With the league won and the Premier League record for most points no longer a possibility, one could just about excuse the Manchester United players for their complacency against Chelsea on Sunday. One wonders if they might just live to regret their sluggishness in the long run, however.
Belying the fighting words of his programme notes, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded an under-strength side comprising the likes of Tom Cleverley and Anderson in midfield while Anders Lindegaard was preferred to David de Gea between the sticks. Juan Mata's late goal, courtesy of a Phil Jones deflection, ensured Lindegaard maintains his bizarre record of never having played in a Premier League draw.
The game was a drab affair that only really came alive with the goal followed by Rafael's red card for his hot-headed retaliation on fellow Brazilian David Luiz. For the majority of the match, there were few chances and very little incident of note. Chelsea seemed more than content to play out a draw while the home side seemed to have one eye on the forthcoming summer break. The overwhelming sensation was one of pity for those poor editors who had to assemble a highlight reel.
Since the second-leg defeat to Real Madrid, United have had an air of complacency. The team strolled toward a 20th league title but only really produced a performance worthy of champions in the first half against Aston Villa, on the day they put the league beyond all doubt. Aside from that, the team has functioned in fits and starts.
Aside from his ongoing rivalry with Rafa Benitez, Ferguson would have been wise to treat the Chelsea game seriously for more pragmatic reasons. The talk coming out of Spain is that Jose Mourinho will walk away from Real Madrid this summer and his comments in the wake of his side's Champions League exit implied a Chelsea return might very well be on the cards.
Ferguson, the man Mourinho refers to only as "boss," knows all too well just how reinvigorated Chelsea and their fans might be by the return of the self-proclaimed special one. The Portuguese won the Premier League in both of his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge in the middle of the last decade.
Benitez may not receive the thanks of the Chelsea fans, but that win at Old Trafford has put his side in with a real chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season. The Spaniard might well be more concerned with adding Europa League success to his CV, but it is hard to believe his erstwhile nemesis, Mourinho, would join Chelsea without the lure of Champions League football.
A win over Tottenham on Wednesday would all but assure Chelsea of a top-four spot and a place among Europe's elite next season. The fans and Mourinho might not say thank you, but Roman Abramovich would owe Benitez a debt of gratitude if he can pull this one off. Champions League football could well be the difference between Mourinho trying his hand at a new club and believing in "the triumph of hope over experience" as Samuel Johnson wrote of a man marrying for a second time.
It might not have seemed like a major loss on Sunday, but how might Ferguson and the United fans rue that defeat next season should Chelsea launch a serious assault on the title with Mourinho back at the helm?
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