielder got off, too, with a caution for a cynical foul on Cristiano Ronaldo after 74 minutes when there was no intent or prospect of getting the ball.

All things considered, a just verdict may have been reached by accident. The opener came through a rare piece of artistry that merited some reward. Even then, however, Dean could be faulted. Two minutes of first-half stoppage time had been completed, but the referee let play continue after Chelsea had dealt with a corner.

Wes Brown knocked the ball accurately towards Ryan Giggs on the right and the veteran bent it exquisitely towards the near post with the outside of his left foot. Tevez beat Petr Cech to the cross and headed his first goal for United from close range.

The Argentinian had a productive day, roaming and linking when United went on the attack, yet it is at least as relevant that Ferguson’s team have racked up a fifth consecutive clean sheet. They might not look as if they are related to the effervescent line-up that won the Premiership title last season, and Arsenal are the sole team in the top flight who can be recommended wholeheartedly for style and excitement, but United rise to second place in the table.

The Old Trafford side will be thrilling sooner or later. They can barely help but do so when such talents are available to them. After two minutes, Wayne Rooney cut inside Ben Haim and Cech had to pull off an outstanding fingertip save to thwart his curling drive. United did hint at reserves of creativity at times and, for instance, it was only the tightness of the angle that stopped them from scoring when Giggs put a volley over after Rooney’s cross had gone beyond the reach of Cech.

Chelsea should not allow their grievances to distract them from their faults. Some are accounted for by the injuries to Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, but a lot of money had still been laid out on the footballers who did take part. Whenever funds are discussed, the conversation turns to the £30m Andriy Shevchenko.

The Ukrainian’s wish to make a fresh start was apparent and his work was laudable, good enough for Roman Abramovich to applaud warmly when Shevchenko went off after an hour. None the less, he lacked the predatory trait that made him worth such a hefty price in bygone times.

United were prudent after the interval. In a generally dull contest people such as Michael Carrick caught the eye. The midfielder, who has lost status in the England squad, passed better than he has previously in this campaign.

Chelsea, who last won when they beat Portsmouth on August 25, badly need to mount a comeback of their own. Grant made minor alterations to Mourinho’s tactics but the Israeli will have to pull off remarkable feats before supporters bin the “Jose Mourinho — simply the best” banner raised during the match.

After a difficult month or two, he was back to his normal self and used the ball reliably and well.

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007