"Beckham switches play diagonally into the space behind Bridge. The left-back misjudges the flight, and Leo Messi brings it down beautifully before accelerating into the penalty area. Cannavaro backs off to contain him, Messi shapes as though he's going to shoot, then delicately lifts the ball towards the far post. Cristiano Ronaldo arrives late and gets his head to it... but it's into the side netting!"
Cristiano Ronaldo held his head in frustration, but once he got back to his feet he immediately embraced Messi, who had run over to console him.
"Thirty-one minutes gone, and New Manchester United have been extremely active on both flanks, particularly against Chelsea's Christmas-tree shape. Mourinho's intentions are obvious. He wants to attack the width outside Chelsea's narrow midfield, and the combinations of Maicon with Messi on the right and Evra with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left have caused Ancelotti's side all sorts of problems."
Andy Gray had barely finished speaking when New Manchester United attacked again.
"Another move down the left. Beckham takes Evra's pass, plays a quick one-two with him and gets beyond Ferreira. Evra moves it into Cristiano Ronaldo and continues his run towards the byline. Cristiano lays it into his path, Evra gets there and crosses..."
For a moment, Andy Gray's voice rose with the action.
"Stam gets there ahead of Villa and clears it firmly. Lampard takes the ball on his chest and tries to turn, but Beckham anticipates it and gets a foot in first. Excellent challenge!"
Beckham had been supporting the attack only moments earlier, yet he was already back in midfield. After dispossessing Lampard cleanly, he resisted the temptation to force another attack. Instead, he exchanged a series of short passes with De Rossi and Essien, deliberately taking the speed out of the game after several frantic minutes.
"Beckham's slowing the tempo now," Martin Tyler observed. "Most of these passes are sideways or backwards, but that's a recurring feature of how New Manchester United play. Anyone who thinks that's pointless possession usually changes their mind when the next attack suddenly arrives at twice the speed."
After circulating the ball through midfield and defence, Beckham tried to launch two more attacks, neither of which produced a clear opening. Chelsea remained compact and disciplined, but possession continued to belong largely to the visitors. New Manchester United's overall share of the ball was not overwhelmingly higher, yet they were using it more purposefully, controlling where the match was being played and forcing Chelsea to react.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continued switching positions, occasionally appearing on the opposite flank or drifting inside, but Beckham repeatedly declined to play the obvious early pass. Gradually, Bridge and Ferreira relaxed just enough to believe they had time. The moment Bridge stepped half a yard too far forward, Messi slipped into the channel between him and Cannavaro, and Beckham immediately sent a diagonal pass over the top.
The ball curved beautifully through the air. Messi accelerated beyond the defensive line, stayed onside, controlled it in stride and drove into the penalty area. Cannavaro recovered quickly enough to close him down while Hildebrand rushed off his line to narrow the angle, leaving Messi with no clean shot. Instead, he cut the ball back towards the edge of the box, where Essien arrived and struck first time.
Hildebrand reacted brilliantly, springing upwards and getting both hands behind the shot to keep it out.
Ferreira collected the loose ball near the touchline, but Cristiano Ronaldo was on him almost immediately. That was one of the defining principles of New Manchester United's football. Their attacking movement could be fluid and adventurous, but the instant possession was lost, the nearest players pressed while the rest of the side closed the surrounding space.
With his back to Cristiano and facing the touchline, Ferreira held the ball for a moment, waiting for an outlet. None appeared. Cristiano kept harrying him from behind until the Portuguese full-back had no option but to knock the ball out of play.
"Throw-in to New Manchester United high up the pitch. Evra takes it quickly to Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano gives it back, and with no opening in the box Evra plays square to De Rossi."
Lampard had dropped towards the edge of his own penalty area to help Emerson. When Emerson was pulled slightly out of position, Lampard immediately stepped towards De Rossi, but that was exactly what the Italian had been waiting for. He slipped the ball into the space Lampard had just vacated, and a red shirt came surging through from behind him.
Beckham.
He met the ball in stride and struck it cleanly from distance. The shot rose, bent away from Hildebrand, and flew into the top-left corner.
0-1.
"It's Beckham! David Beckham arrives late from midfield and scores right in front of Lampard. That's a superb goal, and the movement before it was just as good. New Manchester United have kept dragging Chelsea's defensive shape from one side to the other until the gap appeared."
Beckham was visibly emotional. He ignored the teammates trying to catch him and ran straight towards the corner, raising both arms towards the travelling supporters above him.
The away section had been filled with banners throughout the afternoon.
BECKS, WE'LL ALWAYS SUPPORT YOU.
OUR CAPTAIN, OUR HERO.
THIS WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR HOME.
The messages had already affected him before kick-off. Now, after scoring, he stood beneath them with both arms raised as the travelling support erupted into song.
The Beckham chant rolled around that corner of Stamford Bridge.
Television cameras quickly cut to Lampard. The Chelsea midfielder looked frustrated. His decision to leave his position and press De Rossi had opened the space Beckham attacked, so while the goal could hardly be blamed entirely on him, he knew he had played a part in creating the opportunity. Given everything that had been written before the match, that clearly bothered him.
