Didier Drogba Rolls Back Years, but Mourinho to Blame for Manchester United Draw
OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER — Chelsea remain undefeated this season, but Jose Mourinho will see his latest draw in Manchester as a massive opportunity lost.
Chelsea drew 1-1 with Manchester City in September and when they returned to the north west to face Manchester United, they left with the same result.
Indeed, Chelsea's 1-1 draw with United mirrored what we had seen at the Etihad last month.
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After a cagey first half, Chelsea dominated proceedings, getting their reward with a deserved goal. As the clock ticked down, Mourinho's side invited the home team onto them, though, and eventually a dramatic equaliser was scored.
Against City it was former Blues hero Frank Lampard who scored to make the headlines. This time it was a controversial last-minute effort from Robin van Persie.
It wasn't the legitimacy of Van Persie's strike that will be questioned, but more the circumstances in which his opportunity presented itself.
Branislav Ivanovic was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 92nd minute when he was adjudged to have fouled Angel Di Maria and from the resulting free-kick, Van Persie got his goal.
The first question of the press conference was inevitable.
"I have come from five interviews and all five the first question was my comments on the referee," Mourinho explained.
"And I told them: 'No comment.' Because when five ask me the same thing, I don't need to answer. I just prefer to say that in my opinion, from where I was and feeling the game, and reading the game, my feeling is that we had a good first half and a fantastic second half.
"To come here and play the way that we did and not to be happy with the point, because we are not, shows clearly how good we were and how good we are playing in this moment."
Phil Dowd did have a poor game, it must be said, with the referee making some questionable decisions. He was inconsistent, wrongly penalising both teams at different stages and impacting the flow of the game as a result.
But Mourinho was holding back when discussing his feelings post-match. Not because of a fear of an FA fine, but what it would mean for his players.
The Chelsea boss won't like pointing fingers publicly, but the Blues should have been out of sight before Van Persie got his chance.
This was Manchester United they were facing, but the brave comebacks from the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson are long gone. They're a different beast these days, carrying far less growl and intimidation to what we knew.
Van Gaal is rebuilding, but right now, Chelsea and Untied are worlds apart.
The celebrations at the end of the game told us that much, but we had seen it for the 90 minutes previous.
United attacked Chelsea more in hope than anticipation, shooting at any opportunity in the way inferior teams do. There wasn't any plan, a calm, considered approach—it felt more a case of "let's see what we can get."
Well it got Van Gaal's team a point, but that was more down to Chelsea's naivety than United's brilliance.
Chelsea controlled proceedings and as such, should never have allowed it to come down to what proved to be all but the game's last kick.
Eden Hazard had his chances to score, as did Branislav Ivanovic and Willian, yet Chelsea squandered their opportunities.
It was left to 36-year-old Didier Drogba to save Hazard's blushes after he converted the resulting corner from his teammate's glaring miss when one-on-one with David De Gea.
And that was Chelsea's problem here at Old Trafford.
Last term, Mourinho was guilty of over-estimating David Moyes' side, playing cautiously and coming away with a goalless draw. This time out, it was as though his players had under-estimated them, not taking them seriously as a threat.
After Drogba's 53rd-minute header, there was a hint of Chelsea taking their foot off the gas. They controlled the game from there, but seemed more content in seeing it out than killing their opponent off.
It was like they didn't need to, that the game was won.
"We got the same result as last season here, we got the same draw," Mourinho added. "But if I compare what we did last season and what we did this season, it shows clearly the evolution of this team.
"We are not happy with a point. This is only possible when you play so well and feel you are so good to not be happy with a point at Old Trafford."
It's also because Mourinho knows his team, refereeing decisions or not, should have been more clinical.They should have made their superiority count.
That's exactly what Ferguson teams of old were notorious for.
Chelsea are better than a draw at Old Trafford and on the weekend when City lost to West Ham United, three points would have made their position as title favourites concrete.
Victory would have all but shut the door on their rivals, even if it is late October. Only now, it's been left slightly ajar.
*All quotes taken firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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