Man Utd 1-1

Independent:

Robin van Persie's late goal rescues a point for United

By SAM WALLACE

There are injury-time goals for Manchester United at Old Trafford that have shattered the dreams of opposing teams, and changed the course of title races, and yet for all the drama today, this was a different kind of late goal, for a different kind of United team, in a very different era.

Robin van Persie disappeared under a mound of United team-mates after his 94th-minute goal, and still had the elation coursing through him when he emerged to tear his shirt off and throw it in the air. The Old Trafford crowd were sent home with that familiar tingle of joy at a game-changing last few minutes. But this was a draw, not a victory, and the gap to Chelsearemains a formidable 10 points.

On the touchline as Old Trafford erupted in delight at the equaliser, Jose Mourinho responded with a dismissive wrinkle of the nose and a shake of the head. His team had come close to a big win, and he was furious at the decision of referee Phil Dowd to send off Branislav Ivanovic in the moments before United scored. But soon he had composed himself because, for now, a point seemed like it was enough for him.

His team had stepped it up a level in the second half, scored through the 36-year-old Didier Drogba and then held United at arm’s length for much of the rest of the game. United got out of jail. They had the better of a hectic first half but Chelsea had taken control after the break and to watch them today was to see a team ready to win a title.

For Van Gaal, United remain frustratingly short of being the sum of their parts and the Dutch coach’s jolly attitude afterwards, ticking Van Persie off for the goal celebration that got him booked, suggested that he was relieved with a point. His team had thrown everything at Chelsea in the closing stages and, man-for-man, they match up well. The simple truth is that Chelsea are a much better functioning, slicker ensemble.

Eight minutes after half-time, Drogba drifted to the near post pursued by the diminutive Rafael Da Silva who was wholly inadequate when it came to challenging one of the greatest headers of the ball the game has known. Those are the kind of details that are tripping up United at present, the sort of glitches that Mourinho has had longer to address in his own Chelsea team.

Chelsea also had the most consistently dangerous player on the pitch in Eden Hazard, whose incision through the United defence won the corner for the goal. They played without their first and second choice strikers, Diego Costa and Loïc Rémy, and in the calmer post-match atmosphere, Mourinho seemed to have assessed the result as acceptable. His unwillingness to be explicit about what he regarded as Dowd’s mistakes in the game told you that much.

As for United, they were without the injured Radamel Falcao and their best attacker was the teenager Adnan Januzaj, who came in and out of the game but delivered quality every time. As for Angel Di Maria, when he reaches full fitness, he will be extraordinary – but this could not have been him at his best. Phil Jones is injured again, and missed the game with a case of shin splints that Van Gaal said had prevented him training.

It was a wonderful first half, full of the exceptional high-quality football one would expect of these two sides, but also with the promise of a mistake that might unlock the match. Marcos Rojo gave the ball away to Willian on 34 minutes and was lucky that Chris Smalling was there to cover. Rafael got himself booked on 12 minutes, falling for one of Hazard’s oldest tricks.

There were some fine moments from United for whom Marouane Fellaini did a good job minding Cesc Fabregas in midfield. The best chance for United in the first half was Januzaj’s ball into the inside left channel to Van Persie when Thibaut Courtois was off his line so quickly he was almost at the striker’s toes when he blocked.

Drogba missed Chelsea’s best first-half chance, a shot that David De Gea stopped with his feet. Chelsea found themselves stretched in midfield, demonstrated by the booking for Nemanja Matic for his second cynical block of the half. At a Chelsea corner, the away team could have complained about the grappling of United defenders.

In the second half, Dowd’s decision to book Ivanovic on 65 minutes enraged Mourinho, and with some justification. Di Maria had tried to push the full-back away and found himself out-muscled. When the free-kick was given United’s way it appeared to be Ivanovic’s complaint that earned him a yellow card for dissent. It was to cost him later.

Thibaut Courtois saves an effort from Robin van PersieBy then, Chelsea were in the lead. On 50 minutes Hazard was through the United defence in a heartbeat, exchanging passes with Drogba and in on goal. De Gea did well to save that time but from the subsequent corner United were undone.

The home side got their marking patterns all wrong, and so it was Rafael who chased Drogba to the near post in vain, making no impact on the striker’s glancing header back into goal. Van Persie managed a touch but it was not enough to stop the ball going in. In 20 games against United it was just Drogba’s fourth goal but what a goal, and what a player – even after all these years.

