EASTER RISING
Jose win blows title race open
THE Premier League title race is on again.
Some excitable bookies had already paid out early on Chelsea finishing the season as champions.
But after their former boss Jose Mourinho masterminded a first away loss in the league since title rivals Tottenham beat them on January 4, things suddenly look a lot different.
Super-charged Spurs, who have won a magnificent seven league games in a row, scoring 22 goals in the process, are just four points behind the Blues.
Worried
In fact, this Chelsea effort was reminiscent of their no-show at White Hart Lane, with their star performers putting in below-par displays.
Just like at White Hart Lane, Diego Costa was at his frustrating worst.
He was fortunate to escape with just a booking for kicking the excellent Paul Pogba and aside from the fact he appears to be going back to the dark days of last season, boss Antonio Conte must be seriously worried that it is now six games since the striker last scored.
While Costa was off his game, United’s main striker Marcus Rashford was superb, grabbing the first and being a constant threat with his pace and dribbling.
He just shaded man of the match from Ander Herrera, who still managed to score the second despite appearing to be super glued to Chelsea’s playmaker Eden Hazard for most of the match, following his orders from Mourinho.
For the Portuguese coach this victory must have tasted sweet, especially after United’s 4-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season and their FA Cup defeat.
He accused Conte of disrespecting him at the end of their first meeting after the Italian fired up the home crowd with his team already cruising to victory.
His handshake with Conte at the final whistle yesterday was just about the minimum you could get away with.
Throughout the second half Chelsea
fans sang, “We’re top of the league,” over and over, as if to reassure themselves.
What they saw could not have inspired or even reassured them.
Despite Mourinho fielding a weakened side without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic – as he appears to be concentrating on the Europa League – United were superior from the off.
Rashford had an early chance after Jesse Lingard robbed a dithering David Luiz but he dragged his shot wide.
But in the seventh minute he did not fail after Herrera dispossessed Nemanja Matic.
The ball hit Herrera on the arm but as Chelsea appealed in vain for handball, the Spaniard threaded a perfect pass through for Rashford to burst on to.
His touch took him wide but as Asmir Begovic tried to cut down the angle, Rashford’s right-foot shot clipped off his left, giving it enough lift to take it beyond the keeper.
Costa was involved in plenty of nonsense before and after his 33rd-minute caution but offered precious little goal threat. In the 37th minute he reacted like he has caught with a bat in the face when he was touched by Marcos Rojo.
Gary Cahill almost headed into his own net and Ashley Young blazed over before United went two up in the 49th minute.
Young dispossessed N’Golo Kante in the box, giving the Frenchman a taste of his own medicine.
The ball broke off Kurt Zouma to Herrera and his firmly-struck shot hit the same defender’s leg and flew past Begovic high into the net.
Lingard fired wildly over after he was teed up by Rashford, who then blasted into the side-netting with parts of Old Trafford thinking he had scored again.
Just like in their loss at Spurs, Chelsea failed to suggest they were likely to stage an epic fightback.
To quote United’s legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, this is now “squeaky bum time” for Chelsea.