Chelsea 3-1 Man Utd: Premier League Player Ratings

Samuel Eto'o trebled his Premier League goal tally for Chelsea by hitting a hat-trick against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge that keeps the Blues hot on the heels of Arsenal. David Moyes's Red Devils slumped to their seventh league defeat of the campaign meanwhile, leaving their title defence all but over with 16 games to go. Javier Hernandez netted a consolation here, but United captain Nemanja Vidic saw red before the end. Rafael almost followed suit too. Jose Mourinho made two changes to the Chelsea team that won at Hull. Ashley Cole and Fernando Torres made way as Branislav Ivanovic returned from injury in defence. Eto'o was preferred in attack and Cesar Azpilicueta switched flanks to left back. Moyes meanwhile fielded an XI sporting three alterations from the league win over Swansea last time out. Darren Fletcher, Shinji Kagawa and Chris Smalling all dropped to the bench. Red Devils trio Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Ashley Young all came in after missing recent matches. Such a decisive victory for the Special One only underlines how much United must strengthen and rebuild their squad in this transfer window and the summer. Who impressed the WhatCulture sports team in this clash of top flight heavyweights? Click next to read our player ratings.
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Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.