Later Van Gaal explained the mis-match of Rafael marking Drogba as a necessity; he said he simply did not have enough tall players in his side. The suspicion was that one reason for Fellaini’s inclusion was to address that problem, but he could not cover all the giants in Chelsea’s team.

The big tactical switches followed the goal. Van Gaal brought off Mata for the striker James Wilson and changed to a 4-4-2. Mourinho introduced John Obi Mikel to play alongside Matic. Oscar came off and Fabregas moved into the orthodox No 10 position. The big moment came after Ivanovic’s red card, which felt like it would be the decisive moment of the game.

For Ivanovic’s second yellow card, he had caught the heels of Di Maria, who swung in the free-kick and Fellaini attacked it well. From Courtois’ fine save it spilled to Van Persie who thumped it home. This was enough for now for United, but very soon they will need more from these kind of games.


Manchester United (4-1-4-1): De Gea; Rafael, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw; Blind; Di Maria, Fellaini, Mata (Wilson, 67), Januzaj; Van Persie.

Substitutes not used: Lindegaard (gk), Carrick, Herrera, Fletcher, Blackett, Pereira.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Filipe Luis; Fabregas, Matic; Willian (Zouma, 90), Oscar (Mikel, 67), Hazard (Schurrle, 89); Drogba.

Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Ake, Salah, Baker.

Booked: Manchester United Rafael, Fellaini Chelsea Drogba, Matic, Fabregas ,Oscar, Ivanovic

Sent off: Ivanovic

Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire)

Man of the match: Hazard

Rating: 8

Attendance: 75,327


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Guardian:

Manchester United’s Robin van Persie nicks point off 10-man Chelsea

Man Utd 1 - 1 Chelsea

Daniel Taylor at Old Trafford


Now, perhaps, Louis van Gaal has a better understanding why Sir Alex Ferguson used to boast no other side on the planet had Manchester United’s penchant for late drama. They were in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Robin van Persie pulled back his left foot to rescue them and here was another moment to punish anyone who risks heading for the exits when United are chasing a game and the clock is still ticking.

George Best tried it as the 1999 Champions League final moved into extra time, with the score at 1-0 to Bayern Munich. Their latest feat of escapology ranks further down the “football, bloody hell” scale but it was still some moment and the celebration from Van Persie told its own story. He was off, running to the crowd, peeling off his shirt, throwing it high and screaming to the skies. It felt like an explosion of pent-up emotion and that small moment revealed a lot, perhaps, about this club’s inner frustrations.

Until then, it had been straying dangerously close to becoming another ordeal. They had been losing since the 53rd minute, courtesy of Didier Drogba’s first Premier League goal since March 2012, and unlike so many other United comebacks there had been no real sense this one was brewing. Chelsea were not completely coasting but United’s response to going behind had been poor and the league leaders were on the verge of moving six points clear of Southampton and eight from Manchester City. United were looking desperately short of ideas. In Van Gaal’s words: “We lost our heads.”

Out of that, they should be mightily relieved about what followed. Everything started to unravel for Chelsea once Branislav Ivanovic fouled Ángel di María on the left wing and was sent off for his second booking.

Ivanovic’s first was on the same player but it scarcely warranted a yellow card and his sense of injustice will be compounded by the fact the referee, Phil Dowd, really should have awarded a penalty in his favour earlier in the match. As Ivanovic seethed in the tunnel, Di Maria whipped in the free-kick. Marouane Fellaini’s header was brilliantly saved by Thibaut Courtois but the rebound fell for Van Persie and he was on it in a flash. The power in his shot made it unstoppable.

Van Gaal was notably unenthused about his team’s performance, bemused to hear them being praised on television, and revealing that he had scolded his players because “normally you have to play your best against the best teams”. He was also unimpressed with Van Persie’s celebration, describing it as “stupid” because it had invited Dowd to show his yellow card again.

There was, however, something to admire about United’s perseverance and, though Chelsea had controlled large swathes of the game, the statistics backed up Van Gaal’s point that the home side had created more scoring opportunities. There was encouragement in the form of Luke Shaw and some nice flashes from another 19-year-old, Adnan Januzaj, higher up their left side. Van Persie looked sharper than he has done for a while and Di María never stopped wanting the ball even on a day when he flickered only sporadically.

