Chelsea Vs Manchester United, 2012 Premier League: Rooney Penalty Get United A Goal Back

Manchester United have finally gotten the goal that they deserved. Patrice Evra has been been culpable for at least one of Chelsea’s goals, and didn’t close Fernando Torres down quickly enough, but his run gave United a chance from the spot after Daniel Sturridge took out his back leg. It looked like just a collision between the two, but, on review, Howard Webb made the right call.

Rooney hasn’t had the best record from the spot this season, but his penalty was perfect, high and into the corner of Petr Cech’s goal. It’s galvanized United; Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez have had shots saved by Petr Cech since, and Sir Alex Ferguson took Rafael off to bring on Paul Scholes, settling the midfield, and giving Valencia more space to get forward. Wayne Rooney is getting more space, perhaps too much space, so Andre Villas Boas should respond by bringing on Oriol Romeu, a much more defensive player than Essien and Meireles.