Prospect of Blues on fire sends alarm bells ringing

SO much for the effects on Chelsea of their unscheduled alarm call in the early hours of Sunday morning; by half-five in the afternoon, their stamina and energy were in danger of making our puffing lads look as crimson and decrepit as our manager’s nose.

Once again, one was left wishing that life was a game of one half, not two. There’s Sunday, of course; then Celtic last week; plus the Champions League group we are in; and possibly, come May, the whole season . . . all front-loaded, quality-wise.

Fergie did talk about how unusual it was for United to have started the season so well and you do recall previous campaigns such as 1995, 1998 and 2002, when pre-Christmas magnificence soured by spring.