United surge spells trouble for Chelsea

Skipper puts his faith in ‘fantastic’ squad

MANCHESTER United and Chelsea, who meet at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (4pm kick-off), could be forgiven for wincing at the prospect of being awarded a penalty — after seeing their star strikers miss from the spot last time out.

Wayne Rooney blazed his attempt over the bar in midweek against Arsenal, while Drogba’s stoppage time effort against Tottenham Hotspur was saved by Heurelho Gomes.

The Red Devils still won their encounter 1-0, but Rooney’s miss set up a tense finale at Old Trafford with the Gunners piling forward in search of an equaliser.

And struggling Chelsea had to make do with a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

Victory for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will take them six points clear of Chelsea, with a game in hand.

It is just a month since United were spinning towards a damaging defeat at Aston Villa at the end of a week that had started with a narrow escape against Wolves and a tame derby draw with Manchester City.

United appeared incapable of sustaining a title challenge and major questions were being asked of the quality in Ferguson's squad. The turnaround in fortunes since then has been staggering.

In the final 10 minutes, goals from Federico Macheda and Nemanja Vidic secured a point even Ferguson admitted his side did not deserve at Villa Park.

That result has been followed by three successive wins, including a seven–goal mauling of Blackburn and the deserved success over Arsenal, and as their rivals have struggled, now United find themselves two points clear and that match in hand, thanks to that postponed trip to Blackpool earlier this month.

Most Red Devils supporters are scratching their heads at exactly how it has happened.