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Monday, 27 November 2006, 12:55 GMT

Alan Hansen's column

By Alan Hansen
BBC Sport football expert

Well, the Manchester United v Chelsea game was a bit of a non-event.

But I guess that was no great surprise. You could smell the intensity and pressure coming from the pitch, that's what made the match so tense.

Ronaldo and Michael Ballack

The first half, in particular, was not great, although I'm sure United didn't think that because they had the better of it.

Chelsea had a very strong second half and out of the two teams the point was probably better for them - a view reflected in the managers' post-match reaction.

For Jose Mourinho's men to have gone to Old Trafford and largely outplayed the home side, was no mean feat. Full marks to them.

So what does that mean for the title race?

United are in front, but they know Chelsea are not going to go away. Under Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich, the Blues have changed the face of the Premiership - they've raised the bar.

To win the league now you have to be a very, very good team. I'm not saying that previous sides who won the title were average, but I think you know what I'm getting at.

Chelsea have so much strength in depth and so much hunger and desire - that may tell in the run-in.

United are a pretty decent outfit too, but I think they lack the squad their rivals have. Some of their key players, who had played a lot of games recently, appeared to tire in the second half of Sunday's encounter and that's worrying for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

However, I do still expect both teams to be neck-and-neck in May.

It will only be that pair in with a shout because Arsenal have blown it. Although, I did think they were out of the race a while ago.

Losing to Bolton was a terrible result, but they don't usually do too well in the North West, having also lost at Manchester City.

Strangely they beat United at Old Trafford and another giant, Liverpool, at the Emirates.

That shows when it comes to playing teams that attack, Arsenal play well, but when it's sides who adopt a defensive approach, they find it difficult to break them down.

Arsenal's victors, Bolton, host Chelsea on Wednesday, but I really can't see the Blues slipping up in the same way.

It would be amazing if Sam Allardyce's troops can also claim the scalp of the Blues, but they're just not strong enough to achieve what would be a miracle.




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Related to this story:

Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea (26 Nov 06 |  Premiership )
Man Utd blew chance says Mourinho (26 Nov 06 |  Premiership )
Bolton 3-1 Arsenal (25 Nov 06 |  Premiership )

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