Chelsea and Manchester United battled to a 0-0 draw on Monday afternoon.
The opening 10 minutes of the match featured two tentative sides that seemed worried about keeping possession and looking for openings. This template remained throughout the opening 45 minutes, but Manchester United seemed to thrive and created a number of chances to score. Manchester's Robin Van Persie ran down the left wing on a defensive miscue and fired the shot just wide of the Chelsea net. Meanwhile, Chelsea managed a few chances of their own, but most came from Brazilian phenom Oscar. However, Blues manager Jose Mourinho seemed frustrated by his team's inability retain possession. Manchester finished the first half with 59 percent possession but both sides ended up with four shots at the goal.
The second half transformed into a completely different match. The sides were no longer tentative and played with tremendous aggression. Danny Welbeck created two chances for Manchester United early in the second half that came to nothing. Manchester's Wayne Rooney also fired a shot from 30 yards out that was scooped up by goalie Petr Cech. Rooney created another chance close the 75-minute mark that forced an even more impressive diving save from Cech. Van Persie nearly made it 1-0 late in the game but his volley was blocked by Mikel.
Chelsea has now played three Premier League matches and has seven points. The team will next take on Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup on Friday.
Manchester United is coming off its second Premier League match and has four points.
The two sides will meet again at Stamford Bridge on Jan. 18, 2014.
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