Demba Ba Goal Vs Manchester United | 01.04.2013

54 Tom Cleverley 52 Now what have Manchester United got in answer to that? Their season effectively ends with defeat today with their Premier League title all but wrapped up. 49 Juan Mata 49 GOAL Demba Ba GOAL! Chelsea lead! And it's a wonderful goal from Demba Ba! Juan Mata plays a ball over the United defence for the Sengalese to run on to and he does exactly that before clipping a first time volley, with the ball coming over his shoulder, past the motionless David De Gea. Worth the wait that one! 47 Nani takes the free kick but doesn't manage to get it past the wall. The Portuguese then crosses into the box but Cech comes out and catches comfortably. 46 Early chance for Manchester United from a free kick just on the edge of the area after David Luiz's foul on Phil Jones. 46 The teams are back out for the second half, Manchester United will get us back underway... Not quite the rip-roaring affair we were hoping for was it? It sparked into life towards the end of the half but both sides looked well below their usual standards for the majority of the match so far. Both defences have been fairly comfortable, lets hope that changes in the second half. HALF-TIME: Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United 45 +1 John Obi Mikel finds himself in a pocket of space and decides to have a pop at goal from the edge of the area. The Nigerian's shot is blocked for a corner and David De Gea does well to collect the resulting delivery from Mata. 45 One minute to be added on at the end of the half. 43 Bertrand gets himself into a spot of bother by tussling with Nani. The Chelsea left-back nudges the ball back to his goalkeeper before tugging the Manchester United midfielder in the box. United players appeal for a penalty but the referee isn't haven't any of it. 41 CHANCE! David De Gea catches Juan Mata's free kick and in an instant gets United on the attack with some fine distribution. His long ball finds Chicharito who elects to shoot from range and almost manages to catch Petr Cech out. The Blues shot-stopper was confused by the flight of the ball and did well in the end to get something behind the effort. 39 CHANCE! Eden Hazard fires a right-footed shot just over the angle of crossbar and post after rushing onto a loose ball in the penalty area. The Belgian might have been better off taking some of the power he produced off of that shot. 36 A bright moment for Nani! Manchester United win the ball back on the halfway line and Nani advances through the middle of the park before flashing a low left-footed shot a yard or so wide of De Gea's far post. 34 Chelsea win a free kick about 30 yards out, slightly to the left of the goal. David Luiz steps up and proceeds to balloon the ball high over the bar and into the stands. 32 That chance for Ba has the potential to spark the game into life, we can only hope. The former Newcastle man is involved again, this time on the left side of the box. He tries to make space for a right-footed shot but Chris Smalling closes him down and makes a block. 31 CHANCE! First shot of the game! Chelsea break forward through Hazard who plays the ball out wide for Ba to shoot from an angle. The Senegalese hits his shot hard and low but David De Gea manages to block with his feet. 30 Wayne Veysey reports from Stamford Bridge: "Half-an-hour gone and no hint of a proper opening yet. Both teams are struggling to find any kind of rhythm and comfortably shutting one another out." 29 It's contagious. Juan Mata is the latest to misplace a simple pass, the Spaniard had a chance to find Hazard in a dangerous position out wide but his pass was easily cut out by Phil Jones. 28 Hazard sells Bertrand short with a pass allowing United to launch a counterattack. Chicharito cuts inside David Luiz inside the box after carrying the ball in the box but loses his footing before he can get his shot off. Let off for the hosts, that. 26 Bit more like it from Manchester United. Welbeck plays a fine ball out to Cleverley on the right hand side but the midfielder can't pick out Chicharito in a crowded penalty area. 24 It's all very, very scrappy in the middle of the park. Oscar and Mata threaten to weave through the United midfield but the Brazilian loses out in a tussle with Patrice Evra. 22 Ashley Cole Ryan Bertrand 22 Ashley Cole pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury in that last passage of play. Ryan Bertrand replaces the England international at left-back for Chelsea. 20 Brilliant from Danny Welbeck. He wins the ball on the edge of his own area before galloping past Ashley Cole and kick-starting a United counterattack. Welbeck then finds Nani but the Portuguese's pass towards Chicharito is cut out. Great from Welbeck, very poor from Nani. 17 Is this some kind of April fools joke? Nani once again gives the ball away under very little pressure allowing Chelsea to launch an attack. Juan Mata eventually crosses from the left but Chris Smalling stoops low to get his head to it. 15 Wayne Veysey reports from Stamford Bridge: "Both teams have changed more than half of their starting elevens, but this match seems to have started at a slighly sedate pace in comparison to breakneck league fixtures. Rafa Benitez warned on Saturday it simply was not possible to have a classic today. He could well be spot on with that prediction." 13 Oh dear. Patrice Evra slides a ball down the line for Nani but the United winger once again lets himself down with a uncharacteristically poor touch. 12 The visitors are now growing into the match after a tentative opening period. 11 Good defending from Branislav Ivanovic to not only keep up with Danny Welbeck but to also dispossess the Manchester United forward after a lung-busting run into the Chelsea half. 10 Oscar cuts back on to his left foot on the right flank but the Brazilian chooses to float one in towards the back post with none of his team-mates running into that space. 9 A shake of the head from Sir Alex Ferguson as Nani miscontrols a simple pass, not the first time the Portuguese has been guilty of that either, even though we're still inside the first 10 minutes. 7 Every Rio Ferdinand touch of the ball is roundly greeted by boos from the Stamford Bridge faithful. They do love a good boo here in west London. 5 No real sign of urgency from either side in the early exchanges, the game seems to be lacking in tempo. 3 Oscar makes a very smart turn in the box to leave Evra in his trail but his cutback, looking for Eden Hazard, is blocked by Chris Smalling and United survive the scare. 2 Chelsea start the game on the front foot and enjoy a good spell of early possession before Michael Carrick eventually nicks the ball back and gets the visitors on the attack. 1 Chelsea take the kick-off and we are underway at Stamford Bridge. The teams are emerging from the tunnel and we are moments away from kick-off... Sir Alex Ferguson reveals that Wayne Rooney picked up a groin injury on international duty and is therefore omitted from the squad. No major bust up then... For Chelsea, Rafael Benitez has rung the changes following Saturday's defeat to Southampton, with Mata recalled to the side while Demba Ba replaces Fernando Torres in attack. John Terry, who started and scored at St. Mary's at the weekend, is dropped as Branislav Ivanovic and David Luiz form the partnership in the centre of the Blues' defence. So Wayne Rooney doesn't even makes the 18-man Manchester United squad while Robin van Persie has to be content with a place on the bench. Sir Alex Ferguson instead opts to start with both Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck, while Nani is picked on the left flank and Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra return to the back four. Manchester United: De Gea; Jones, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Nani; Hernandez, Welbeck. Subs: Lindegaard, Giggs, Young, Van Persie, Powell, Kagawa, Vermijl. Chelsea: Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Ramires; Hazard, Mata, Oscar; Ba. Subs: Turnbull, Terry, Benayoun, Bertrand, Moses, Lampard, Torres.