Man U / Chelsea draw in matchup of english premier league heavyweights

Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou scored on a header off of a free kick by John Mikel Obi with ten minutes remaining to salvage a 1-1 draw with Manchester United and preserve the team’s 85 game home beaten streak at Stamford Bridge. The all-even result allowed red hot Arsenal to maintain sole possession of first place in the English Premier League, while Chelsea pulled into a 2nd place tie with Liverpool. Man U, who has broken from the gate slowly in defense of their EPL title, is still well down in the standings with 5 points in their first 4 games based on 1 win, 2 draws and a loss.

Man U came out aggressively and pushed the attack from the opening whistle. After a couple of missed chances early on, Park Ji-Sung tapped in a rebound of a Dimitar Berbatov try to put the visitors up 1-0 at the 18 minute mark. After a futile attempt at pressing their advantage, Man U began to look tentative near the end of the first half.

From that point on, it was all Chelsea. The home team would dominate the game statistically from that point forward, but injuries to several key offensive components kept them off the scoreboard for much of the game. Finally a misplayed offside trap allowed Obi’s free kick to set up Kalou’s equalizer to salvage a point for Chelsea.

After the game, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson complained bitterly about the officiating, which saw the Red Devils pick up 7 yellow card bookings to 1 for Chelsea. Referee Mike Riley whistled all 7 ManU offenses after their go-ahead goal, and 5 of those after the 58 minute mark as Chelsea attacked furiously in search of the game tying goal.

The top 3 teams in the standings, as well as defending champion Man U, should all have an easier time of it next weekend. 3rd place Liverpool will travel to Goodison Park to play middle of the pack Everton. Chelsea heads to Brittania Stadium for a road game against newly promoted Stoke City, while Arsenal will have a good chance to pick up 3 points and maintain their EPL lead as they host Hull City. Manchester United will try to climb back into contention as they welcome the lowly Bolton Wanderers to Old Trafford.