The English Premier League super scheduling computer often throws up mouthwatering match-ups but rarely has it allowed the ‘fantastic four’ Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal or more appropriately the managers Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger to collide on the same day with so much at stake.

With the phrase ‘must win’ being tossed around like dice at a Las Vegas craps table for the Gunners and the Reds in their respective road trips to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, you knew that goals would be at a premium – however pride, power and passion, the intangibles of football would be the key factors and so it proved in 180 minutes of compelling, absorbing and utterly fascinating Sunday morning action.

With the smoke now clearing the battlefield it’s time to evaluate the performances and what it all means to the managers of the ‘FF’.

Chelsea & Jose Mourinho

Much was made of the ‘handshake’ row between Mourinho and Benitez before the start of this contest in the hopes of ####ing it up to Tabasco proportions – not that it needed it. My own view is that it’s a football match not an arm wrestling contest and thankfully that antagonism was put to rest in the tunnel between the two managers.

As for the Blues display it was typical Mourinho football and he summed it up perfectly in his post match comments. "Sometimes if you win with just quality, playing fantastic and scoring a lot of goals you can feel you are a great team. But you need these matches where you feel you are a team ready to fight. My players were very brave and the team fought very hard."

There was no doubt about the fight in Chelsea’s play as they had to compete for 40 minutes while playing a man down after Michael Ballack departed the pitch after a nasty and spiteful challenge on Mohammed Sissoko. With John Terry and Ricardo Carvallho  marshalling the back four in the most dominating central pairing in the Premiership, it was always going to be a long day for the visitors. The fact they didn’t create as many quality chances as Liverpool will not rankle the ‘Special One’ either especially if Didier Drogba can keep finding the net in spectacular fashion. His 41st minute strike was a goal worthy of the occasion and a fitting way to decide the destination of the points.

Liverpool & Rafa Benitez

Benitez has an abundance of riches at his disposal for the 1st time in his Anfield reign and that is his problem at the moment. I believe he doesn’t yet know who his best XI is yet. Leaving the red hot Peter Crouch on the bench seemed a waste and slap in the face to a man who is in the best form of his career while Chelsea killer, Luis Garcia didn’t even make the trip to London.

“I think that we deserved more because we created clear chances but at the end you need to score to win” he said, obviously not looking in Crouch’s direction. 
An eight point gap has now opened up between the two teams however Benitez isn’t being trapped into pushing the panic button just yet. "We need to think about the next game (Newcastle). It's a long race and the most important thing is that the team is improving. If we can win the next three points we will be closer and we will see what happens”, he said. If they don’t get the maximum against the Magpies on Wednesday that finger will start looking for that button.

Manchester United & Sir Alex Ferguson

If there is one thing in life Sir Alex Ferguson loves doing it’s beating Arsenal and in particular Arsene Wenger - their psychological battles over the years have been legendary. With Chelsea now in ascendance though the spotlight has been off the two competitors in recent seasons, however that hasn’t stopped Fergie owning the Frenchman in the Premiership in their last eight meetings.

With the chance to all but cosign Arsenal to also-rans this season the Red Devils fluffed it big time. Previous defeats of this nature have seen the Scotsman blame all and sundry and true to form he pointed to the exertions of Wednesday nights Champions League game against Celtic as the culprit for a flat performance. “With the emotions of it and the pace of the match, it was a real Scotland-England type of match with that type of tempo. It was end to end all night and that's without question one of the things I have to look at. Today we lost momentum in the second half when we stopped passing forward, and that was a sign of tiredness. It was the second-half that disappointed me. We tired as a team in the last 20 minutes.”

Perhaps Sir Alex should look to the fact that Arsenal was the first real side his club has played this year and that maybe the 100% start was a little smoke and mirrors. United is still a team in transition despite the addition of Michael Carrick who surprisingly didn’t start and was instead replaced by the limited John O’Shea. Wayne Rooney is still not match fit while the central pairing of Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand does not fill me with any confidence.
With three relatively easy fixtures before the visit of Liverpool on October 22nd there is enough time for the Scotsman who recently stated his desire to stay at the helm for another two years to get the machine humming to the right tune.

Arsenal & Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger attempted to play down the importance of this match but even he would’ve been aware that if Arsenal had lost, the gap between them and United would’ve been a massive and insurmountable 13 points – but in epic fashion they did the unthinkable.

One can’t help but think that this Arsenal team is a club in transition and not capable of mounting a serious challenge for the title this season however Wenger believes differently, “transition is a word you don't want, we want to win the championship. I said it before the game and I say again afterwards this team has great potential and spirit as they have shown again today and I strongly believe in the ability of the players and the team.”

Without their talisman, Thierry Henry, I thought that the Gunners would be very lucky to escape with a point but they outplayed and outfought United in every department playing Arsenal football. It was fast, lively, and attractive and more importantly disciplined defensively – no doubt the result of the season to date.

Over the course of these two matches the ‘FF’ will have learnt more about the character of their new look teams and I’m sure come the dog days of January they’ll all be at their familiar places in the table.

Until then, get the beers in.