Saturday saw the much anticipated game at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Chelsea, but the game was overshadowed by the shock departure of Blues manager Jose Mourinho earlier in the week. If the performance that the reigning champions turned in is anything to go by, Mourinho will be sorely missed.

Even without the dismissal of first Mikel Jon Obi in the 32nd minute, Chelsea never looked like they would trouble United – a team Mourinho’s Blues had lost to only once in eleven meetings. The breakthrough came with a late first half goal by former Hammer, Carlos Tevez and was added to by Louis Saha’s late penalty.

The goals were really immaterial. Chelsea played like 1o individuals – albeit extremely talented ones – but never as a team. Yes, they were missing stars like Lampard and Drogba, but this is a squad packed full of work-class players – players now in need of leadership.

The Chelsea defence was repeatedly sliced apart by Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and especially by Michael Carrick’s long through balls – and they seemed only capable of hoofing away the ball when pressured. The only stand out performance for Chelsea was Claude Makelele, who seemed to keep a cool head when even the likes of John Terry seemed to lose theirs.

It was only one game, but Avram Grant’s tenure at the helm may not be a long one if this is anything to go by.

– MCZF1