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Manchester United are now officially in control of their own destiny in the Premier League, following their resounding win over Chelsea this afternoon. Goal.com's Sulmaan Ahmad rates the performers...
Manchester United
Van der Sar (7): Was he playing? A mere spectator, but he claimed every ball that came his way with confidence.
Neville (7): As a defender, with a clean sheet, it is job done. The United captain is past his best, but against a side with such minimal wide threat as Chelsea, he had a comfortable afternoon.
Vidic (9): A real colossus at the back. Got himself yet another goal with an industrious run and diving header. Gave Drogba - his Champions League final nemesis - no joy whatsoever.
Evans (7): Certainly had a comfortable evening, having to deputise for Rio Ferdinand. Had the odd slack moment, but was generally not given too much to think about.
Evra (
: An outstanding cross to set up the second goal. As usual, he got forward to great effect, constantly asking questions of the Chelsea defence. The Blues' lack of width made his defensive job a fairly easy one.
Ronaldo (: He scored two goals that both should have been allowed - that's what we must remember. He also set up the third and played a handful of smart passes, but was disappointing with his crosses and shots.
Fletcher (7): Did very little to catch the eye, but gave Ryan Giggs all the space he needed. Never stopped running, closed down every inch of space and kept things tight.
Giggs (9): Outstanding. Very, very rarely does the wily Welshman start a game in central midfield, but it proved to be a masterstroke this afternoon. His passing was pin-point, his set-pieces sublime and his reading of the game above all those around him.
Park (7): Much like Fletcher, often cut inside and proved vital in keeping Blues bodies busy while Giggs got to work. Made good runs when going forward and helped stretch a laboured Chelsea defence.
Berbatov (: Showed a bit of No. 9 canny to nick the third goal, but otherwise proved much more of a menace from deep. Along with Giggs, Berbatov was responsible for setting off many of Man United's devastating counterattacks. Was also a menace in the air and played an understated but vital part in the first two goals.
Rooney (7): Another willing runner, pulling the Blues defenders here, there and everywhere on the counterattack. Lacking a bit of end-product, but powered his way in to hammer home the second goal. Marked down for streams of dissent aimed at the referee.
Substitutes
O'Shea (6): Consolidated well when replacing Patrice Evra at left-back.
Carrick (n/a).
Chelsea
Cech (6): Not exactly a bad performance, but the Czech No. 1 saw three go past him. He did, however, make a few good saves to stop it potentially being more.
Bosingwa (5): Too timid. Didn't make himself difficult enough to beat and was pulled out of position a little too easily.
Carvalho (4): The exact opposite of his compatriot and team-mate Bosingwa. Ricardo Carvalho put his hands and feet in at every opportunity, but his decision-making was erratic. He could well have given away a penalty in the first half.
Terry (5): Made some strong challenges, but ultimately, was unable to hold his own up against a free-flowing United attack.
A Cole (4): Made some good runs going forward but lacked end product. At the back, the man that has so often had the measure of Ronaldo managed to let Rooney run across him and score the second goal. An unforgivable lapse in concentration at a moment when Chelsea still could have gotten something from the game.
Mikel (5): Found himself overrun attempting to protect the defence, as Man United often swarmed forward in numbers and crucially, defended from the top.
Ballack (4): Didn't really look as if he wanted to be there. Attempted to shoe-horn himself into a right-midfield position to little effect. Wasn't able to put his masterful passing to work, nor did he get any meaningful shots or headers in. On top of that, he was poor in defence and partially responsible for two of the goals.
Lampard (5): Chelsea's star player of late could not quite weave his magic this afternoon. The supply of passes from deep was non-existent, as were the knock-downs from up-top. 'Super Goals' had no service and was not afforded the time on the ball to create anything of note.
Deco (4): One of his most disappointing showings for Chelsea yet. A player of amazing ability is showing that, up against persistent runners such as Park and Fletcher, he perhaps isn't as fast in body and mind as he used to be. Was too easy to shut out of the game.
J Cole (5): Gains some credit for his work-rate and runs off the ball. However, like many of Chelsea's attacking players, he was anonymous for far too much of the game.
Drogba (5): He was Chelsea's best man going forward and looked the most likely to cause any kind of trouble. That being said, the Blues didn't register a shot on target, and Didier rarely got the better of his man.
Substitutes
Anelka (5): Played an entire half, but you may not have known it. Did more or less nothing for the entirety of the game, which wasn't entirely his fault, because as a striker, he was simply starved of service.
