Chelsea 2 : 1 United

I am totally gutted! What could have been a well-deserved draw for United was turned into a complete misery by, of all people, the bloody linesman. How a game of such monumental importance can be decided by some reckless stupid referee is something I just can't comprehend. Is the FA ever going to do something on the growing number of such refereeing blunders?

First half completely belonged to Chelsea. The onus was on them to take the game to United, given the must-win situation and they certainly took the game head-on. Man United looked terribly clueless in first half. Perhaps it was because of the cautious approach employed by Sir Alex - the exclusion of Ronaldo from the starting eleven was certainly an evidence to that. Chelsea created umpteen number of chances and could have taken a big lead in the first half. But somehow, they seemed to be lacking on the final ball. The injury to Vidic didn't help United's cause and the back four seemed pretty susceptible for most of the half. Another noticeable aspect of United's game was the poor show of Nani on the right. Either the situation seemed to have got the better of him or he still needs some maturing up to do. Chelsea kept creating chances and spilling them and just as when United were seeming to get away with the situation, Michaeal Ballack made a smart run to head Chelsea in front in the injury time. Perhaps Chelsea deserved that goal.

It's not in United's character to have a bad first half and not do anything about it. So, as expected United showed a spring in their run in the second half. The game looked far more entertaining and open. United had a lucky break when Chelsea's Mr. Dependable at the back Ricardo Caravalho giften Wayne Rooney a free ball in front of the goal. Rooney, who was struggling with the recurrence of his hip injury, showed great composure and self-belief in putting the ball past Petr Cech. United's performance only improved from that goal on. With Ronaldo coming in for Rooney after the goal, things looked more promising for United. 80 minutes into the game, just as it was looking as though it was destined to end in a fair draw, the linesman took center-stage.
What looked like an innocuous cross into the United box seemed to touch the hand of Carrick, who was only trying to avoid the contact. And the stupid linesman declared a penalty. Ballack, who seemed to be having a tough time with Drogba's attitude, stepped in and confidently put it past Van der Saar.

It was nothing but a shocking decision by the ref. How on earth these referees can make a hash of the whole season in one moment of indecision is something that is incredible and quite unpardonable. Of course that will be the talking point for days to come. This bitter loss notwithstanding, United can still clinch the title if they can win the remaining two matches. I certainly don't want a team like Chelsea to win the League - they're too boring for my liking. And United have been the deserving candidates ever since they put that sorry start behind and came up with solid performances week in and week out after that. Things might not be that easy for United, but then if any team can handle pressure in the EPL, it has to be United. Glory Glory United.

Blackburn 1 : 1 United

Well...it was touted to be a tough away fixture for United and it turned out to be just that. An 88th minute goal by late-goal specialist Carlos Tevez saved the day for United which puts them 3 points clear of Chelsea - 3 points which could clinch the title in the end.

United started the game well and had a golden chance created around the 10th minute - Rooney coming up with a smart cross for Tevez who had nothing but a simple tap-in to make but messed it up while being wrong-footed! That was the only chance United could create the whole of the first half. That probably was a result of some deft display by Rovers who looked the better side the whole of first half. They were rewarded for their display a few minutes before half time when some indecisive clearance saw the ball luckily falling neatly in front of Santa Cruz who made no mistake in putting it past Kuzzack. United had looked a little ragged before that goal and after that goal was scored against them, they only seemed to get more indecisive.

Second half continued to see United struggle for to get the opening goal for most part. There were at least a couple of instance where United could have been awarded a penalty but somehow referee Rob Styles seemed comfortble in turning a blind eye to them. It didn't help United that the Blackburn keeper Friedal was having a great day in front of goal turning away most of the chances - the two saves to deny Rooney and O'Shea were the most notable. Just as when it started to seem as though United were going to go back with a loss, Carlos Tevez came up with a smart goal to save a point for United. The goal came off a corner which Paul Scholes turned towards the goal and Tevez was lurking there to turn it into the goal past Friedal.

