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Hot-tempered action followed, but the true surprise was the initial placidity of the play, particularly from Chelsea. The visitors, too, were unlikely to tear a defence asunder, but there was an intent to attack, with Wayne Rooney wrongly ruled offside when he went clear in the sixth minute.
United had a bloody-mindedness to them while lacking Dimitar Berbatov, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Chelsea suffered moments of disquiet, particularly when Terry applied muscle to Antonio Valencia after 14 minutes that might have led to a penalty at, say, Old Trafford.
By and large, however, the match was innocuous before the interval. United had drive in midfield, without looking as if they could reach a conclusion. Chelsea, for their part, seemed in no hurry. Half an hour had gone before Nicolas Anelka produced an effort from the right that called for a good save by Edwin van der Sar. The Frenchman had an incisiveness that few shared in that period, but his team behaved as if there was no reason for haste.
It was United who had the hunger that was epitomised by the purposeful pairing of Michael Carrick and Fletcher in midfield. The lone striker Rooney, increasingly, had designs on victory and a curling effort in the 69th minute had to be turned behind by Petr Cech. Chelsea prevailed as much through durability as enterprise.
Source: theguardian.co.uk
