Match Analysis: Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea

The highly-anticipated Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea finished as an underwhelming goalless draw at Old Trafford this evening.

In a game of no clear-cut chances, David Moyes and Jose Mourinho seemed content to settle for a point in the first clash of two title challengers this season.

Here, Sports Mole casts its eye over a disappointing 90 minutes.

Match statistics:

United: Shots 12 On target 3 Possession 55% Corners 4 Fouls 9

Chelsea: Shots 8 On target 4 Possession 45% Corners 1 Fouls 10

Was the result fair?

Yep. Neither side deserved anything more than a point. There may have been 15 shots over the 90 minutes but none of them were stand-out chances. Definitely an air of not wanting to lose rather than wanting to win.

United's performance

Moyes was certainly the more attack-minded of the two managers with his selection of three forwards but Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck struggled to really test Petr Cech, who kept his 200th clean sheet in a Chelsea jersey. Van Persie, in particular, had a quiet night at the office. Further back, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic didn't have much to deal with as Chelsea played without a striker for most of the game.

Chelsea's performance

Mourinho insisted that his selection of six midfielders wasn't a negative move but the lack of a spearhead made Chelsea rather limp going forward. In defence, John Terry put in a typically brave display and nullified the threat of Van Persie. Juan Mata didn't play at all and his exclusion will cast further doubts over his future as a Blue.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Wayne Rooney: The one man who stood out as wanting to really win the game was Rooney, chosen to start by Moyes against Chelsea, who have openly expressed an interest in him this summer. The England forward's run back and tackle to dispossess Ramires drew the loudest cheer of the night in a game of little goalmouth action.

Biggest gaffe

Hardly a gaffe to speak about on the pitch so we're going to have to give this to all of the players for simply not throwing caution to the wind enough and settling for a draw.

Referee performance

Martin Atkinson had a fine game with the whistle, handling the big occasion well and rightly waving away three penalty appeals.

What next?

United: It doesn't get any easier for United as they travel to Liverpool on Sunday lunchtime.

Chelsea: The Blues now have a weekend off in the league but take on Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday night.