Manchester United vs. Chelsea : Why Chelsea Were the Better Team Tactically

Yes, the final score stood 3-1 for the home side at Old Trafford .In an encounter with the lately surging Chelsea team, Manchester United managed to bag the all important three points in a frantic match which will perhaps be remembered more for the misses than the goals.

In sharp contrast to the same fixture last season which cost Chelsea the Premier League, literally, the Blues began the match better. The passing was fluent and inter-play a joy to  the eyes.The ever so laborious Ramirez almost managed to open his goal-scoring account for the season with a superb shot, which David De Gea somehow managed to clear off the line.

Although a single statistic is not enough to say which club really dominated the game, it was interesting to find that in most respects Chelsea was the better team; however, they still managed to lose the game by a 3-1 margin, which plainly flatters Manchester United's credentials.Football can be harsh at times.

By the half time interval, Chelsea had a total of 12 goal scoring chances (five shots on target) as compared to United's four (three on target) ! The scoreline read 3-0 to United.

And speaking of the mid-field, Chelsea's three-man attack there easily outplayed United's two, even with Rooney's part time contribution therein. Manchester United, though, had two wingers who could have been dangerous with the wing play that the team could afford. United also had more of the ball possession in the first half, however, but then it was never in the attacking third. In the second half, Chelsea even bettered that.

The game was won mainly by the lethal combination of two things: brilliant Finishing and United's now perennial good fortune. With all due respect to both Smalling and Nani both of United's initial scorers, none would have stood had the refereeing decisions been up to world-class standards that the Premier League boasts of.

After the first goal, Frank Lampard, who was marking Chris Smalling and Co., also complained to the officials being confident of having let the former Fulham defender into the offside trap. The officials just ignored him. Nani also was also in an offside position when the initial pass was made to him; the linesman this time was much closer to the action, but still messed it up.

All that being said, Ashley Young's pin point precision in the Chris Smalling header and Nani's emphatic finish were deserving of the applauds.

The third goal was another comedy of errors which, though legitimate, had a huge touch of luck about it in the way the ball found Rooney rather than the other way round.

Villas Boas' use of Mata and Meireles was admirable; however, the two combined very well with their short passing and was a major improvement over the performances which had Mikel starting for Chelsea this season. Mata's guile also aided the misfiring Torres, who now had a far better supply as compared to his earlier matches.

The substitution of Lampard at the break and both the introduction of Anelka and shifting Mata to a more central playmaker were also master strokes, as Chelsea got one back within minutes of the start of the second half via a sublime Torres finish. The last time Torres got as many runs at United's defense, Liverpool won a massive 4-1 in 2009. This time, though, the striker flattered to deceive.

After opening his account for the club this season, Torres received an awesome throughball from mid-field with about 10 minutes left to play. The Spaniard easily rounded his compatriot goalkeeper but still managed to miss the open goal inexplicably. Maybe his low confidence had the better of him in a strange way there. To be fair, though, the striker did show some very positive signs of betterment before the foresaid incident happened, which could bode well for Chelsea.

However, it wasn't Torres alone, Ramirez and Sturridge were also culprits earlier in the match when they managed to make a mess of a superb inside pass from Torres, with Ramirez smacking the ball at De Gea, who thus collected some plaudits.

United also had their share of misfortunes. Nani hit the bar, Rooney hit the post and missed a penalty kick in a way which might have reminded John Terry of a chilly night in Russia three years back and Berbatov also missed a sitter late-on .

Villas Boas, however, seemed to have come out the better man in the tactical battle, as Chelsea created 21 goal scoring chances compared to United's 12 (as many as Chelsea did in the first half alone).

Although the match was lost, the prodigious Andre Villas Boas will have a lot to write home about. Yes, the finishing needs improvement, and yes, this defeat also means Chelsea have shot themselves in the foot somewhat in terms of Premier League ambitions. The road ahead looks far more encouraging for the Blues fans after their nervy encounters against Norwich City and WBA at home. The performance from Chelsea will surely make Villas Boas more confident and reassured when the same teams take each other on in the reverse fixture. and if the Blues are in a better scoring form, three points might well be theirs for the taking.