Equally, there were sustained periods when Chelsea showed they are by far the more rounded team. Diego Costa had not recovered from his hamstring problems but Eden Hazard was superb on the left and it was his link-up with Drogba, culminating in a brilliant save from David de Gea, that led to the corner for their goal.

Fellaini’s close attentions meant Cesc Fàbregas could not exert his usual influence but Nemanja Matic was the driving force in midfield, quick to the ball, strong in the tackle, and one of the reasons, undoubtedly, why Van Gaal commented afterwards that United always seem to be smaller than their opponents.

That disparity cost United for Drogba’s goal and it was certainly a peculiar tactic that the man deployed with marking Chelsea’s scorer was their smallest defender, Rafael da Silva, giving away 16 centimetres in height. Until that point, Van Gaal’s team had shown a greater understanding of defence than has been seen at other times this season. Yet this was inexplicable. Van Persie could not keep out the ball on the goalline and Drogba, 37 on his next birthday, was running to the Chelsea fans for one of those look‑at‑me knee-slides that seemed to have been consigned to the past.

Seven of the game’s 10 bookings went to Chelsea, meaning the club will automatically be fined, but Mourinho’s real grievance went back to that moment late in the first half when another corner went into United’s penalty area and Marcos Rojo bundled John Terry to the floor while Chris Smalling was guilty of an even more blatant piece of illegal grappling on Ivanovic. Referees have been encouraged to penalise these type of offences and Chelsea were entitled to feel hard done by.

Maybe the home side might have done more to trouble Chelsea’s defence if Radamel Falcao had not suffered a training-ground injury and Wayne Rooney were not suspended. Yet Van Gaal’s reaction confirmed their imperfections are still widespread. The strange thing is that the late onslaught that might have been expected never really materialised. It was more a case of one free-kick, in a dangerous area, and a touch of fortune that when Fellaini’s header came back off Courtois it landed exactly where Van Persie wanted it.

Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)


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Telegraph:


High drama at Old Trafford as Didier Drogba's strike is cancelled out by Robin van Persie scores injury-time equaliser

Chelsea never really parked the bus here but they did get caught on a double yellow. When Branislav Ivanovic was dismissed for a second bookable offence three minutes into injury time, Manchester United seized the moment, equalising through Robin van Persie, sparking euphoric scenes spiced with relief.

The draw stopped Chelsea accelerating six points clear at the top of the Premier League but they stay in the driving seat, remain the best side in the land, remain unbeaten and – to no great surprise – have found a useful understudy goalscoring centre-forward in Didier Drogba in the absence of the injured Diego Costa and Loïc Rémy.

Making his 350th appearance for Chelsea, Drogba seems to be reliving his first Chelsea era in reverse, converting a penalty against Maribor last week in an echo of the 2012 Cham­pions League final shoot-out, and now scoring with a flicked header from a corner, again reviving memories of his equaliser in Munich.

Chelsea ultimately paid the price for the mounting number of cautions, numbering seven by the denouement, including Ivanovic’s two bookings, one for dissent following a foul on Ángel Di María and the second for that injury-time trip on the Argentine. This was hardly indicative of a cynical concerted strategy from Jose Mourinho’s side as some United fans suspected, more individuals making snap-decisions to stop opponents in the heat of the moment.

As well as Ivanovic’s two offences, Drogba illegally stopped Juan Mata breaking upfield, Nemanja Matic prevented Van Persie advancing, Cesc Fabregas fouled the dribbling Mata, Oscar caught Chris Smalling as the defender moved forward while Eden Hazard went in forcefully on Rafael. Phil Dowd administered three yellow cards to United for Rafael pulling back Hazard, Marouane Fellaini fouling Hazard and then that infuriating sanction of a booking for a player removing his shirt in celebrating a goal. Not that Van Persie will worry.

Dowd’s refereeing strayed into the realms of controversy only in the first half when he failed to punish some wrestling antics by United players at a Chelsea corner that would have had Michael Oliver donning a black cap.

Oliver awarded Swansea City a penalty a week ago after Stoke City’s captain, Ryan Shawcross, pulled over Wilfried Bony. It was the correct decision but inevitably demanding other officials follow suit to be consistent.

