LONDON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- European champions Chelsea were hit by two red cards in an intensely contested match and defeated by Manchester United 3-2 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The victory boosted Man United to close gap on top and move behind Chelsea with just one point less.
Chelsea, who still led the table with 22 points, slumped to their first defeat of the season in Premier League after nine-round campaigns.
It was also the Blues' first defeat to Man United at Stamford Bridge in their recent 11 league meetings since 2002.
The Brazilian defender David Luiz's own goal and Robin van Persie's clear-cut finish after just 12 minutes seemingly paved the way for the visitor to clinch a convincing victory.
But the table leaders Chelsea fought their way back with superb response from Juan Mata's clinical freekick and Nascimento Ramires's header in each half.
The pulsating clash between the two England football giants than became unbalanced when two red cards were shown to the host in the space of five minutes just after the hour.
Branislav Ivanovic fouled Ashley Young from his back after the winger was fed unmarked to race into the box. The decision of referee aroused few complaints.
But the second dismissal was different. The red card to Fernando Torres for diving was thunderously booed and protested by the more than 40,000 home crowds. The replay showed that the Spanish forward was caught by the defender Jonny Evans's tackle but the referee ruled it was a dive, showing the second yellow card.
With two man down, Chelsea had to struggle with a defensive-minded 4-4-0 formation in more than 20 minutes.
The Reds'substitute Javier Hernandez left the game no suspense when he sealed the winner from close range in 75th minute.
But again, the dispute appeared. The replay showed the decisive goal appeared to be converted from an offside position, which was criticized by Chelsea's manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Another big match on Sunday was the Merseyside derby. Everton overcame an early two-goal deficit and levelled the score to 2-2 with Liverpool before the break.
Elsewhere, Newcastle snatched an injury-time winner to beat West Bromwich 2-1. Tottenham Hotspur outperformed Southampton with an 2-1 away victory.