Chelsea or Manchester United: who took most from the draw?

Yes, it is early days in the Premier League season, but Manchester United will have been relieved to take a point at Chelsea yesterday to slow Luis Felipe Scolari's team in its tracks. Had United lost they would have been nine points behind Chelsea, a sizeable tally to overhaul in their quest for a third consecutive championship. Instead the gap is six points.

So what can both teams take from their 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge? Can either side claim a psychological advantage over the other? Where do think both teams will be in the table when they play their corresponding fixture at Old Trafford on January 10? Leave your comments below.

Comments

[Ken Noble]

For as long as I can remember (which is quite a long time) United have been 'slow starters' almost every season. They will get better and become more consistent. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the final top four were Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City (in that order). Newcastle for relegation??

[izzam]

look at man utd fixtures....all the tough away games (ars, che, liv, bla, por, tot, ast, eve, manc) will be completed come january 2009.....we'll be in cruising to the third title in a row in the last 4 months.....double champion again anyone??

[Jimmy Bond]

Whoa there Mancs! I see you forget that Chelsea were without Deco, Essien, Carvalho. And we only had a half-fit Ballack and even less fit Drogba. Every one of those is an important piece of the Chelsea jigsaw. Kalou might have been lucky with his goal, but unfortunately Anelka and Joe Cole had forgotten where the goal was, with 3 or 4 great chances. We should have won the game, but don't worry we'll have our revenge at OT. You only won there because of a dubious sending-off last season (now there's a surprise), it won't happen again.

[Dave N]

Si makes a great point, already played Liverpool & Chelsea away, albeit, with only a point to show from 6. Chance to be only 3 behind with the squad approaching full match fitness - although Gary Neville worries me on Sunday. Chelsea losing players right left & center, Liverpool will be inconsistent again - only because of Benitez, and Arsenal will tire in February (hopefully).
All in all, would rather be Man U than Chelsea at the moment. The UTD squad definitely looks stringer with the injuries Chelsea have at the moment, although if Ronaldo & Ferdinand miss a few games I might start to worry.

[peter yiannis]

Scolari's tactics were predictable.The attacking full backs system employed by him, was nullified by Fergie , with the hardworking Park & Hargreaves. Had they both been fully match fit and played the whole 90 minutes in that position ( Park substituted, Hargreaves moved to central midfield ) and with a sharper and fitter Berbatov and Ronaldo, Man Utd would have won.
Scolari has used this system with both Portugal and the World cup winning Brazil team of 2002 , the difference being that in 2002, he had as a forward line the 3 R,s at their scintillating best. Ronaldo , Rivaldo and Ronaldinho! Carlos and Kafu were the full backs!
This, i believe is the reason he brought in Deco and so badly wanted Robinho to provide the flair, skill and match winning unpredictability , that his current forward line -with the exception of Drogba - does not have.
I wrote this in a previous entry and before Robinho went to Man City and i will say it again.
Fergie made a big mistake by not selling C.Ronaldo to Real M., because with the money, he would have gotten both Robinho and Berbatov and saved the club 30 odd ml.
Robinho is a great player and as good as Ronaldo and minus the cry baby , diva histrionics.
Overall ,1-1 was a fair result with both teams losing 2 points.
Man utd though ,will win at Old Trafford.

[Piers]

Definitely a point gained, even from a United supporter i can see that the surgically clinical Chelsea of Mourinho is slowly dissolving over time, 2 years ago Cole would have scored both of those chances, there wouldn't be an Anelka there because his team ethic stinks and in his stead there would be a player more capable.

So while it is a good result for United more than Chelsea one has to ponder whether that is due to their ability as much as Chelsea's profligacy. Of course, one must remember that we were playing a number of unfit players, Berba had what only 45 mins of pre-season, Hargreaves and Park the same and Fletcher is a squad player (albeit one that is growing in stature with each passing game, is there a future for him yet?) while also missing Vidic, Carrick, Ronaldo and for some reason an in form Tevez.

Better for Manchester United and i cannot complain about a draw or a point.

[roger n.o. gardiner]

go united go!Chelsea should thank their 12th man on th field ie the referee for helping them hold on to their home record! and when did Kalou grow taller than Fedinand to head a ball over him!! He shd keep pushing my man to score such goals but should also remember the officials are wacthing him!

[Harry Boulton]

An under-performing Man Utd side go away to a rampant Chelsea side and get a point. Not only that, but they put in their best performance at Stamford Bridge in 4 years and could have, on numerous occassions, won it. Hmmmmm......?

I'd say that anyone who argues that that is not a great result must be taking non-prescription medication, so to speak. Utd took more out of this game when you study it. Chelsea will have seen their biggest title rivals coming with numerous players injured or unfit, and the team as a whole struggling for draws at home to weak opposition. Chelsea will have rightly identified this fixture as a major opportunity to knock Utd side ways and really kick them out of the race early doors. That they didn't is to their chagrin. Honours even, but Utd had more to take away from the game.

[Phil]

All in all, an excellent point for United. The squad is arguably the strongest ever this year. How about this for an alternative starting XI to Sunday's?
Foster, Da Silva, Brown, Vidic, O'Shea.....
Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs...
Ronaldo, Tevez.

And that still leaves the other Da Silva, Manucho, Possebon...

[Si]

Let's look at it one way. United are six points behind (Chelsea) with a game in hand. They have already played away games at their two biggest rivals. I'm an optimistic red.

[Prakash.K]

Manchester United gained a lot.They were the underdogs going in to the match, all pundits predicting a Chelsea victory. Also, class and style returned to ManU and as the manager said watch us go now. Come January, Chelsea could be chasing Arsenel for the second spot. Arsenel will achieve better than last year this season.