When Fabregas curled a free-kick in, Marcos Rojo hauled down John Terry while the wrestling match intensified with Smalling pulling Ivanovic away from the incoming ball. Dowd saw nothing wrong. Ivanovic was incensed, appealing almost manically.

The next conversation that Stoke City’s manager, Mark Hughes, has with Mike Riley of Professional Game Match Officials Limited should be lively. So should Mourinho’s.

Whatever Mourinho’s frustrations, and he just about managed to resist venting his spleen afterwards, Louis van Gaal’s side deserved this point.

It was honours even between the two friends and coaches. Mourinho was greeted by a warm, almost emotional embrace from Van Gaal and a tribute in the programme in which the Dutchman described his former assistant coach at Barcelona as now a “great” manager.

Such is Mourinho’s kudos that taking a point off him is often considered a feather in a coach’s cap.

Those questioning Van Gaal’s ability to turn United around will note that the team are a point worse off after nine games than under David Moyes, who endured a tougher opening run of fixtures, and Van Gaal’s side have to travel to City next weekend. Yet the Dutchman’s vaunted pedigree guarantees him the time to work on reviving United. He has enjoyed success all over, building and organising sides, although he probably requires at least one more major transfer window here to address the defence.

A point can become a turning point for United only if Van Gaal can drill the defence better, instilling greater organisation and powers of concentration. There were positives in defence including Smalling, a quick, composed presence in replacing the injured Phil Jones, and Luke Shaw, who got forward well and executed one exceptional tackle on Willian. David De Gea continued to impress.

Yet Rojo resembles a bemused tourist struggling with a new language; the Argentine earned many good reviews at the World Cup and will surely come good with more practice, and United having a more settled back-line. Rafael was spooked early on by Hazard, booked, and never fully recovered.

After that, the first-half sparring contained occasional other noteworthy incidents. Di María blazed over. Adnan Januzaj threaded a fine pass down the inside-left channel to Van Persie. The Dutchman’s first-time shot would have beaten a lesser keeper but Courtois anticipated brilliantly, racing out and blocking. Chelsea’s goalkeeper then held another effort from Van Persie.

Mistakes continued to scar parts of United’s play. When Rojo gave the ball away cheaply, Willian ran through and only Smalling’s pace and awareness rescued United.

Chelsea began fuming at Dowd over his inability or unwillingness to get to grips with the grapplers.

Yet the sense that Chelsea were quietly building continued. As the first half closed, Oscar ran through, ignoring Hazard’s progress to the near-post, and cutting the ball back to Drogba, whose strong shot was saved athletically by De Gea.

Six minutes into the second period, United’s keeper denied Hazard who had played a high-speed 1-2 with Drogba. The danger never ebbed, Chelsea punishing lax marking at the ensuing corner. As Fabregas swung the ball towards the near-post, Drogba made his move, flicking the header powerfully goalwards. The ball clipped Van Persie and flew in. It was horrific defending by United, particularly the inexplicable thought process that had little Rafael tracking mighty Drogba. Rafael is 1.73 metres, 15 centimetres shorter than Drogba. It was a total mismatch, and the inevitable long and short of it all was that Drogba easily won that duel.

Just as Drogba, 36, revived memories of past glories with his powerful header, so United rolled back the years with a late flourish worthy of the Sir Alex Ferguson years. They still had to survive further scares. Chelsea almost added a second, Ivanovic shooting wide.

Mourinho tried to lock the game down, sending on John Obi Mikel for Oscar, then André Schürrle for Hazard and the centre-half Kurt Zouma for Willian.

United fought their way out of the straitjacket. Van Persie turned Gary Cahill but his shot was saved by Courtois. United were getting frantic, even Ryan Giggs sprinting from the dug-out down the line to collect a loose ball.

And then came that mistake by Ivanovic, tripping Di María. As Ivanovic made the short walk to the tunnel in front of a crowing Stretford End, Di Mara swept the ball across, Courtois thwarted Fellaini but Van Persie reacted best, firing the ball left-footed in to spark a wild celebration.

Mourinho was left shaking his head, having a quiet word with the fourth official, Chris Foy, before seeking out his old mentor, Van Gaal, for another embrace and handshake.

Chelsea departed annoyed at the late lapse but they continue to dominate the high ground of the Premier League. United still have a lot of climbing to do.