New Manchester United did not become reckless after taking the lead. With De Rossi and Essien around him, Beckham continued controlling the centre of the pitch, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi repeatedly attacked the spaces outside Chelsea's narrow midfield. By first-half stoppage time, Chelsea's impatience was beginning to show. Emerson was booked after arriving late on Villa, and the visitors went into the dressing room 1-0 ahead.
Mourinho was pleased with the overall performance, but not entirely satisfied with the attacking execution. New Manchester United had controlled large stretches of the half without creating enough clear chances through the centre. Kaká's absence meant there were fewer aggressive runs beyond Villa, and Mourinho felt the three midfielders needed to contribute more often from deeper positions.
Beckham's goal had come after Mourinho repeatedly urged him forward from the touchline. At half-time, he made the instruction more explicit. Beckham, De Rossi, and Essien were to alternate their forward runs rather than remain fixed behind the ball. At the same time, they were to expand their pressing zones and compress Chelsea's midfield even further.
Verón had been excellent since joining Chelsea and had begun to resemble the player who had once controlled matches in Italy, but Mourinho had deliberately targeted him. Beckham, De Rossi, and Essien took turns closing his space, never allowing him to settle on the ball or turn comfortably. As a result, Verón had been rushed into several poor passes during the first half.
The pattern became even clearer after the restart. New Manchester United's midfield three repeatedly pressed the areas occupied by Verón and Deco, using constant movement to cut the connection between them. Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Messi pressed from the front as well, which meant Chelsea rarely had time to establish the passing rhythm Ancelotti wanted.
At the other end, Beckham continued directing play while New Manchester United pushed their defensive line higher. Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Villa were given more opportunities to attack defenders individually, and Chelsea struggled particularly whenever one of them isolated a full-back or centre-back one-on-one.
Ancelotti could see that his adjustments were not solving the problem. Lampard's frustration was becoming increasingly obvious as well. On one occasion he tried to close Beckham tightly, only for the former England captain to pivot neatly away from him and carry the ball into space.
"What a turn from Beckham!" Andy Gray laughed. "People spent years telling us he couldn't dribble, but Lampard's just been left standing there."
Martin Tyler sounded equally amused as Beckham continued into Chelsea's half.
He initially looked towards Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, but Ferreira stayed tight after Ancelotti's half-time instructions and denied him room to turn. Cristiano therefore played the ball back to Beckham. Lampard, who had chased the move from behind, immediately launched into a sliding challenge and caught Beckham from the rear.
"That's a dangerous tackle. The referee's giving the free kick and showing Lampard a yellow card. This is an excellent position for Beckham."
"From here, he doesn't need much invitation," Martin Tyler said. "We've seen him score plenty from this range."
Andy Gray chuckled. "You do wonder what some of the people who've spent the last two weeks writing him off are thinking now. Beckham has been outstanding, while Lampard has barely influenced the game."
"The biggest change is how Beckham plays now," Tyler replied. "The long diagonals are still there, the free kicks are arguably better than ever, but he's much more comfortable in tight spaces. His short passing has improved enormously, he combines quickly with teammates, and he doesn't panic when he's pressed. That's not really the Beckham we saw earlier in his career."
"And a lot of that comes from New Manchester United's system. He always has movement around him."
The camera focused on Beckham standing over the free kick. Chelsea formed a wall inside the penalty area, but he did not need anyone beside him as a decoy. He stood several strides behind the ball, waited for the whistle, then began his run-up.
His right foot whipped through it.
The ball climbed over the wall, curled sharply, then dipped into the top corner before Hildebrand could reach it.
0-2.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant from David Beckham! Two goals at Stamford Bridge, and New Manchester United are 2-0 ahead. Chelsea's midfield has simply not been able to control him today."
Deco had not played badly, and Emerson had done a great deal of defensive work, but Chelsea as a whole had spent too much of the match reacting to New Manchester United. Individual performances were always going to suffer under those circumstances.
Ancelotti responded immediately, withdrawing Lampard and introducing Crespo while adjusting the shape in search of a goal. The substitution did give Chelsea another presence around the penalty area, but Mourinho reacted as well. Cristiano Ronaldo, still carrying some fatigue after Portugal's two recent internationals, was replaced by Ishmael, with Villa and Messi taking wider roles around the young striker.
Not long afterwards, Mourinho took off Beckham and sent on Yaya Touré.
The reaction from the travelling support was enormous.
Beckham left the pitch to a standing ovation from the New Manchester United section after a performance in which he had controlled almost every important phase of the match and scored both goals.
With their captain gone and a two-goal lead secured, Mourinho naturally became more conservative. New Manchester United dropped a little deeper, protected central areas more carefully, and forced Chelsea to attack through increasingly crowded spaces.
Ancelotti had introduced Crespo because he wanted goals, but Chelsea never found a consistent route through.
The score remained 2-0 until the final whistle.
Later, in the executive box, Ethan was in an excellent mood as he spoke with Roman Abramovich. Chelsea's owner was understandably disappointed, although the scale of his investment meant frustration was inevitable whenever his team lost.
Ethan did not gloat.
"You've only been building this team for a year," he said. "It took us six years to get here. Carlo has only just started shaping the squad into what he wants, and you can already see the quality. Give him time."
Abramovich listened without replying immediately.
"You're on the right path," Ethan continued. "The important thing now is patience."
It was easy advice to give after winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)