Forlan's precision puts paid to Chelsea

Manchester United 1 Chelsea

No Christmas television schedule is complete without a good ghost story and the past month has seen Sir Alex Ferguson exorcise the spirit of three clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, who in recent years have haunted Manchester United.

When Diego Forlan seized on David Beckham's pass 10 minutes from the end of a hard, unforgiving contest, his precise shot into the bottom corner not only sent Manchester United into the semi-finals of the League Cup for the first time in eight years it ensured only their third victory over Chelsea in a dozen contests.

United's run to the semi-finals and their victory at Old Trafford last night was built on remarkably solid defending, co-ordinated by Wes Brown and Mikäel Silvestre. They have not conceded a goal in the competition or in their past five matches and, in a second half which Chelsea dominated territorially, they restricted Claudio Ranieri's side to a single shot, from Boudewijn Zenden, which Fabien Barthez palmed wide at full stretch.

The manner in which Brown dispossessed first Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and then Gianfranco Zola when anything mistimed would have conceded a penalty, put flesh and motion on Ferguson's observation that he is potentially the best centre-half in the country. Phil Neville was employed to smother Zola, who Everton had allowed to run wild at Stamford Bridge in the fourth round, and the Italian, frustrated, committed the error which allowed Beckham, who completed his first full game at Old Trafford since 2 November, to send Forlan through on goal. Just before the end, a remarkably similar move saw Forlan's shot brush against the foot of the post.

"It was my mistake, I don't hide it. It was sloppy control from me, I let the ball be stolen," said the 36-year-old Zola, who has been offered an extended contract by Chelsea. "We did not deserve to lose; they scored at the moment we were most on top of the game. But we did not come out of this match with dishonour, we played a fantastic game against a fantastic team."

It is a long time since Ferguson sent out a "fantastic team" in the League Cup. As Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were injured, the United manager was sending out a full-strength side in the competition for probably the first time since the 1994 final which was lost to Aston Villa.

This contest was a blend of commitment and skill, epitomised by the sight of Beckham and Graeme Le Saux sliding into each other by the touchline or, if you preferred something more delicate, that of Ryan Giggs clipping a long ball from Juan Sebastian Veron over Carlo Cudicini's head. It should have put United in the lead, but for Mario Melchiot, one of three covering defenders, dashing back to scoop the ball off the line. Five minutes before the interval, Giggs produced a sublime backheel which gave Paul Scholes a clear sight of goal which was squandered.

Chelsea's main threats came from corners and free-kicks. They forced half-a-dozen of the former in the first half, one of which Barthez dropped dangerously near a blue shirt, and almost scored from two free-kicks. Hasselbaink's was pushed away high to his right by Barthez, another from Zola skimmed the crossbar.

However, if Ranieri wanted to pinpoint one move which should have given Chelsea control of the tie, he would probably have picked Jody Morris' cross from the left which Enrique De Lucas met on the volley, unmarked and 10 yards out. It was not even close to hitting the target, a fact which given the closeness of the contest was almost criminal.

The excellence of both sides' defending meant that the verve displayed so vividly in the first half exhausted itself in the mud and divots of the Old Trafford pitch. The crowd of almost 58,000, which filled United's coffers at both the turnstiles and in some seasonal shopping at the Megastore, did not actually see a second-half shot until Forlan scored with 10 minutes left.

It ensured that for the first time since 1991, Manchester United go into the new year in four major competitions and perhaps Ferguson's horse racing friends might like to examine what kind of odds are available on a quadruple.

Manchester United: (4-4-1-1) Barthez; G Neville, Brown, Silvestre, O'Shea; Beckham, P Neville, Veron, Giggs; Scholes; Forlan. Substitutes not used: Blanc, Stewart, Nardiello, Richardson, Carroll (gk).

Chelsea: (4-4-2) Cudicini; Melchiot, Terry, Gallas, Le Saux; De Lucas (Zenden, 66), Lampard, Morris, Stanic; Zola, Hasselbaink (Gudjohnsen, 77). Substitutes not used: Ferrer, Desailly, De Goey (gk).