In the twelfth round of the FA Premiership this weekend, Chelsea FC increased its lead in the standings after beating Manchester United 1-0. With a total of 30 points, Chelsea is leading the Premiership, five points ahead of second place.

Manchester wasn’t at the top of its game at this event, belying its status as the champion of the English Premier League.

With a seven-year slump that left the team unable to beat the Blues in their home stadium, United attended Stamford Bridge with the hope of a victory that would break the record and turn history around. They may have tried, but the Red Devils didn’t have the effort to achieve their goal. The defeat pushed Manchester to third place in the standing, finishing behind Arsenal.

Arsenal, in second, hopes to climb in the standings in their last pending game.

The match between Chelsea and United, one of the most anticipated games of the week, had a slow start. Even when the defending champions took control of the ball, they were unable to dominate the game. Nor were there any spectacular plays; with all the action focused on the center of the field, the game was far from exhilarating.

With the locals trying to defend themselves and the visitors pressing the attack, the tension generated devolved the level of play even further; neither team could show its best soccer skills.

Unable to focus on game tactics, both teams had trouble advancing into the rival’s area, and the game suffered from a paucity of opportunities and, of course, goals.

The first half was uneventful for the players and spectators alike – neither team could threaten the opposing team.

With an atmosphere soured by the lack of definition for both teams, the match gradually lost its sense of importance and fell short of the expectations of the team led by Sir Alex Ferguson.

The start of the second half seemed to prove much the same, although Manchester tried – and failed – to change the atmosphere. Manchester striker Wayne Rooney tried to attack Chelsea’s goal, but thanks to goalkeeper Petr Cech’s cool, the attempts went unrealized.

The minutes advanced and, with the scoreboard comfortable at 0-0, the tension grew. The locals strived to maintain their calm, but the visitors began to reveal a sudden desperation in their plays.

The anxiety led to a series of errors. Defender Jonathan Evans launched a strong kick against Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and received a yellow card.

With only 15 minutes left of the game, a shot from Frank Lampard was intercepted by Chelsea captain John Terry, who sent an easy and accurate header to the back of Edwin Van der Sar’s net.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team, then, finally opened the score, and was able to resist the pressure from its opponents down to the minute. Chelsea took the victory, 1-0.