M.United 3 Vs 1 Chelsea

Report: United 3 Chelsea 1

The champions beat Chelsea 3-1 thanks to goals from Chris Smalling, Nani and Wayne Rooney in an action-packed clash at Old Trafford. Although Fernando Torries replied for the Londoners at the start of the second half, his dreadful late miss only added to the ecstatic mood around the ground.

Sir Alex's side could even afford a missed penalty from Rooney and several spurned chances en route to a fifth straight victory in the Barclays Premier League to go two points clear at the top of the table.

United were slower into stride than in this fixture last term, and yet still led after only eight minutes. David De Gea had been called into drastic action to kick away a Ramires shot early on but the opener soon arrived, in front of the Stretford End.

Ashley Young was fouled and swung the free-kick over for Smalling to bury an unstoppable header for his first league goal for the Reds. Replays showed the defender may have been marginally offside and the goal provoked a decent response from the visitors. When Anderson passed the ball straight to the Spaniard, Old Trafford held its breath but the £50million man dragged his shot wastefully wide of the far post.

De Gea caught a Bransilav Ivanovic header and saw Frank Lampard lash wide, after the England international midfielder rightly escaped a handball shout inside his own area. There was an almighty let-off on 26 minutes when Torres was onside and in the clear but squared the ball.

Big Match Preview - Bulgaria vs England

Terry: England expects

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England captain John Terry is ready and waiting to lead the Three Lions into action against Bulgaria tonight, in what is a crucial European Qualifier for Fabio Capello's men.

Sitting joint top of Group G alongside Montenegro, the Chelsea defender knows the international side can't afford to slip-up in Sofia following earlier draws against Switzerland and the aforementioned Hrabri sokoli.

Despite a 4-0 victory against Lothar Matthaus' side almost a year ago to the day, Terry is well aware that the opposition will provide a very different challenge on home soil, and England will have to be on their guard if they are to collect three points and bring them back to Wembley.

"It will be tough, but we'll be fully ready and prepared for the game. Bulgaria's obviously going to be a very hostile place to go," said the centre back.

"By the time we kick-off, we'll know everything we need to know and how they play and their strengths and weaknesses. The manager prepares extensively for every game, so come kick-off we'll be ready."

Reinstated as captain by Capello back in March, Terry is full of praise for the preparation that the Italian makes ahead of every England match.

"He goes into a lot of depth. Our preparation first and foremost is to worry about our own formation and tactics," he continued.

"As the week goes on we start to look at videos of our opponents and how they are likely to play, and then start to focus on the individuals. First and foremost though, we concentrate on how we're going to play."

Given the previous victory against Bulgaria, and the 2-0 win against Wales at the Millenium Stadium, it would be easy for the Three Lions to look beyond the forthcoming fixtures and towards a trip to Montenegro on October 7th.