In the first showdown between the two teams most likely to be challenging for major honours at the start of the season, Chelsea took one step closer to the Premiership title on Sunday after beating Manchester United 1-0 in a match many felt that United had to win. Chelsea are now 5 points clear of their rivals, and although there is a long way to go have taken the early lead in the title race.

John Terry grabbed the only goal of the game, heading in from a Lampard free-kick to secure the 10th straight home win and extend Chelseas lad at the top of the table. The game as you would expect became heated at times with referee decisions being a talking point as always but overall the team played well and deserved the victory.

Many of the players have had a better day in Chelsea shirts with few players really shining but it was the team performance that was important and that performance got the victory that could prove crucial at the end of the season.

One bit of bad news though was that Ashley Cole now looks set for a stint on the sidelines after aggravating a leg injury picked up against Atletico Madrid which will mean that the team will need to be reshuffled, possibly with the inclusion of new signing Zhirkov who has yet to play an important role in the first team this season.

Chelsea are now exactly where they want to be and look the strongest side in the league by far at the moment, and with Anelka and Drogba looking more lethal every game they play this season has the foundations of a great one.

Written by Danny Watson, a sports editor who blogs about football kits