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Times:

Cruel end halts Chelsea procession

Oliver Kay

Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1


The relief that greeted Robin van Persie’s late, late equaliser yesterday was felt beyond Old Trafford. It was an important goal for Manchester United, but it was also highly significant for the Barclays Premier League title race, which Chelsea have been threatening to turn into a procession.

Until Van Persie struck at the Stretford End in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Chelsea were on course to move six points clear of second-placed Southampton, eight points clear of Manchester City and 13 points clear of United after just nine matches. That dramatic swipe of Van Persie’s left boot brought wild celebrations from the Stretford End and a contemptuous shake of the head from José Mourinho on the touchline, but this still felt like an afternoon when Chelsea made an ominous statement of intent.

Didier Drogba’s 53rd-minute goal had been followed by almost 40 minutes of textbook defending from a Mourinho side: compact, resilient and, yes, at times rather cynical, as a soaring yellow-card count indicated. Branislav Ivanovic had been excellent, but his trip on Ángel Di María resulted in a red card, his second bookable offence, and the free kick from which Van Persie scored after Marouane Fellaini’s header was saved by the unfortunate Thibaut Courtois.

It was harsh in the context of Chelsea’s second-half performance, in which they appeared to have sucked all the belief out of United, but it is the second time in recent weeks that a trip to Manchester has resulted in the concession of a late equaliser — this one celebrated by Van Persie with rather more delight than Frank Lampard felt upon denying his former club at the Etihad Stadium a month ago. Those two goals, from Lampard and Van Persie, represent the only small dents in Chelsea’s title challenge so far.

As Mourinho shook his head on the touchline, Louis van Gaal, his former mentor, looked almost impassive, but the United manager must have been hugely relieved. Their first-half performance had brought encouragement, but they had been outwitted and outfought in the second period, their limitations exposed by what is, at present, a far superior Chelsea team. Whatever the Van Persie goal signifies for the longer term, it seems unlikely to be the catalyst for a title challenge this season.

Speaking at a book launch in London last night, Sir Alex Ferguson was not exactly effusive in his assessment of United’s progress so far under Van Gaal — “a little bit one step forward, two steps back”, “at times we’re fragile at the back” — but he is right.

A haul of 13 points from nine matches, with careless defending a near-constant feature, would cause considerable concern with a less experienced manager at the helm or indeed if similar inconsistencies had not also been shown by, for example, Arsenal and Liverpool. For United, one of the big difficulties so far this season has been in finding a balance between defence and attack.

For the first half yesterday, they were much better in that regard, even if there was always the feeling that a brittle defensive structure — Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo in central defence, Fellaini and Daley Blind in front of them — would crumble if subjected to serious pressure.

As it was, United kept Chelsea at arm’s length for 45 minutes. Cesc Fàbregas completed only five passes in the first half, something that had much to do with the persistent attention of Fellaini in a man-marking role that brought perhaps his best United performance to date. Eden Hazard was a captivating sight in possession, dribbling away from opponents, but rarely in the first half did he inflict any damage in dangerous areas. That came later.

Neither Smalling nor Rojo convinced at the heart of the United defence, but Chelsea’s only real opportunity of the first half came when Drogba, from Oscar’s cut-back, had a shot well saved by David De Gea. Drogba, deputising for the injured Diego Costa, was looking his age at that point. Chelsea’s main threat before half-time came from dead-ball situations, hence their frustration when Phil Dowd failed to spot that John Terry and Ivanovic had been held by Rojo and Smalling respectively from Fàbregas’s corner in the 36th minute.

At the other end, United threatened on the counter-attack, but, with Di María and Juan Mata less precise than usual, the liveliest of their attacking players was Adnan Januzaj, who produced a clever pass to set up Van Persie midway through the first half, only for Courtois to make a fine save. Januzaj also threatened when found by Mata, but he shot into the side-netting.

Having appeared to rise to the challenge in the first half, though, United were unable to respond when Chelsea raised their game after the restart. The warning signs were there when Drogba, Ivanovic, Oscar and Hazard combined on 49 minutes, prompting a desperate saving tackle from Rafael Da Silva.

As against Arsenal recently, Chelsea’s breakthrough stemmed from a wonderful piece of improvisation from Hazard. Eight minutes into the second half, he dribbled away from Di María and Mata in the inside-left channel, switched the ball to Drogba and waited for the return pass, which was superb. With his next touch, Hazard shimmied away from Smalling and bore down on De Gea, who denied him with an excellent save. From the resulting corner, Drogba outjumped Rafael — no surprise there — and scored with a header that neither De Gea nor Van Persie, on the line, could keep out.

