The Match: Champions Held

The Match David Moyes’ first home match will surely have been everything he expected as United and Chelsea went toe-to-toe in a game that bristled with intensity but never boiled over. In an encounter with few clear-cut chances, the Reds were the better team but missed the chance to go top of the fledgling league table.

Sub-plot Following his substitute cameo at Swansea, Wayne Rooney started his first game of the season and enjoyed a vociferous reception, before producing an inspired display in a dynamic United attack. He played the full 90 minutes and, even in injury time, looked the man most likely to open Chelsea up.

Star men Playing in the hole behind Robin van Persie and flanked by Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck, Rooney was in the mood from minute one and was at the heart of most of United’s best moments. On his 150th club appearance, Valencia worried Ashley Cole as he motored up and down his wing, while Michael Carrick was rarely flustered in his holding midfield role. Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra were both commanding at the back.

The opposition Jose Mourinho is known for his pragmatic tactics but it was something of a surprise that Chelsea started the game without a recognised striker, and with Juan Mata only on the bench. The Blues were largely restricted to hitting United on the break and you sense they’ll be slightly more pleased with the result.

Move of the match Just before the break, Carrick’s forward pass was beautifully cushioned first-time by Rooney into van Persie’s path – but Petr Cech just got to the ball ahead of the Dutchman. Early in the second period, Patrice Evra ran onto Rooney’s inside pass, attempted a one-two with Danny Welbeck and only narrowly failed to reach the striker’s backheeled return. Those two half-openings were symptomatic of a tight game.

In the stands The noise before kick-off was akin to a big European night and it hardly relented all evening. Rooney found himself in the unusual position of having his name sung by both sets of fans, but it was support for Moyes (“Come on David Moyes/play like Fergie’s boys/we’ll go wild, wild wild/we’ll go wild, wild wild”) that made up a big slice of the Stretford End’s repertoire. Even when the action on the pitch didn’t quite live up to the game’s pre-match billing, noise levels still exceeded the usual. Moyes and Nemanja Vidic’s pre-game plea for support certainly didn’t fall on deaf ears.