Wayne Rooney put Manchester United Ahead
The right-footed blast went past Petr Cech Reuters

Wayne Rooney started the scoring for Manchester United with a perfectly struck low ball in the 29th minute that fit between the post and Petr Cech's outstretched arm.

Rooney has been playing in top form lately. The first half goal means he's scored three times in three straight Premier League matches.

Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic had a golden opportunity in the 40th minute when a questionable foul resulted in a Frank Lampard free kick that Edwin Van der Sar was able to block. Ivanovic attempted to knock in the rebound, but Van der Sar denied him, and the ball was cleared.

Chelsea attacker Florent Malouda had a great chance in the fifth minute, but his hard-hit shot from the center-field channel was straight at Van der Sar.

In the 16th minute, a cross from Patrice Evra only needed a touch from Rooney, but the forward couldn't reach the ball in time to put the Red Devils ahead.

A strategic cross by Darren Fletcher was cleared by David Luiz in the 26th minute.

Many eyes are on Chelsea forward Fernando Torres and Manchester United central defender Nemanja Vidic. The two have had interesting encounters when Torres played for Liverpool.

Ramires has been given a yellow card for his challenge on Michael Carrick, and Vidic has been booked with a yellow, as well.

The match is already notable for its starting lineups. It was a bit of a surprise that Sir Alex Ferguson gave the nod to Javier Hernandez over Dimitar Berbatov.

Ryan Giggs is available for Manchester United.

Didier Drogba started the game on the bench in a move by Carlo Ancelotti that has far-reaching ramifications. According to the Daily Mail, Drogba has considered leaving Chelsea this summer if he didn't start this match.

The lineups:

CHELSEA

G: Cech

D: Cole, Luiz, Terry, Ivanovic

M: Lampard, Essien, Ramires

F: Torres, Malouda, Anelka

Bench:

G: Turnbull

D: Bosingwa

M: Zhirkov, Obi, McEachran

F: Drogba, Kalou

MANCHESTER UNITED

G: Van der Sar

D: Evra, Vidic, Smalling, O'Shea

M: Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher

F: Rooney, Hernandez

Bench

G: Kuszczak

D: Brown, Rafael, Fabio

M: Gibson, Giggs

F: Berbatov

Wayne rooney