For almost 40 minutes after that, an away win looked inevitable. There are few teams better than Chelsea when it comes to defending a lead and, as John Obi Mikel and Kurt Zouma were sent on to add to their sense of impregnability, there seemed no way back into the game for United. Hope only returned for the home team deep into stoppage time when Ivanovic was sent off. From Di María’s free kick, Fellaini leapt highest, forcing a fine save from Courtois, and Van Persie did the rest. The Chelsea bandwagon had been held up, but for how long?


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Mail:

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: Robin van Persie bags 94th minute equaliser after Didier Drogba looked to have come back with a bang

By Martin Samuel


They celebrated as if this was the turning point. Last minute Manchester United, twice in a week, back to their best. Hardly.

They got away with it. A scramble from a questionable free-kick in the fourth minute of injury time, lashed in by Robin van Persie. A red card for Branislav Ivanovic that most certainly wasn’t, and a rejected Chelsea penalty claim that gets more plausible with each viewing.

This wasn’t United at their best, but perhaps their most fortunate. Jose Mourinho had too much respect for his mentor, Louis van Gaal, to make his displeasure public when they came together on the sidelines. His face as the goal went in said it all, though. He screwed up his features as if encountering a bad smell. It was the expression of a man who thought he was robbed. Probably, he was.

Not hugely. This wasn’t grand larceny. Chelsea were not many goals better than United, they did not thrash them, or put them away. But a 1-0 win would have been about fair. Chelsea were better organised, stronger defensively, executed their game plan, and shaded the action.

To United’s credit, however, they did not give up, displaying the spirit that saw them through at West Bromwich Albion last Monday, and they deserve praise for that. It says much about their development, though, that this point at home was celebrated like a far greater affair, the United players forming a pyramid of jubilation on Van Persie as Chelsea despaired. Ivanovic, by now down the tunnel, will have known what had happened by the cacophony. The sense of injustice would have been quite raw.

Would Chelsea have hung on with 11? We can never know. The fact is, it never helps to defend with 10, and Ivanovic is a significant presence during set-pieces at either end. Perhaps Chelsea lost a little concentration, too, when Phil Dowd issued his seventh yellow card to a blue shirt. It did not seem a particularly dirty game, either.

To make one thing clear: Angel di Maria did not dive to win the foul. Ivanovic clipped his heel on the run, and he tripped. He did not cheat. It did not look intentional, but there was contact and that makes it a free-kick. Intent does not come into this. Even if Ivanovic merely mis-stepped the onus is on him not to be clumsy. So United’s drink in the last-chance saloon was at least deserved.

The booking, less so. There are too many dirty, dangerous challenges going unpunished in the English game for this to be yellow-card material. So Chelsea should have had the full complement on the pitch when Di Maria’s free-kick came in. Whether that would have made the difference, who knows?

As it was, United’s best player on the day, Marouane Fellaini, won the header, Thibaut Courtois made the save, and the ball fell to Van Persie, who buried ferociously it on instinct alone. There was no time for any more drama, and a result that would have pleased both sides before the game had the feeling of a United victory and a Chelsea defeat. Yet is that the positive it sounds? There was a time when Old Trafford would have been disappointed at two home points dropped in this fixture. Now it provokes a fiesta.

The turning points of the match? Chelsea will cite Ivanovic’s first booking and the spurned penalty appeal, although neither come with a guarantee. For the first, Ivanovic certainly seemed to hand off Di Maria, but the United man was trying to do the same to him. It is hardly Ivanovic’s fault that he won this particular trial of strength and, even if Dowd considered it worthy of a foul, it surely wasn’t a booking. Maybe, though, Ivanovic talked his way into trouble with his protests. If so, he was foolish.

As for the penalty that wasn’t, Dowd merits a small degree of sympathy. Closer inspection suggests Marcos Rojo had John Terry by the neck, and Chris Smalling was doing a similar job on Ivanovic as Cesc Fabregas’s first-half corner came in. But there is so much grappling in the box these days that the referee possibly viewed it as a fair fight, with the entire quartet offending. When Gary Neville says United got away with one, however, it is worth considering that Chelsea had a case.

