Fernando Torres produced one of the worst misses of all time as Manchester United took charge in the title race.
Torres had the goal at his mercy in the 84th minute after rounding United keeper David De Gea but somehow managed to miss the target, skewing his shot wide.
The miss capped a miserable afternoon for Chelsea, with Ashley Cole condemned by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson for a “reckless” challenge which put Javier Hernandez out of the game.
But the major talking point was the amazing miss by Torres, who earlier looked to have put his poor form behind him with a well-taken goal.
Sir Alex couldn’t believe his eyes. He said: “I thought Torres was bound to score. It was a bad miss.”
But Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas refused to blame his striker, pointing out that Wayne Rooney also had a difficult afternoon after missing a penalty.
“You have to be fair,” said Villas-Boas. “Two of the world’s best strikers missed crazy opportunities today.
“It happened to Fernando and to Rooney, so it’s nothing dramatic. Normally these balls go in.
“Luck didn’t fall for us this time. If it had then it would have been 3-2 and that could have given us a mental edge for the rest of the game.”
United made it five wins out of five, their best start to a season since 1985 when they won their opening 10 games before eventually finishing fourth.
But Fergie could not contain his fury with Cole for the cynical 77th-minute lunge on Hernandez, which earned the Chelsea defender a booking which could have been a straight red.
“He’s very reckless at times, Ashley Cole,” said Ferguson. “He’s committed, of course, but he sometimes can go over the edge and that was an example of that.
“I don’t understand why the referee booked him but didn’t give a penalty kick. I don’t understand that and I must ask him.”
Villas-Boas remained upbeat. “It takes balls for the players to play this kind of game when they came back for the second-half,” said the Chelsea boss.
“United are the most consistent side but we’ve shown we’re up to the level of the champions.”
By David McDonnell, Mirror Football
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