Man United crush Chelsea

Manchester United closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool with an emphatic 3-0 win over title rivals Chelsea at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic headed the opening goal in first-half stoppage time before Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov completed the scoring. United are five points behind Liverpool with two games in hand.

As José Mourinho settled into his seat in the directors’ box, back in an English stadium for the first time since his abrupt departure from Stamford Bridge, he loomed large over this battle of two heavyweights. By the end, with Old Trafford rocking around him, he could not cast so much as a five o’clock shadow over Manchester United’s celebrations. For Chelsea, though, his brooding presence offered an unwelcome reminder of just how they have fallen without him over the past 16 months.

Mourinho was there to cast an eye over United, who gave an ominous warning of the task facing his Inter Milan team in the Champions League’s first knockout round next month, but, as he flew back to Italy last night, he will also have been preoccupied by Chelsea’s continuing troubles under Luiz Felipe Scolari. Whatever his reputation for malevolence, there must have been a part of him that looked upon this performance – devoid of wit, spirit, character and organisation – in much the same way as someone returning to their beloved former home and finding it fallen into disrepair, with weeds overrunning the garden.

If this was a glorious afternoon for United, who have the opportunity to go to the top of the table for the first time this season if they can beat Wigan Athletic on Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, it was truly wretched for Chelsea. As if conceding three goals was not bad enough, two of them – Nemanja Vidic’s header in first-half stoppage time and Dimitar Berbatov’s close-range volley with three minutes remaining, which were interspersed by a deserved goal for Wayne Rooney – were from dead-ball situations. So organised under Mourinho, Chelsea have conceded five goals from set-pieces in their past three games.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Ryan Giggs - There was general surprise when Michael Carrick was omitted for Giggs, but the 35-year-old justified Ferguson's faith. Skipping his way through a crowded midfield, his reading of the game and willingness to take the initiative proved invaluable. If one moment typified his performance, it was when he anticipated a surge forward by Jose Bosingwa and shadowed the Chelsea right-back expertly.

MANCHESTER UNITED VERDICT: They could be top on Saturday if they win their games in hand and it was a performance worthy of potential champions. Evra's return at left-back added another outlet, Vidic responded to the role of the senior centre-back in Rio Ferdinand's continued absence and Giggs excelled. Perhaps the most meaningful contribution, however, was Berbatov's: a man who has decorated more games than he has determined managed two assists and a goal.

CHELSEA VERDICT: They were dreadful. By a process of elimination Petr Cech could be considered their best performer, simply because the rest erred so often. "It is my job now to change something," Scolari said and, on this evidence, plenty of changes are required. Restoring Anelka to the side may help.