#CultClashes: Five of the best between Chelsea and Man United
Published:
Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge this Sunday and we’re all hoping for a marked improvement on the 0-0 snoozefest that ensued when the pair last met in December.
That contest was a far cry from the five #CultClashes we’ve served up here with the likes of Chris Sutton, Paul Scholes, Tore Andre Flo and Javier Hernandez all lighting up this fixture in the past.
And now it’s time for new heroes to emerge from the shadows and reinvigorate a contest that’s provided us with plenty of drama down the years.
Over to you lads. In the meantime, check out this fabulous quintet…
Chelsea 5-0 Man United – October 3 1999
A rare off day for United in their most dominant Premier League campaign.
Gus Poyet put the Blues 1-0 up straight from kick off after getting the better of the infamous Massimo Taibi inside 30 seconds.
Chris Sutton did the same to grab his first Chelsea goal, before Poyet again and Jody Morris netted either side of a Henning Berg O.G in a rampant second half.
It still is Chelsea’s biggest Premier League win over Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, but though United went on to win the title by a record 18 points, Taibi’s appearance was his last game for the Reds.
Man United 3-3 Chelsea – September 23 2000
This thriller is rarely absent from a list of the Premier League’s finest games, especially a stunning first-half which ended 3-2.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Paul Scholes exchanged early belters – Hasselbaink’s effort nearly tearing through the net – before Teddy Sheringham and David Beckham handed Man United a two-goal advantage.
Every Chelsea fan’s favourite Norwegian had other ideas though, and a Tore Andre Flo brace ensured a share of the spoils in a breathless encounter.
Chelsea 3-0 Man United – April 29 2006
A match which brutally demonstrated how far Chelsea had come under Jose Mourinho: Part 1.
The Blues needed just a point to clinch a second successive title, but they dominated this encounter with arguably their finest squad.
A midfield five featuring Arjen Robben, Claude Makelele, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien proved unmatchable for United at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea won the battle on this day, but the result arguably proved a catalyst to Sir Alex Ferguson’s desire to return United to the top.
The Reds would win the next three Premier League titles.
Man United 3-1 Chelsea – September 18 2011
This match featured the very best, and the truly very worst of Fernando Torres’ Chelsea career.
Chris Smalling, Nani and Wayne Rooney put United into a 3-0 first-half lead against an all-at-sea west Londoners under Andre Villas-Boas.
Torres’ first-half highlight had been a failed overhead kick attempt which drew delight from the Old Trafford crowd.
Immediately after the break however, the Spaniard oh so briefly captured his Liverpool form to put Chelsea back in the game.
But then, staring at an open goal after a sublime step-over and first-touch, to bring the game to 3-2 and put United under real pressure, Liverpool Torres morphed into Chelsea Torres once more…
Chelsea 3-3 Man United – February 5 2012
This match wasn’t promising much with a scrappy Chelsea goal the only strike in a routine first half.
That was all changed within five minutes of the break however, and a stunning Juan Mata volley (from an inch-perfect Fernando Torres cross, no less) before a David Luiz header sent the west London crowd wild with delight inside 50 minutes.
But in the days of Sir Alex, Man United were never down and out.
A pair of Wayne Rooney penalties put the visitors right back in it, before Javier Hernandez headed home to seal United an unlikely point.
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