Belletti (n/a)
Di Santo (4): Was, for some reason, back marking at a set-piece and was too easily blocked off as Berbatov went on to score.
Manchester United
Van der Sar (7): Was he playing? A mere spectator, but he claimed every ball that came his way with confidence.
Neville (7): As a defender, with a clean sheet, it is job done. The United captain is past his best, but against a side with such minimal wide threat as Chelsea, he had a comfortable afternoon.
Vidic (9): A real colossus at the back. Got himself yet another goal with an industrious run and diving header. Gave Drogba - his Champions League final nemesis - no joy whatsoever.
Evans (7): Certainly had a comfortable evening, having to deputise for Rio Ferdinand. Had the odd slack moment, but was generally not given too much to think about.
Evra (
: An outstanding cross to set up the second goal. As usual, he got forward to great effect, constantly asking questions of the Chelsea defence. The Blues' lack of width made his defensive job a fairly easy one.Ronaldo (
: He scored two goals that both should have been allowed - that's what we must remember. He also set up the third and played a handful of smart passes, but was disappointing with his crosses and shots.Fletcher (7): Did very little to catch the eye, but gave Ryan Giggs all the space he needed. Never stopped running, closed down every inch of space and kept things tight.
Giggs (9): Outstanding. Very, very rarely does the wily Welshman start a game in central midfield, but it proved to be a masterstroke this afternoon. His passing was pin-point, his set-pieces sublime and his reading of the game above all those around him.
Park (7): Much like Fletcher, often cut inside and proved vital in keeping Blues bodies busy while Giggs got to work. Made good runs when going forward and helped stretch a laboured Chelsea defence.
Berbatov (
: Showed a bit of No. 9 canny to nick the third goal, but otherwise proved much more of a menace from deep. Along with Giggs, Berbatov was responsible for setting off many of Man United's devastating counterattacks. Was also a menace in the air and played an understated but vital part in the first two goals.Rooney (7): Another willing runner, pulling the Blues defenders here, there and everywhere on the counterattack. Lacking a bit of end-product, but powered his way in to hammer home the second goal. Marked down for streams of dissent aimed at the referee.
Substitutes
O'Shea (6): Consolidated well when replacing Patrice Evra at left-back.
Carrick (n/a).
Chelsea
Cech (6): Not exactly a bad performance, but the Czech No. 1 saw three go past him. He did, however, make a few good saves to stop it potentially being more.
Bosingwa (5): Too timid. Didn't make himself difficult enough to beat and was pulled out of position a little too easily.
Carvalho (4): The exact opposite of his compatriot and team-mate Bosingwa. Ricardo Carvalho put his hands and feet in at every opportunity, but his decision-making was erratic. He could well have given away a penalty in the first half.
Terry (5): Made some strong challenges, but ultimately, was unable to hold his own up against a free-flowing United attack.
A Cole (4): Made some good runs going forward but lacked end product. At the back, the man that has so often had the measure of Ronaldo managed to let Rooney run across him and score the second goal. An unforgivable lapse in concentration at a moment when Chelsea still could have gotten something from the game.
Mikel (5): Found himself overrun attempting to protect the defence, as Man United often swarmed forward in numbers and crucially, defended from the top.
Ballack (4): Didn't really look as if he wanted to be there. Attempted to shoe-horn himself into a right-midfield position to little effect. Wasn't able to put his masterful passing to work, nor did he get any meaningful shots or headers in. On top of that, he was poor in defence and partially responsible for two of the goals.
Lampard (5): Chelsea's star player of late could not quite weave his magic this afternoon. The supply of passes from deep was non-existent, as were the knock-downs from up-top. 'Super Goals' had no service and was not afforded the time on the ball to create anything of note.
Deco (4): One of his most disappointing showings for Chelsea yet. A player of amazing ability is showing that, up against persistent runners such as Park and Fletcher, he perhaps isn't as fast in body and mind as he used to be. Was too easy to shut out of the game.
J Cole (5): Gains some credit for his work-rate and runs off the ball. However, like many of Chelsea's attacking players, he was anonymous for far too much of the game.
Drogba (5): He was Chelsea's best man going forward and looked the most likely to cause any kind of trouble. That being said, the Blues didn't register a shot on target, and Didier rarely got the better of his man.
Substitutes
Anelka (5): Played an entire half, but you may not have known it. Did more or less nothing for the entirety of the game, which wasn't entirely his fault, because as a striker, he was simply starved of service.
Belletti (n/a)
Di Santo (4): Was, for some reason, back marking at a set-piece and was too easily blocked off as Berbatov went on to score.
