Chelsea earned a dramatic 1-0 victory at Premier League champions Manchester United thanks to a late deflected goal from Juan Mata to boost their chances of Champions League football next season.
The Spanish midfielder struck at the end of a rare flowing move in the 87th minute — Ramires’ back-heel finding Oscar, whose pass to Mata allowed his team-mate to drive the ball home via a deflection off Phil Jones’ boot.
The victory lifted Rafael Benitez’s side team above Arsenal and into third place in the table, with their next game against fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, a game in which another win will all but secure them a top-four spot.
To add to United’s frustration, substitute Wayne Rooney claimed he had been fouled by Ramires just outside the Chelsea penalty area in the seconds leading up to the goal.
It was a rare moment of attacking quality in an otherwise forgettable contest and a goal that ensured an ill-tempered conclusion to the game, with United defender Rafael da Silva shown a straight red card two minutes later.
The Brazilian kicked compatriot David Luiz in the ankles after the centre-back had appeared to swing an elbow at him near the corner flag, and players from both sides engaged in a subsequent shoving match.
Read on to find out how all the action unfolded at Old Trafford:
1740 GMT: Rafael Benitez admits that United having already sealed the Premier League title may have helped Chelsea’s cause at Old Trafford.
“Obviously when you have won [the league] you don’t have the same intensity,” Benitez tells Sky Sports television.
But when it comes to the late sending off of Rafael, with David Luiz laughing as he lay prone on the floor near the corner flag after being kicked by the United defender, Benitez is less forthcoming: “I didn’t see the incident. I always try to enjoy it when we win.
“It’s a situation you can see 20 times on TV but it won’t change anything.”
The Chelsea boss is keener to talk about his side’s Champions League aspirations, with a win against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday now enough for his side to all but secure a Champions League spot.
“For us every game is massive now,” Benitez said. “We have to beat Tottenham which will not be easy and then we have Aston Villa and Everton.”
1725 GMT: United manager Alex Ferguson says Chelsea deserved their victory despite what he saw as a late stroke of luck with the goal.
“We can’t complain, we didn’t play well enough,” he tells Sky Sports television.
“It was a bit of a lucky goal as it deflected off Phil Jones but I don’t want to make any excuses.”
But Ferguson sounds less than impressed by Chelsea defender David Luiz after the Brazilian appeared to swing an elbow at Rafael before his compatriot was sent off late on for a retaliatory kick.
“Retaliation never works,” Ferguson says. “The referee hasn’t even seen it. He’s going on the fact David Luiz is rolling around on the floor.”
1715 GMT: United failing to score in a Premier League home match is a rare occurrence – it’s the first time this has happened since December 2009 when they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa – that’s a remarkable 67 matches.
1705 GMT: Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech knows how important Juan Mata’s late winner could prove in the final reckoning for Champions League qualification.
“It was a massive moment,” Cech tells Sky Sports television. “We have a massive game on Wednesday against Tottenham and this changes the preparation for that.
“We knew we had to defend and control the game and did not want to commit too many players forward. I found the pace of the game a bit slower than usual.”
Mata is also fully focused on his side’s quest for a Champions League spot: “It’s a very, very important victory for us — we well try to win every game and try to finish third which is our aim.
“We have three games left in the Premier League and we want to win as many as we can.”
1654 GMT: This win sends Chelsea back above Arsenal into third spot in the Premier League on 68 points — and gives Rafael Benitez’s side a huge boost in their race for Champions League football next season.
90+4 mins: FULL-TIME – Manchester United 0 – Chelsea 1
90 mins: SUBSTITUTION: Hernandez on for Valencia
Chelsea also make a change – Nathan Ake on for goalscorer Mata.
89 mins: RED CARD – Rafael is sent off for kicking Brazilian compatriot David Luiz near the corner flag after the two players wrestled for possession.
Luiz was laughing as he grabbed his ankle on the floor – that incident doesn’t cover either player in glory.
87 mins: GOAL! Manchester United 0 Chelsea 1
Huge goal for Chelsea – Ramires pulls it back to Oscar who finds Juan Mata and the Spaniard hits a left-footed effort which in off the post via a slight slight deflection off Phil Jones.
83 mins: YELLOW CARD – David Luiz cautioned and the Brazilian is not impressed, remonstrating with Howard Webb.
81 mins: YELLOW CARD – Phil Jones in the book for taking out Ramires who was breaking clear from his own area – and Chelsea had men forward.
Cynical from the United defender.
77 mins: CHANCE – Frank Lampard on the right crosses it into Juan Mata who is totally free on the six-yard box but somehow misses the ball completely with his attempted header.
Glorious chance squandered.
76 mins: SUBSTITUTION – Fernando Torres slides on his Zorro mask and comes on to replaces Victor Moses – can the Spaniard sneak a priceless winner for Benitez?
74 mins: Van Persie caught offside again – frustration from United fans in the stands and a strangely lethargic display.
68 mins: SUBSTITUTIONS – Alex Ferguson, seemingly frustrated by the lack of initiative from his title-winners, makes a double-change: Wayne Rooney on for Anderson and Dutch left-back Alexander Buttner replaces Tom Cleverley.
56 mins: CHANCE – Chelsea right-back Cesar Azpilicueta chips the ball forward to fellow Spaniard Juan Mata who sets up Frank Lampard but the England midfielder fires it over Lindegaard’s crossbar.
