This surely was the kind of a game that premier league is all about, feisty, competitive, thrilling, pulsating and one where you could have never picked a winner until the final whistle.
Manchester United travelled to Stamford Bridge sitting pretty at the top of the perch with a 4 points cushion but they came back bloodied and bruised.
They are still at the top of the table but the defeat means that if Arsenal win their game in hand the lead will be cut down to a solitary point with an impending visit to Anfeild for United.
The win does not mean much for Chelsea as they are still 12 points off the leaders but it has got Chelsea back in the fold for a race for a champion’s league place and it for sure means that Manchester United will not walk to the title as earlier feared.
United have often being blamed for not hitting the top gear but after yesterday’s match no one came blame them for being languid as they took the game to Chelsea at their own den and almost came away unscathed.
Had it not been for appalling refereeing decisions, Manchester United would have been celebrating all the way back but two horrendous decisions from Martin Atkinson cost Manchester United the game and has inadverdently given Arsenal a lifeline.
The win for Arsenal was a huge favour for Arsenal as they are now within touching distance of United and the game at the Emirates on April the 2nd between Arsenal and United will surely be the title decider barring a catastrophic blip in form
for either side.
Last night Chelsea came from behind to stun the league leaders but required a huge favour from the referee.
Manchester United took the lead and deserved too, from a shot that had the precision of a guided missile.
Wayne Rooney was fed the ball on the edge of the box by Luis Almeida da Cunha aka Nani and the England striker turned the defender inside out before unleashing a thunderous rocket that gave Cech no chance on his near post.
The teams went into half time with the tie and the title race overwhelmingly in favour of United but Chelsea came out with a renewed vigor in the second half and got immediate reward as within 10 minutes of the restart they equalized.
Manchester United defence failed to clear the ball from a Frank Lampard corner as the ball fell to Florent Malouda just 35 yards out and his swinging cross into the box was headed on by Nemanja Vidic but David Luiz was waiting on the left hand side of the
box and made no mistake firing an immaculate shot past Van Der Sar.
The game was still open as both the teams pushed hard for the win but none could find a way past the defensive walls of eachother.
David Luiz and Nemanja Vidic were playing like warriors for their teams as they spear headed their team’s defenses with some no non sense and life on the line defending.
But David Luiz should have been sent off for an off the ball challenge on Wayne Rooney after already being booked earlier but the ref paid no attention to the incident and the ex-Porto man was allowed to stay on the pitch much to the dismay of Alex Ferguson.
Chelsea then got lucky as Martin Atkinson made a hash of another decision when he awarded Chelsea a spot kick for a Chris Smalling foul on Michael Essien that was hardly malicious or intentional.
Frank Lampard converted the spot kick with masterful ease to give his side the decisive lead in the game.
Late in the game Manchester United upped the tempo but some resilient defending from Chelsea kept the most potent attack in the league at bay.
Nemanja Vidic received a second yellow late in the game for a foul on Ramires and will now miss United’s trip to Liverpool on Sunday 6th of March.