It was a tough game for United. Sir Alex fielded an almost full-strength for this one inspite of the Champion's League semifinal coming up middle of the week. Yet I felt Giggs looked a little off-colour and should have had Nani playing for him from the start. United found it tough to get into their usual flowing style and never really got it going. Yet one point at the end of the day could be a very important point in the title race. It's Chelsea next and that could be the most important game yet in this season. Hopefully United will come up with the goods at the Stamford Bridge and if they can do that, we can surely have the title decided there.

United 2 - 1 Arsenal

It has to be one of the most memorable matches of the season. Man United came back from behind to drive the last nail into Arsenal's coffin (read season) and with that have inched more closer to the title.

The pressure and onus was all on Arsenal for this tie at Old Trafford. And they seemed to be responding to it quite well if the first half was any indication - Arsenal dictated terms for most of the half and created several promising chances in front of the United goal. That was because they controlled the midfield for most part but were found wanting in the finishing department - reminiscent of their poor goal-scoring form last year. Adebayor could easily have had a hat-trick had he taken the chances that came his way - but he isn't a Fernando Torres, is he? United on the other hand didn't look too convincing to start with, yet they had a few clear chances upfront - Rooney had 2 decent chances and I thought he should have converted at least one of them. Somehow it felt as if the score was destined to stay nil-nil at half time and so it did!

With United not looking at their best, Sir Alex was going to pep them up to look better in the second half. But it was the Gunners who took the lead albeit off a shocking goal - Adebayor came up with his own version of the "Hand of God" and suddenly Arsenal seemed to have an edge in this crucial tie. But United were going to see poetic justice done to them at the other end - Gallas, the Gunners' skipper and somebody who always seems do well against United found himself at the receiving end of a penalty - courtesy of a hand ball! In comes Ronaldo and he converts not once but twice - one of them could not be counted though! With that equalizer, the game was left wide open. You could clearly see Sir Alex playing his strategy to perfection. He sent in the energetic duo of Anderson and Tevez and United seemed to have gained an extra edge in most departments of the game. Also United were lucky that Van Der Saar was having a brilliant day keeping things at bay - he prevented at least 2 own goals and saw off several chances created by the Arsenal attack. United weren't going to be left unrewarded for the spring in their game, their second goal came pretty much in line with the run of play and what a beauty it was - Owen Hargreaves, who looked very sharp the whole of the match, came up with a sweetly timed curling free kick which Jens Lehmann could only watch going into the corner of the net. At that point with just ten minutes to go, United seemed to have got the match-winner. With some adept defensive work, they were able to cling on to the lead and finally end any title hopes the Gunners had been nurturing.

Overall, it was a memorable league tie. Arsenal gave most of what they had but United some how seemed to have the edge with their class. From now on, with only 4 games left, if United can win 3 they will certainly retain the title even if they lose at the Bridge. Go United go!

Borough 2 - 2 United

In what could have a major impact on United's title chances, Middlesborough showed an inspired performance to hold United to a 2-all draw to make the title race more interesting.
I only got to watch the last 30 minutes of the game. United were trailing 1-2 at the Riverside stadium in blizzard-like conditions. The game was being played in an open attacking fashion where both the teams were creating enough chances to run away with the game.
Wayne Rooney scored the much needed equalizer in the 74th minute when Park Ji Sung smartly cut inside from the right and provided a useful cross. On the other end, Borough had several good chances to sneak in a decisive winner only to be kept off by the hard-working Van Der Saar.

So United ended the game with only 3 points ahead of Chelsea, who can't seem to put a foot wrong at the moment. Chelsea were comfortable winners at the City of Manchester stadium with a 3-0 victory. Rio Ferdinand limping off towards the end of the game was another worrying thing for United who are already with Nemanja Vidic for 2 weeks. With all the remaining league fixtures being seen as "finals", they can ill-afford to have a weak defense - with matches still to be played against Arsenal and Chelsea. Lets wait and see. Hopefully United will show enough character to fight the odds and come up trumps!