By Matt Barlow
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It was, in the interests of peace, a most orderly start to proceedings. Rio Ferdinand shook Ashley Cole by the hand and everyone but Ashley Young pulled on their T-shirts against racism.
Then off came the T-shirts, out spilled the rancour and the game ended with a steward being treated for crush injuries and an unruly exchange among the coaching staff.
Sir Alex Ferguson pursued a point with Steve Holland and Chelsea's goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon stuck his oar in, as he is prone to do.
Shouting match: Sir Alex Ferguson (left) and Roberto Di Matteo argue as the fourth official looks on
A few moments earlier, Ferguson had appeared dumbfounded as Roberto Di Matteo made as if to knock the ball from the hands of Antonio Valencia as he prepared to take a throw-in.
This was how far this game had descended from sanity in the space of 90+5 minutes.
The home crowd chased the officials into the tunnel with a barrage of abuse as United fans rejoiced in a chorus of 'Viva, John Terry,' their homage to Moscow.
Earlier, Ferdinand had raised his fist in triumph to the West Stand and held it aloft as he stared into the banks of those Chelsea fans who had sung: 'One England captain' in support of Terry. There were dives, poor decisions and two red cards and somewhere in the midst of this mayhem, the managers attempted to deploy tactics.
Making contact: Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole shake hands prior to kick-off
But, really, who plays chess in the middle of a bar-room brawl? Ferguson fiddled again with his system, inspired no doubt by his new director of football, Margaret, the 80-year-old granny from Rochdale, who called MUTV and implored the manager to get rid of that 'stupid diamond'.
Out went the diamond. This particular midfield formation is not for ever, regardless of Bond-fever, and United seized control, with Wayne Rooney an influential secret agent, deep in midfield.
Gary Neville spoke recently of reinventing Rooney. Could this be the first phase?
Trends change and, led towards adventure by Barcelona, who are playing with midfielders in central defence, why shouldn't there be more strikers in midfield?
Rooney performed well, until the moment he chased Eden Hazard back towards his own goal and felled the Belgian on the edge of the penalty box.
No chance: David de Gea - who had an outstanding game - could do nothing to stop Juan Mata's wonderful free-kick
From the free-kick, Juan Mata arrowed in his seventh goal in as many games and the Blues swung back into the game.
One of Chelsea's worst habits in recent years has been to regress when the clocks go back and they opened sluggishly.
In Ukraine last week, Petr Cech was beaten in the second minute. At Stamford Bridge they resisted until the fourth before David Luiz deflected a goal past his own goalkeeper.
When Robin van Persie made it 2-0, United were shredding a Terry-less defence at will, although it is never quite so simple. Six days earlier, the Chelsea captain had been at the heart of a back four terrorised by Shakhtar Donetsk.
One-way traffic: When Robin van Persie made it 2-0, it looked to be all over
Chelsea are not watertight. They play a high-risk game and, though it is gloriously entertaining as demanded by the owner, against those teams capable of resisting their flair it is a dangerous policy.
For 30 minutes, United did this well. Rooney's quick thought and vision became a vital pivot and Valencia against Hazard was a mismatch of defensive responsibilities, which exposed Ashley Cole.
If Chelsea's creative forces find the groove, however, they can be devastating and when Ramires sprang above Tom Cleverley to equalise, they seemed about to put seven points between themselves and their visitors.
Then came the most chaotic 12 minutes of all, sparked by a red card for Branislav Ivanovic for tripping Young, when he was clear.
Lighting the touchpaper: Branislav Ivanovic was sent off for a foul on Ashley Young, sparking a wild finale
The Serb punched the wall of the tunnel as he disappeared from view and Ferguson saw his chance. Trust a Glaswegian to keep the clearest head as the alehouse atmosphere took a turn for the worse.
On went Javier Hernandez, which meant an even deeper role for Rooney, until he was in turn replaced by Ryan Giggs. Off went Fernando Torres. Not much goes his way these days.
Emotions soared, tempers frayed, out came the pro- and anti-Terry songs and disagreements continued in the tunnel. Then, at about 7.50pm, came Chelsea's official complaint about the referee.
To paraphrase an old Fergie quote about Italians and pasta: when they tell you that peace has broken out, it's worth a peek under the T-shirts just to be sure.
Mexican rave: Javier Hernandez celebrates his winner
Ahh how fast one forgets MArtin Atkinson ;-) !!!
- granito_pr , Calgary, 29/10/2012 07:57
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