Man Utd fall for Chelsea trap: Chicharito for Torres

As managing a squad goes Roberto Di Matteo could take a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s book.

Yesterday, however, it seemed like Fergie fell through the Chelsea trap-door – changing his Manchester United squad to end up losing a game away to mid-table team Norwich and surrendering the Premier League top table to Manchester City.

Chelsea wielded the change broom with as much aplomb away to West Brom and got swept away in a 2-1 loss, falling further away from the Manchester clubs.

The biggest mistake for Fergie was perhaps starting Javier Hernandez and robbing United of the “impact sub” they so desperately needed.

Danny Welbeck switched roles with Chicharito and the result was – the goal never came.

Robin Van Persie was off colour, fluffing tough chances he would normall take.

The key to Chicharito’s impact is his coming on in the last 20 minutes, when defences are tiring and centre-backs stretched.

His runs and darts then wear them out even more.

Starting with him is giving the opposition a chance to negate his influence right from the get-go.

Chelsea on the other hand must look at Fernando Torres and realise they cannot go on with him if they are to mount a serious challenge.

Without Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard Chelsea are unlikely to win. They seem not to have a choice about their team selection.

Manchester United do. They must now make the right choice or Hernandez could turn in to their own Torres.

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