Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea

Chelsea pulled two points clear of Manchester United in the Premier League title race after winning 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.

The Blues went into the early kick-off with confidence soaring following their 7-1 mauling of Aston Villa, and they took the lead on 20 minutes, when Florent Malouda went on a strong run down the left and crossed for Joe Cole, who beat Edwin van der Sar from close range with a cheeky backheel.

Carlo Ancelotti's decision to keep Didier Drogba on the bench paid dividends as the Londoners totally bossed the first half against a United side missing the attacking verve of Wayne Rooney.

The hosts looked lethargic, possibly due to their Champions League exertions against Bayern Munich in midweek, but they should have had a penalty on 25 minutes, when Yuri Khirkov fouled Park Ji-Sung in the 18-yard box but saw his appeal denied by referee Mike Dean.

Dean was pilloried last week for awarding Blackburn a penalty following a dive from Martin Olsson, and that was clearly on his mind when he also ignored a rugby tackle by Gary Neville on Nicolas Anelka on 31 minutes.

Sir Alex Ferguson decided not to make any changes during the interval but clearly plugged the hair-dryer in as United emerged from the dressing room a different team, and took control of the game.

It was Chelsea who had the first clear-cut chance of the second half, though, when Paulo Ferreira powered into the United box, only to stab a shot across the face of goal under pressure from Patrice Evra.

United then put their foot on the gas, and after Park lashed a 20-yard shot high and wide, Dimitar Berbatov steered a header from a fine Ryan Giggs cross inches wide of the upright on the hour mark. Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Federico Macheda and Nani all entered the fray from the bench around the 70-minute mark - and it was Drogba who made the first impact, receiving a pass from Kalou in an offside position and lashing a fierce right-footed strike into the net on 79 minutes.

Two minutes later it was 2-1 after Nani's cross was diverted by Petr Cech onto the chest of Macheda, with the ball rolling into the net to spark a frantic finale. Berbatov had a great chance for an equaliser in stoppage time - but directed a volley straight at Cech to ensure the Blues did the double over United having won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.