Blue View: Chelsea vs. Manchester United – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

• Yes, they can still create: The disgustingly flat play of the West London team in their last three outings before the game, (which were against newly promoted sides!) Norwich, QPR and Swansea seems to have gone and hopefully, gone for good. One certainly couldn't tell in the first half where Chelsea seemed intent on living up to their former nickname, The Pensioners, though Man United were making a strong claim for that epithet as well. They well and truly cancelled each other out in the first half and came back for a livewire second. It was by no means Chelsea steamrolling teams 8-0 or so but they were quite unlike what they had been doing in attack the last few games. Crosses came in without being too ponderous in play, runs were being made, and in terms of an underwhelming game, was passable at worst and decent at best.

Good and you know it | Sturridge was easily the best attacking and creative threat Chelsea had

• Branislav Ivanovic: is the most dependable right-back Chelsea possess, whatever his opinion about liking the centre of defence more may be. He nullified whatever threat Young posed, matching him stride for stride, and showing Evra the inside where either Luiz or Essien were waiting to dispossess him. He made vital interceptions and didn't put a foot wrong all game. He is the stable presence on the right that balances out Chelsea's defensive strength. Desperately unlucky to concede a penalty that almost no one would ever even think twice about not giving when Welbeck tripped on the foot he was trying to get out of the way, he was far and away the best defender Chelsea had on display. It is no coincidence that it was Ivanovic making the right side of defence his own during the unforgettable 2009-10 season. And he has a sweet cross and a precise and powerful head. AVB would do well to learn this from his predecessor and not persist with Bosingwa based purely on his attacking.

• Torres is a playmaker: and that's the naked truth, fortunately or unfortunately. When you think about the extra 40 million Chelsea were going to spend on Modric, it is with bitter irony that some Chelsea fans will smile think that they already spent 50 million for someone who is effectively a playmaking spearhead. How happy or sad that makes people, the Blues have on their hands a striker with only 4 goals but 10 assists this season. It is a bit of consolation when you think that his 'effective' goal tally is 14, but not much. Still, at least he looks a part of the Chelsea game instead of the isolated and disjointed head we've seen him be so many times over the past year. His work ethic has improved and he is willing to be a part of the team rather than just sulk up. His confidence has also increased a few notches, comparatively speaking. Progress is the watchword and Torres has progressed to totally ineffective to marginally ineffective. Better than nothing, one would suppose.

At least I did something right! | Torres surprised as a creative force once again last Sunday 

• Torres is a playmaker: and that is the best he can do when bought for a British transfer record to make the net ripple so much that you'd think there was a breeze blowing. But in the history of damp squibs, there has not perhaps been a more damp one than Fernando Torres (we're being very kind to Andy Carroll here, though) in Blue. People have to point out how he's assisting goals to justify his presence. And Sunday's thriller was no exception. Supposedly one of the fastest strikers around, he was matched for pace by even Jonny Evans. His runs were decent without being threatening, and the one good opportunity he did have, he wasted by trying to do too much in front of goal, speaking volumes of how low his actual shot taking confidence is. Admittedly, his cross for Mata to volley in the goal was one every winger would dream about making, but  the 50 million pound question is, Is that ALL Fernando Torres is good for nowadays?

• Florent Malouda: is NOT and will never be the Ryan Giggs of Chelsea as he once said he would like to be. His selfish build-up play is against all reason for a wide forward. With 2009-10 set as a benchmark, Malouda and Ashley Cole had a near telepathic understanding and one or the other would float in sweet, powerful, curling crosses. In recent times and especially yesterday, he cut inside and into the penalty box far too often, going too close to the goal line in search of headlines on his own. His low, exremely short crosses were the product of someone disgusted to find people guarding his path to glory, forcing him to find someone else to keep the possession. When he was not busy wasting chances, he was busy being anonymous in attack and in defence, contributing next to nothing to Chelsea's game. Maybe he'd blame it on lack of game-time, but he was just as insipid last season. Perhaps the Frenchman's time at Chelsea is finally up...?

We'll take that, thank you| AVB didn't mould his tactics according to the opposition manager

• It is one thing to be a obsessively good opposition scout, quite another to be a manager and act on it: as AVB found out to his cost during the game. The fact that he is, brutally speaking, still adjusting to managerial demands in England is clearly evident when he took off their most potent attacking threat in Daniel Sturridge to replace him with defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu. The fact is, even a manager from League Two would tell you that you should never make a defensive switch planning for 'containment' when the Red Devils are desperate for a goal. It's suicide. Keep the attacker, and you can catch United out on the break (think Man City at Old Trafford) when they're pressing for the goal. The substitution would have made much more sense if it had been the invisible Florent Malouda coming off for Romeu, leaving the pacy Sturridge to torment Evra. And if AVB was a little more daring, including Lukaku in the matchday squad and bringing HIM on. And he needs to learn to have a tight and pressing defence. But people live and learn. Or so Chelsea fans will hope...

...And The Ugly

What do I use this for again?| Webb had a shambolic game all round by refereeing standards

In all honesty, if Howard Webb is England's finest referee, there is something very wrong with their refereeing standards...