52 mins: YELLOW CARD: United’s Nemanja Vidic in the book.
50 mins: David Luiz chests the ball down on the righthand edge of the area and bursts past Ryan Giggs who appears to pull him back and the Brazilian takes a tumble into the area.
Chelsea want a penalty want but Howard Webb is having none of it. Debatable if it was in the box or not but Giggs seemed to tug the Brazilian back.
Chelsea’s players are incensed.
1601 GMT: United get the second half under way again at Old Trafford.
45 mins: HALF-TIME – Manchester United 0 – Chelsea 0
42 mins: Ryan Giggs picks out Van Persie in the area with a delightful curled pass but the Dutch striker can only deflect it wide of Petr Cech’s righthand post.
38 mins: The sight of Chelsea defender John Terry warming up on the touchline sparks boos from United fans and chants of “Rio! Rio! Rio!”, in reference to United defender Rio Ferdinand, sitting on the bench today, and his bad blood with Terry over the player’s alleged racist abuse of Rio’s brother Anton during a game in October 2011.
Terry was given a four-match ban by the Football Association (FA) in September last year after it found him guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand, though Terry had been found not guilty in a criminal case relating to the incident in a London court in July.
34 mins: First time cross from Ryan Giggs on the left and Petr Cech gets down well to push it clear. It falls to Cleverley on the edge of the area but the England midfielder is leaning back and fires it high into the stands.
Cleverley then shows his frustration with a late challenge on Mata.
29 mins: Demba Ba cuts inside on the right but curls his shot past Lindegaard’s far post.
The Senegal striker has looked a threat from the off here.
26 mins: Frank Lampard lines fires in a shot at Anders Lindegaard but the Danish ‘keeper gets everything behind it.
18 mins: CHANCE – First opening for United – Robin Van Persie cuts inside onto his let foot but blazes a loose shot in the direction of the corner flag. Not up to his usual clinical standards.
United keep up the pressure though Phil Jones on the right flank crosses towards Anderson in the middle but Azpilicueta’s presence is enough to put him off.
Tom Cleverley is then teed up on the edge of the area but his shot is blocked – by Anderson! Not the best 60 seconds for the Brazilian.
16 mins: Chelsea getting closer to an opener here – Phil Jones slips and loses the ball to Demba Ba who drives towards the United box and feeds Victor Moses but the midfielder can only fires wastefully over.
6 mins: CHANCE – Another opening for Chelsea – and Mata’s involved again. He gets the ball on the righthand edge of the area and crosses it to the back post. Lindegaard in the United goal flaps at it and the ball falls to Demba Ba but the striker’s shot is cleared.
Rafael Benitez’s men looking sharp up front here.
3 mins: CHANCE – First opening of the game and it falls to Chelsea – Victor Moses finds Juan Mata on the righthand side of the area, the Spanish midfielder cuts inside before curling a cross to Demba Ba but the Senegalese striker can only head it over the crossbar.
Decent chance but he couldn’t quite reach it.
1500 GMT: KICK-OFF – the game is under way at Old Trafford.
1455 GMT: Full starting line ups:
Man Utd: Lindegaard, Da Silva, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Jones, Anderson, Cleverley, Valencia, van Persie, Giggs. Subs: De Gea, Ferdinand, Rooney, Hernandez, Scholes, Kagawa, Buttner.
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar, Mata, Moses, Ba. Subs: Turnbull, Torres, Ferreira, Cahill, Terry, Benayoun, Ake.
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)
1450 GMT: A win for Chelsea today would see them reclaim third place from Arsenal.
Chelsea slipped to fourth place after Arsenal won 1-0 at Queens Park Rangers yesterday and face a crunch clash with Champions League qualification rivals Tottenham on Wednesday.
United will move 16 points clear of second-placed Manchester City if they win.
1445 GMT: Team news and Ferguson has made some changes – Wayne Rooney is on the bench for United, while Anders Lindegaard replaces David De Gea in goal.
Chelsea have made four changes from Thursday’s Europa League win over Basel: Juan Mata, Oscar, Demba Ba and Ashley Cole come in for Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard, Fernando Torres and Ryan Bertrand.
1440 GMT: Chelsea fans will be please to hear that Everton, still in with an outside chance of challenging Chelsea for a top-four finish, have been held to a 0-0 draw in a scrappy Merseyside derby at Anfield.
The draw leaves Everton somewhat marooned in sixth place in the table, five points below fourth-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed Tottenham in the European qualifying positions with two games to play.
The Red Devils may already have been crowned champions this season but it is a big game for Chelsea, who are battling to seal a top-four finish as the season nears its end.
The game comes amid mounting speculation that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, now at Real Madrid, could be about to return and take over from interim manager Rafael Benitez.
Meanwhile United boss Alex Ferguson wants his side to impress even if they do have their 20th English league title secured.
A draw at Arsenal last week ended United’s hopes of overhauling Chelsea’s record Premier League points tally of 95, but Ferguson remains focused.
“It is time for us to play with a good enthusiasm, relax and enjoy ourselves,” he said. “That is what I want to see and hopefully we can have a good end to the season.”
Stay with us for all the action ahead of kick-off at 1500 GMT.
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