Chelsea fume as Rooney hands United advantage

Chelsea 0 Manchester United 1. Oh, the irony! In the week that Manchester United have been busy painting themselves as the most put upon club in football, a shocking mistake from Spanish referee Alberto Mallenco allowed them to leave Stamford Bridge with a one goal advantage from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Chelsea.

Quite why Mallenco didn't point to the spot two minutes into stoppage time when Patrice Evra scythed down Ramires in the United box will never be known. A more clear cut penalty you are unlikely to see and even Rio Ferdinand admitted afterwards it looked like a foul from where he was standing. "Maybe it was a penalty," he said. "They've rode their luck here over the years and it's about time we had a bit of luck. Swings and roundabouts."

A mind-boggling statement coming from a United player, whose team are known throughout the land for the lucky decisions that go their away – despite what their manager may say to the contrary.

And Alex Ferguson was his usual churlish self afterwards, saying: "It looked as if the boy [Ramires] had made the most of it. It was a break and the first we have had in seven years here."

Yet despite Chelsea's fury at the penalty that never was, the truth is they didn't do themselves justice in the biggest game of their season. The visitors weren't brilliant – though Wayne Rooney's strike on 24 minutes was a gem – but the Blues never looked like a team who believed they could win the game despite the fact they had not lost at home to United since 2002.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti paired Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres up front, but the Spaniard once again failed to shine and has now gone 617 minutes without scoring a goal since arriving from Stamford Bridge from Liverpool in a £50m deal. Torres came close on one occasion but his looping header was tipped away by the fingers of Edwin van der Sar, who made a number of impressively athletic saves for a man in his fifth decade.

"We have to have confidence in him, he has to have confidence and he will score," said Ancelotti later of Torres, though his decision to bring on Nicolas Anelka for Drogba midway through the second half instead of Torres was every bit as mystifying as the refusal of Mallenco to award Chelsea a last minute penalty.

On that subject Ancelotti had a lot to say, fuming afterwards: "It was clear and everyone knows it. The problem is that in the last minute it is not easy to give a penalty. You have to have personality, courage and character. And referees do not always have these skills. It was not just the referee who could see it but his linesmen and assistants were in the right position to decide it was a penalty."

Chelsea must now travel to Old Trafford next week for the return leg in the knowledge that history is against them; United have never gone on to lose a Champions League tie after winning the first leg and Ancelotti spelt out what his side must do if they are to reach the semi-final and a likely clash against Schalke 04 (who hold a 5-2 lead over Inter Milan). "We will have to play attacking football to win this game," he declared.

He will also have to hope that United don't conjure any more moments of magic like they did last night when Michael Carrick's wonderful 40-yard pass found Ryan Giggs wide out on the left. Not only did the 37-year-old time his run to perfection he then controlled the ball on the move and had the vision to spot Wayne Rooney's sprint into space. Giggs galloped to the goal line and slid the ball back across the Chelsea box into the path of Rooney. His finish gave Petr Cech no chance and off ran Rooney to celebrate, this time keeping his mouth shut and letting the beauty of the goal do the talking. ·