Ballack brace stuns Man Utd

Chelsea blew the Premiership title race wide open with two games left, as the German midfielder Michael Ballack grabbed two goals to see off Manchester United by 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Man Utd were dealt an early blow when Nemanja Vidic was taken off with an injury after Drogba kneed him in the face, and Owen Hargreaves came on.

Joe Cole did almost open the scoring as he hit the post before half time.

Chelsea did do so just before, as Drogba turned goal provider to cross for Michael Ballack who headed home for the first goal.

After half time, Sir Alex Ferguson knew he had to go for broke and changed his lineup, and it finally paid dividends as a Ricardo Carvalho mistake allowed Wayne Rooney to slot the ball post Petr Cech.

Then, Chelsea grabbed the winner as Michael Carrick gifted Chelsea a penalty and German midfielder Ballack stepped up to smash the ball home.

Chelsea clung on well into injury time to earn the result, and Andriy Shevchenko even cleared off the line.

Both sides are now level on points with two games to go, but Man Utd have a significant goal difference advantage.