Chelsea Make Us Look Bad

Talk of paranioa? Sir Alex Ferguson has been trawling through the history books to emphasise his point and discovered United actually have more points now that in four of the last six seasons, which have included three championship triumphs.

After the first 15 games of their 1999 Treble-winning campaign, the Old Trafford outfit had mustered 29 points, two fewer than this season.

The major difference, as Ferguson observed, is Chelsea, whose only defeat of the season came against United last month, one of just two games Jose Mourinho's side have failed to win in 16 outings so far.

Even for a club of United's stature, matching that kind of form is almost impossible.

'We all have a problem because Chelsea's consistent form makes it difficult for us to win the league,' said Ferguson, whose side are level on points with second-placed Liverpool and five in front of Arsenal, who have slipped to sixth.

'If you look at our present points total, it is better than in four of the last six seasons at this time of year.

'In any normal season, most of the teams below Chelsea would think they are doing quite well.'