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Manchester United 2 Chelsea 0

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A bad-day at the office could just have thrown the title race wide open.

In the 150th league meeting between Chelsea and Manchester United, Chelsea had one of those days they`d rather forget.

Having lost Thibaut Courtois, with an ankle injury picked up whilst making a basketball commercial, Chelsea also lost, through illness, Marcos Alonso in the warm-up.

Antonio Conte re-jigged his side, moving Cesar Azpilicueta to left wing back and bringing Kurt Zouma into the back three.

It should have been a blow potential title-winners could have absorbed, but Chelsea looked strangely off-form and matters weren`t helped when, with just seven minutes gone, the referee, Bobby Madley, missed a clear hand-ball from Ander Herrera, who intercepted a pass from Nemanja Matic, only for the Spaniard to play a fine through ball for Marcus Rashford to slip the ball past Asmir Begovic in the Chelsea goal.

We hoped Chelsea could recover but there appeared to be very little left in the tank, Begovic didn`t provide the same confidence Courtois does, Azpilicueta and Moses swapped flanks with neither making any impression going forward, Matic looked like he was controlling a balloon every time the ball came to him, whilst Hazard and Pedro were in the back-pockets of Herrera and Darmian respectively.

Meanwhile, Diego Costa looked as if he was more concerned with having a personal battle with Marcos Rojo.

Kante, as you`d expect, was going about his business in his usual manner but being frustrated at how all around him was disintegrating.

The second half, you hoped would start better but it didn`t. A matter of minutes into it Herrera unleashed a shot and it took a deflection off Kouma to give United a 2-0 lead.

Things did get better when Cesc Fabregas was brought on but Chelsea couldn`t break through the massed ranks of the United defence.

Chelsea are still four points clear and you`d hope today was just a glitch and not the start of a wobble that would do the unthinkable and hand the title to, of all clubs, Tottenham Hotspur!

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