John Terry: We were 'delighted' to see Wayne Rooney in the Manchester United midfield, says Chelsea captain

Chelsea won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge

John Terry celebrates with Gary Cahill at the final whistle (Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal’s decision to play captain Wayne Rooney in midfield was a very popular decision. Unfortunately for Manchester United fans its popularity was in the Chelsea dressing room.

With Rooney battling in the centre of the field against Kurt Zouma and Nemanja Matic replacement striker Radamel Falcao had a tough day against Gary Cahill and John Terry, and the Chelsea captain confessed his teammates had been pleased when they saw the United team sheet.

"We were delighted to see Wayne Rooney in midfield,” Terry told Sky Sports. “A phenomenal player and such a threat in that role behind the striker.”

Club-captain Rooney has found himself playing in both midfield and as the main striker during his first season under van Gaal. However it is in the latter role that the England striker has excelled in recent weeks, scoring five in his last eight as United began a charge over the table.

The win over United puts Chelsea 10 points clear of Arsenal and a further point ahead of van Gaal’s side, but it was another case of the result being better than the performance for Chelsea. Terry admitted that Chelsea had not been at their best again, but he did not seem to mind.

Rooney was good in central midfield but his threat was lessened (Getty Images)

The centre-back said: "It was a massive win and we are delighted with that ahead of Arsenal next week. They dictated the game better than we did.

"We have not been playing as well as we can of late but we have been grinding out results and we did that again.

"We have dipped a bit but we are still picking up results and that is a sign of champions. It has been four years since we won the league and we are very determined. Still not done yet."

Once more it was Eden Hazard that was the star man for Chelsea, with the Belgian scoring his 13th goal of a season that is expected to end with him celebrating individual and team honours.

Hazard said: “"I try to score, to create something and today I did very well. That's my job.”