Chelsea 1-0 Man United

by Amar Azamat Stamford Bridge

TWO wins stand between this Chelsea side and their first Premier League title since 2010.

If Jose Mourinho’s men beat Arsenal this coming weekend, they could be crowned champions when they visit struggling Leicester City on April 29.It will be a very satisfying third English title for Mourinho.

Chelsea had to dig deep to summon the energy to overcome this fast-improving Manchester United side on Saturday, which they did through a first-half goal from playmaker Eden Hazard.

Despite missing several of their best players, including Michael Carrick, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo, the first half looked like it belonged to Louis van Gaal’s men.

But Hazard, who found it hard to carve out some space, scored the game’s only goal on 38 minutes, finishing superbly after being played through by Oscar. It was Hazard’s 13th league goal of the season.

“The game was exactly what we wanted,” said Mourinho. “When we manage to play the game we want to play, it’s fantastic.

“The game was exactly what we were working for the game to be. The team were fantastic.

“We were able to make their important players disappear. Nobody saw them. They were in our pockets.”

The visitors had their chances in this hugely entertaining contest too. They could have been in the lead on four minutes through captain Wayne Rooney, whose curling shot flew narrowly wide of the post before striking the stanchion. Later on in the match, Radamel Falcao hit the woodwork.

Dutchman van Gaal spoke positively about his side’s performance.“I’m very proud of my team. We played the best match this season but in football you can lose in spite of you being the better team.”Mourinho, however, was left fuming after Manchester United’s Ander Herrera dived in the penalty area following a clash with Gary Cahill late on.

The Chelsea boss whinged that there would have been an uproar if it was one of his players.