Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini (second from right) is hugged by teammates Wayne Rooney, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata after scoring the second goal against Manchester City, in London yesterday. (Reuters)
AFP/London
Chelsea increased their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at QPR yesterday as Manchester United added to Manchester City’s woes with a come-from-behind 4-2 derby victory at Old Trafford.
Cesc Fabregas’s late goal sealed Chelsea’s win at Loftus Road as Jose Mourinho’s side went seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal with seven games to play.
But there was no shortage of goals in Manchester, where Sergio Aguero gave defending champions City the lead only for United to hit back through Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata and Chris Smalling.
Aguero scored his and City’s second—his 100th goal for the club - in the 89th minute but it was too little too late to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Manuel Pellegrini.
This result saw third-placed United move four points in front of fourth-placed City as they strengthened their bid for direct entry into next season’s Champions League.
In west London, Chelsea didn’t break down a stubborn QPR defence until the 88th minute when Fabregas scored with their only on-target shot of the match in a move initiated by a poor clearance from home goalkeeper Robert Green.
Victory left Chelsea seven points in front of second-placed Arsenal, with QPR remaining in the relegation zone.
Jose Mourinho’s side were well below their best in a scrappy west London derby. While it was hardly a vintage performance in front of Roman Abramovich, who was watching from the stands as the Russian marked his 700th match as Chelsea owner, the gritty victory was invaluable as it gives Mourinho’s men greater margin for error heading into their showdowns with Manchester United and Arsenal over the next two weeks.
Defeat was cruel on third bottom QPR, who remain two points from safety despite matching their more illustrious opponents for long periods.
With leading scorer Diego Costa sidelined by a recurrence of the hamstring injury and Loic Remy hampered by a muscle problem sustained in training over the weekend, Mourinho had to deploy Didier Drogba as his lone striker.
Chelsea came close to taking a fortuitous lead in the seventh minute when Willian’s miscued cross from wide on the right dipped in front of QPR goalkeeper Robert Green and cannoned off the near post.
Man-of-the-match Joey Barton was a constant thorn in the side of the Chelsea players and worked tirelessly only to agonisingly end up on the losing side. Fabregas, wearing a protective mask after breaking his nose against Stoke last weekend, was appropriately attired for such a physical encounter and his team-mate Thibaut Courtois was soon nursing a bruise as well when Charlie Austin left the Chelsea goalkeeper writhing on the turf after a full-blooded challenge.
Chelsea captain John Terry remains reviled at Loftus Road after he was banned by the Football Association in 2011 for racially abusing then QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, and inevitably he was subjected to a torrent of abuse from the home fans on just his second appearance at their ground since that ugly incident.
Amid all the sound and fury, Chelsea were labouring to break down QPR’s well-drilled defence and even when Ramires got on the end of Drogba’s cross, the Brazilian midfielder found himself facing the wrong way and could only flick his volley wide.
Austin responded to an off-the-ball nudge from Terry by pushing the defender to the floor, much to the delight of QPR’s supporters.
And Austin went close to exacting even more satisfying retribution moments later when his stinging drive from 25 yards forced a fine save from Courtois.
Fabregas had a chance to end the stalemate on the stroke of half-time, but could only head Branislav Ivanovic’s cross tamely over from close-range.
Bobby Zamora was caught flat-footed by a Matt Phillips cross which begged to be tapped in by the statuesque QPR forward as it fizzed past him early in the second half.
There was a surprising lack of energy and inspiration about Chelsea’s play, but to their credit they kept plugging away and stole the points in the 88th minute.
“It is one step closer (to the title),” Chelsea manager Mourinho told Sky Sports. “Our situation is good. Pure mathematics. We need 11 points.”
Meanwhile Mourinho refused to condemn QPR fans who showered his players with a variety of objects thrown from the stands after Chelsea scored their goal.
Branislav Ivanovic grabbed his neck in pain after being struck while Nemanja Matic was also targeted as coins, a plastic bottle and a cigarette lighter flew towards the pitch.