Chelsea v Man United – 105
years of history
Tonight’s game is the 68th meeting
between the two clubs in the league
at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea ’s first
meeting with Manchester United
game was during the club ’s first
season in the Football League and
took place in April 1906, finishing as
a 1-1 draw.
Blues fans had to wait almost
fourteen years before the first home
win over Man United, thanks to a
single goal from World War I
veteran Jack Cock in January 1920.
Chelsea ’s record against Man United
at Stamford Bridge before World
War II wasn ’t spectacular – three
wins in thirteen games -but one of
those victories was a memorable
6-2 thrashing in September 1930
that featured a hat-trick by Alec
Cheyne and two goals from fellow
Scottish international Hughie
Gallagher.
Amazingly, almost twenty years
passed before Chelsea beat
Manchester United at home again –
Hugh Billington was the goalscorer
in November 1950 – and although
the Blues won the League
Championship in 1954/55, the 6-5
home defeat by United in October
1954 was Ted Drake ’s side’s third
home defeat that season. Seamus
O ’Connell –who despite his name
was an England amateur
international – emulated Cheyne’s
feat by scoring a hat-trick.
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Although it’s highly unlikely that
tonight’s game will finish 6-5, it’s
noticeable that the 5-0 win over
United in October 1999 seems to
have heralded an era of Chelse noticeable that the 5-0 win over
United in October 1999 seems to
have heralded an era of Chelsea
dominance over United in recent
seasons. Since then, Chelsea have
only lost once at Stamford Bridge in
the Premiership to their northern
rivals and have kept six clean sheets
in their last ten meetings against
United in West London: although
goals have been at a premium
recently, tonight ’s game should be
another fascinating chapter in a
rivalry that ’s been established for
over a century.
March 01, 2011, 01:46:51 AM