Chelsea vs Manchester United match report: Eden Hazard proves the difference as Blues close in on Premier League title

Alert the silversmiths. It is almost time to inscribe Chelsea's name on the Premier League trophy for the third time under Jose Mourinho's tender care. A victory by familiar means over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge last evening has turned the title race into a stroll.

Chelsea have not lost since New Year’s Day, and will approach next Sunday’s visit to Arsenal with an understandable degree of confidence. They are ten points clear, with eminently winnable games against Leicester City, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland to come.

Since this is the time of the year when football’s gong shows take centre stage, the onus was on Eden Hazard to justify the acclamation. The best players, the most revered marquee signings, dominate such occasions by instinct and inclination.

He has answered doubts about his workrate, having increased the ground he covers during an average match from 9.5km to 10.2km. He was central to Chelsea’s strategy of coping with United surfeit of possession and hitting them on the break.

His decisive goal, seven minutes from half time, was a mixture of precision and incision. He ran on to Oscar’s back heel, and his awareness of space and time enabled him to wait for the perfect moment to slide the ball between De Gea’s legs.

Louis Van Gaal screamed into the face of fourth official Craig Pawson, who stood at the mouth of the tunnel, that Terry had fouled Falcao just inside the United half in the build up. His post-match handshake with Mourinho was a notably stern formality. Chelsea know United will be a different proposition next season.

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United’s monolithic commercial department had evidently missed a trick, given the speed at which tee shirts, depicting Angel Di Maria as Rodney and Louis Van Gaal as Del Boy, were flying off the roadside stalls. The tagline - “this time next year we’ll be champions” – was a cross between a wish and a demand.

The outcome of Chelsea’s trade-off between fulfilment and popularity was as pre-ordained as the game plan. They are quite happy to be regarded as charmless champions, since its suits the myth of their victimhood. They are Millwall manqué, rebels with regal pretensions.

Mourinho was, of course, charm personified beforehand. He even got Manuel Pellegrini’s name right, the ultimate give away since his studied sympathy for the City manager’s plight signalled his lack of threat and status. Van Gaal is an entirely different platter of Dutch deep-fried meatballs.

All new managers proclaim a clean slate and promise reputations have been consigned to history, but his United team mirrors meritocratic principles. Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini, fragile beauty and unkempt beast, began well to reinforce their reinvention as big time players in a big match team that had lost only once in eight previous meetings with the top six.

The presence of Kurt Zouma in midfield was a backhanded compliment to Fellaini’s threat as he played off the recalled Radamel Falcao. Wayne Rooney dropped deeper, and clearly considered himself the orchestrator. He forgot to be a finisher.

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Paddy McNair brought the ball intelligently out of defence in the fifth minute, before finding Young, whose pass inside Branislav Ivanovic was met by the overlapping Luke Shaw. He had the presence of mind to roll a pass into the path of the unmarked Rooney, but his left footed shot from just inside the penalty area went wide.

The ball hit the stanchion behind the goal and bounced along the net, which rippled and provided enough of an optical illusion for David De Gea to turn to celebrate with the travelling fans in the Shed, at the other end of the ground.

It was the sort of fixture which attracted the Premier League tourists. One classic specimen, more suited to polo in the park than a barney at the Bridge, wore salmon pink trousers and suede elbow patches on his sweater. At least as the drama of the game deepened, the atmosphere was suitably vibrant.

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De Gea, subject of further speculation he has succumbed to Real Madrid’s courtship rituals, was relatively untroubled, apart from a peerless punch under pressure from John Terry and a marginal handball call on the edge of his own area.

Chelsea may lack the edge of Carlo Ancelotti’s title winners in 2010, who recorded league doubles against United, Arsenal, and Liverpool, but no one can deny their resilience, and ability to strike with speed and calmness on the break.

Fabregas, last seen in a face mask following a Dick Turpin performance at QPR, excelled in a number ten role which gave Hazard room to ,manoeuvre . Chelsea’s problem was further forward, since Didier Drogba has reached the stage of marginal decline in which he is taunted by visions of his former self.

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The Drogba of old would have galloped on to a pass of the quality provided by Nemanja Matic, eleven minutes into the second half. He had the strength to hold off Chris Smalling but his shot was delayed and deflected. Hazard sensed an opportunity, and hooked the ball against the top of the upright.

Falcao, as underwhelming as ever, hit the outside of the upright as time ticked away. United’s fans got a measure of retaliation in, by suggesting Mourinho “wanted to come” to Old Trafford, but he is enjoying life at Stamford Bridge, thanks very much.

Line-ups:

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Zouma, Matic; Oscar (Ramires 67), Fabregas (Mikel 91), Hazard (Willian 93); Drogba.

Manchester Utd: (4-1-4-1) De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw (Blackett, 80); Herrera; Mata (Januzaj, 70), Fellaini, Rooney, Young (Di Maria, 70); Falcao.

Referee: Mike Dean

Man of the match: Hazard (Chelsea)

Match rating: 6/10