The real victim here, though: Chelsea’s third-choice striker. Without Manchester United’s equaliser and Ivanovic’s red, the headlines would have belonged to Didier Drogba, as Chelsea’s match-winner. Life in the old Drog yet. Who would have thought it?

Rejoining in the summer, Drogba was considered to be on very much a sentimental journey under Mourinho. We should have known Chelsea’s manager does not do sentiment, even in mellowed middle age. Shorn of Diego Costa with a virus and his understudy Loic Remy, injured against Maribor, Mourinho sent Drogba into the fray, kept him there for 90 minutes, and watched in quiet vindication as he all but won the match.

One mighty leap in the 53rd minute took him above Manchester United’s puny defence and should have given Chelsea a six-point lead over their rivals. What has he got to offer? A muscular presence and eye for the main chance that may never be dulled by the years. Drogba is 36. He could be 86, and you would still fancy him to outjump Rafael from a Fabregas corner, which is what happened.

Quite why Van Gaal chose his right back to go against Drogba from a dead ball, who can say?

It was a mismatch of fantastic proportions. David versus Goliath, except some prankster has taken David’s sling shots and replaced them with marshmallows.

Seconds earlier, Drogba had signalled the spark that remains, playing a delightful one-two to send Eden Hazard sprinting beyond United’s defence, only for a fabulous David de Gea save to keep him out. It was from this corner that Chelsea scored. De Gea deserved more; United didn’t.

Fabregas whipped it, Drogba got the glancing header, Van Persie could not do enough to stop its progress to goal. Mourinho 1 Van Gaal 0. No, of course he doesn’t do sentiment. Leading his mentor by a single goal, Mourinho then tried to shut up shop, introducing an increasing number of defence-minded players as the minutes leaked away.

Fools will say Chelsea paid the price for being negative. Only an numbskull goes gung-ho leading by a goal at Old Trafford with 15 minutes remaining, though.

Can United build on this? Van Gaal will hope so. He will be buoyed, too, by the first-half performance of Adnan Januzaj, who was at the centre of most of United’s best work.

In the 23rd minute, he threaded a lovely pass through to Van Persie, whose shot was smothered by Courtois, one on one. At the other end, Drogba forced an equally fine save from De Gea, with his legs. Honours even? Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, you know. Either way, it’s a start.


MATCH FACTS

Man Utd: De Gea 6.5, Rafael 6, Smalling 7, Rojo 7, Shaw 6.5, Blind 6, Januzaj 5.5, Fellaini 6.5, Mata 4.5 (Wilson 65 – 6), Di Maria 7, Van Persie 7.

Subs not used: Lindegaard, Carrick, Herrera, Fletcher, Blackett, Pereira

Booked: Rafael, Fellaini, van Persie.

Goal: Van Persie 90+4

Manager: Louis van Gaal 6

Chelsea: Courtois 7, Ivanovic 5, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Luis 6.5, Fabregas 7, Matic 6.5, Willian 6 (Zouma 90 – 6), Oscar 6.5 (Mikel 65 – 6.5), Hazard 7 (Schurrle 89 – 6), Drogba 7.5

Subs not used: Cech, Zouma, Ake, Mikel, Schurrle, Salah, Baker.

Booked: Fabregas, Matic, Oscar, Hazard, Drogba.

Sent off: Ivanovic.

Goal: Drogba 53

Manager: Jose Mourinho 7

Ratings by Neil Ashton

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Mirror:

The Dutch striker earned Louis van Gaal's men a share of the spoils with a 93rd minute equaliser to deny the league leaders another victory

Alex Richards


Robin van Persie smashed home a 93rd minute equaliser to earn Manchester United a 1-1 draw against Premier League leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Having twice been denied by saves from the excellent Thibaut Courtois, the Dutch striker finally got the better of the brilliant Belgian, rifling in a close range rebound after Courtois had made a diving save to deny Marouane Fellaini.

The Blues had looked set to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League - and eight clear of champions Manchester City - after Didier Drogba's 52nd minute header.

The 36-year-old met Cesc Fabregas' inswinging corner with a towering leap and a bullet his effort goalwards, leaving David De Gea with no chance to react.

For much of the match Jose Mourinho's men had looked like champions-elect, but after Branislav Ivanovic's 93rd minute booking saw him sent off for two yellow cards, van Persie's strike meant they dropped points for just the second time this term.

