TERRY GRABS A WINNER

Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to five points whilst United have dropped to third behind a resurgent Arsenal.

After a disappointing outcome Sir Alex Ferguson can gain some comfort from the brave display put up by his team which was without several top players.

Ironically, though, the winning goal came from a set piece, the first United have conceded this year, as Terry rose above his closest marker to glance a Lampard free kick into the far corner past a helpless Edwin van der Sar.

It was the award of the free kick that caused most controversy though, as Ferguson once again railed against the match official after the game.

"The referee's position to make the decision was absolutely ridiculous. He can't see anything," was his verdict on the free kick that led to the goal before following this up with: "It was a bad decision. You lose faith in refereeing sometimes. That's the way the players are talking in there."

It is becoming increasingly normal for a Ferguson rant after games about decisions that he believes have gone against his team but this is more of an indication of the way his side are playing than anything else.

The managers who moan the most in the Premiership are usually the ones who are losing the most games and this defeat was Manchester United's third of the season and leaves them playing catch up to their closet rivals.

It could, however, have been a different story if United had a greater cutting edge as they wasted more opportunities than Chelsea.

Ferguson set his side up to have two banks of four camped on the 18-yard box denying Chelsea any space in front of Van der Sar and then using the counter-attack as his main option.

He may have felt that this was his only viable solution for this game but it was the kind of formation that lesser teams use when they visit the top four sides. It is all about containment with the hope you can score a goal and then hold on.

Of course, United did a bit more than this because of the quality of their passing and the fact that they have Wayne Rooney who ran himself and the Chelsea defence into the ground. Chelsea, meanwhile, found it difficult to find any rhythm and the only real chances they created were either long shots or crosses from Ivanovic on the right hand side.

Drogba and Anelka found it hard to create any space in the compacted last third and their midfield of Essien, Deco, Lampard and Ballack struggled to lose the attentions of Fletcher and Anderson. Chelsea look a powerful side but they lack the subtlety to pass around a well-organised top side and it will be interesting to see how they shape up against Arsenal in two weeks' time at the Emirates.

The goal itself came from a disputed free kick but at least the incident brought the game to life which up until then had been absorbing without catching the imagination.

The fact that the United players felt an injustice had taken place raised the tension and passion of the players and had this taken place at the beginning of the match we may well have witnessed a different game entirely.

Anyone who supports the idea of TV evidence being used may do well to heed this fact as it is often the injustices players feel that brings a new dimension to a game and involve a hitherto quiet crowd.

The last 15 minutes after Terry's winner was as passionate and tense as any other moments in this year's Premiership.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti knows this game has not decided the Premiership saying: "Today was a little step but it's a long season." Though he did add: "It was significant to send United five points behind us - this is important - and it means we have won a game against one of the most important teams in England."

The Italian has now achieved victories against United and Liverpool and having only conceded one goal at Stamford Bridge he now knows his team is the one to catch and the contenders around him cannot afford any more slip-ups.

Ferguson, meanwhile, can take heart from this performance but he must be getting increasingly worried about his team's failure to score as frequently as his rivals and, I am sure, whilst he would never admit it, he may be regretting the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

As Ancelotti said, this is a long season, but the signs are not encouraging for Ferguson and unless he finds a solution to this dilemma soon, the Premiership will already be out of his reach.