Title fight over after just one punch

WELL, at least the build-up was exciting. Rarely has climax morphed into anti-climax as quickly and completely as it did at Old Trafford yesterday.

As heavyweight match-ups go, this was like one of those prize fights which, even as the patrons are still taking their seats, is decided by a killer punch seconds after the opening bell, although football requires that the man on the floor get back up again, even if it’s only to ship more punishment, for the full 15.

So it was for Chelsea yesterday who never really recovered from the shock of that Javier Hernandez goal after just 36 seconds. The second, from Nemanja Vidic, merely confirmed Manchester United’s near total command of the first half and, even when Frank Lampard stuck out a foot to grab an opportunistic goal in the second, it already felt much more like a consolation than a lifeline for Carlo Ancelotti’s shell-shocked team.