Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho used the backdrop of Wednesday's meaningless 0-0 draw in the top-of-the-standings clash between champion Manchester United and his second-place Blues to rip the Premier League for its 2006-07 scheduling.

The game was a makeup of the game scheduled for April 15, on a weekend when both clubs had games in the semifinals of the FA Cup.

"The Premier League is the best in the world and it can't afford this kind of mistake, to have Chelsea v Manchester United coinciding with the FA Cup semifinals, when there is a big chance that one of the clubs would be involved," he said. "It's very, very bad. This is the game that every football fan around the world should be eating by TV but I think they changed for a soap or something more interesting."

At one point, this could have been the first of a tripleheader to decide three championships, but United clinched the EPL crown last Sunday, and United and Chelsea fell last week in the UEFA Champions League semifinals. They still meet May 19 at the new Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final.

On Wednesday, United fielded a virtual reserve team. Chelsea used 17-year-old Israeli international Ben Sahar, the 2007 Dallas Cup star who had a last-minute shot cleared off the line. Chelsea gave Scott Sinclair his first start, but the 18-year-old forward suffered a broken metatarsal and will undergo surgery later this week.