Ballack scored twice to give Chelsea victory

The Blues 蓝军 won the game after German midfielder Michael Ballack scored from the penalty spot 罚球点 with only five minutes to go.

His second goal of the game gave Chelsea a 2-1 win over United; a result which could be decisive 决定性的 in what has been a tightly-contested 激烈角逐 season that looks like it will go down to the wire 最后关头.

Though the two teams are level on points 积分持平, Manchester United are still top of the table as they have a vastly superior goal difference 在进球数量上占绝对优势 over Chelsea. The Red Devils 红魔 will win the Premier League if they win their last two games.

Chelsea now have to make sure they win their last two games against Newscastle and Bolton, and hope United slip up 失误 in either of their final games against West Ham or Wigan.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant said that United might crack under the pressure 在压力下崩溃 in their final matches.

Michael Ballack also thinks that Chelsea now have the psychological advantage 心理优势, and said the pressure is on 压力集中在 Manchester United now.

Pressure  Last week they had a five-point lead and now we have closed the gap. They still have everything in their hands but the pressure is on them.   Michael Ballack, Chelsea

Ballack said it is significant that Chelsea have "closed the gap" on their rivals. Originally the gap, or difference, was five points, but this has now been closed, as both teams have the same number of points.

He said that although Manchester United will be feeling the pressure, they still have "everything in their hands". This means they can still control whether they win the league or not.

Of course, it's not just about the Premier League. Both teams now face important Champions League semi-finals 欧冠半决赛 this week.

Incentive  Everybody is disappointed to lose a game of football but with the incentive of a big game like tomorrow night you put it behind you quickly.   Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said he was disappointed with the result at the weekend, but that the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona gave his players an incentive 刺激 to forget about the Chelsea game.

Talking about the Chelsea defeat, when he said "you put it behind you", he meant you don't worry about it for too long, you just accept it happened and move on.

Whatever happens, Ferguson will hope his team can keep focused 继续专注 for the final, crucial 极紧要的 games of the season.