Two more games; that’s all it will take. Two more games and Jose Mourinho will have confirmed his mastery of the Premier League with a third title in five attempts at the trophy and Chelsea will be crowned champions.
The clue that this was the decisive game was in the manic nature of the second half. Not on the pitch, but on the touchline. Mourinho and his assistant Rui Faria were up and down with unusual intensity, even for them, waving players back with the most extravagant gestures when they lost the ball.
Hold on to this lead, was the implicit message, and a huge step will have been taken to the ultimate goal. In fact, as One Step Beyond played at the end of the game and the players congregated in the centre circle, there was a sense that the celebrations were already in swing.
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard (second from left) slots the ball past Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea to open the scoring
Hazard's low shot squirms past De Gea as defenders Chris Smalling (left) and Paddy McNair watch on helplessly
Hazard wheels away to celebrate his 13th Premier League goal of the season as De Gea slowly rises to his feet after conceding
A TV camera gets a close-up of the goalscorer as Hazard celebrates with Didier Drogba in front of a section of home fans at Stamford Bridge
PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
Chelsea: Courtois 6, Ivanovic 6, Terry 7, Cahill 6.5, Azpilicueta 6, Zouma 5.5, Matic 7, Oscar 8 (Ramires 6, 67), Fabregas 6 (Mikel 92), Hazard 8.5 (Willian 94), Drogba 5
Subs not used: Cech, Luis, Cuadrado, Solanke
Goal: Hazard
Booked: Ivanovic, Drogba, Oscar
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7
Manchester United: De Gea 6.5, Valencia 6, Smalling 6.5, McNair 6.5, Shaw 7 (Blackett 80), Rooney 6, Mata 5 (Januzaj 5, 70), Ander Herrera 7.5, Fellaini 6.5, Young (Di Maria 6, 70), Falcao 4
Subs not used: Da Silva, Van Persie, Valdes, Pereira
Booked: Herrera
Manager: Louis van Gaal 6
MOTM: Hazard
Referee: Mike Dean 6
Attendance: 41,442
*Player ratings by Oliver Todd at Stamford Bridge
Eden Hazard opened the scoring for Chelsea - CLICK HERE for more in our Match Zone
Two more games of course have to be won and that includes a visit to Arsenal next week. But there can be little doubt as to the destination of the title after this result. The hard work of the winter has been done.
Mourinho was haveing none of it of course, rightly so, insisting they need eight points. They need nine, actually, to be sure, but beat Arsenal next week and then they will need just three more. ‘If the celebration is because we beat one the biggest clubs in the world, I understand that,’ he said. ‘If the celebration is because the players gave everything to win that game and they feel the result of the work they did this week, then I also understand that.
‘But if they are celebrating something more than that – not at all. It’s three points. Every point we get is one step in the title direction but no more than that.’
Via - Dailymail.
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