Defence hasn't been the order of the day for United so far during van Gaal's reign, so it was little surprise to see them attack from the outset. However, with Chelsea lacking their leading marksmen Diego Costa, perhaps it was surprising to see the Blues immediately look to take the game to their hosts.

As such, a breathless start ensued, with the first chance falling to the feet of Angel Di Maria just four minutes in.

Breaking from a Chelsea set-piece, the Argentine led the attack, thrusting down the right before the ball was worked across the field. Some 20 yards from goal in a central position, Juan Mata clipped a wonderfully disguised pass past the Chelsea back line; alas, Di Maria skied his attempted volley.

Jose Mourinho served notice of his side's attacking ambitions by selecting his attacking midfield trio of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian in support of Drogba. Hazard, scorer of two goals in the Champions League in midweek,wasted little time in asking questions of United right-back Rafael, who was booked for tugging back the Belgian with just 12 minutes on the clock. Similarly, referee Phil Dowd booked Drogba for a trip on former teammate Mata eight minutes later.

Chelsea forced five corners in the opening 20 minutes, but it was noticeable how quickly United looked to break after De Gea caught the last, and the Spaniard's use of the ball almost lent itself to the home side taking a 23rd minute lead.

Sweeping up field after the keeper's quick distribution, Adnan Januzaj advanced down the left and prised open a static Blues defence with a clever pass. However, Robin van Persie, having timed his run across the 18-yard line well, saw his left-footed effort turned away by Courtois, who had quickly sprung from his line to narrow the angle. Less than 30 seconds later, the Dutchman was again denied by the giant keeper, a looped header comfortably held by the Chelsea stopper.

Pre-game, much had been made of Chelsea's height advantage and how it could prove crucial where set-pieces were concerned. However, when you don't allow players to jump via nefarious means - and the referee waves away subsequent appeals -  it negates such problems, as Chris Smalling found after appearing to haul down Ivanovic when the Serbian looked set to tap home and give the away side the lead.

Five minutes before half-time, Mourinho's men came close once more, through their elder statesman Drogba. A long ball from Ivanovic was poorly-dealt with by Marcos Rojo, and when the loose ball fell to Oscar, he cut back for the veteran forward, who was denied by the legs of De Gea.

There would have been little need for either manager to be anything other than pleased with their side at half-time, but perhaps Mourinho would have liked his league leaders to take greater control of proceedings and exert themselves with added authority.

Certainly they started the second half quickly and within seven minutes they had the lead.

After Hazard was denied from point-blank range by De Gea when clean through on goal, Drogba powered the resultant corner into the back of the net, having escaped his marker, Rafael.

It was the Ivorian's first Premier League goal since his summer return and the Blues height advantage had been made to count.

The goal knocked the stuffing out of United and Chelsea looked keen to build on their lead. Willian fired a 25-yard effort that was well held by De Gea and the Blues began to move the ball with added swagger - and against less resistance.

Van Gaal's response to seeing his side fall behind was introducing the promising 18-year-old forward James Wilson, at the expense of Mata, whose impact had been fitful. Simultaneously, his former Barcelona assistant sought to stiffen his side's midfield, replacing Oscar with Jon Obi Mikel.

Yet Chelsea had little intention of sitting on a one-goal lead and the objective of furthering their advantage was personified by the powerful forward runs of Ivanovic, who after slaloming through a couple of challenges drilled across goal. The ever-willing Willian also went close, curling wide after cutting in from the left.

By now Chelsea looked comfortable, with Fabregas and Matic winning the midfield battle against Fellaini and the anonymous Daley Blind, while Di Maria had become a peripheral figure. In truth, with 15 minutes remaining, there had been little response from the hosts to falling behind.

With 12 minutes to go, van Persie was again denied by Courtois, seeing a low drive blocked by the keeper's massive frame, while moments later youngster Wilson showed his poacher's instincts, meeting Rafael's cross with a looping header, which landed on the roof of the net.

Courtois' goal - indeed his entire penalty box - is beginning to acquire an air of invincibility. It's little wonder he was rated as La Liga's best in each of the last two seasons.

However, after Ivanovic had been sent off in the 92nd minute for a second yellow, Chelsea's cloak of invincibility slipped.

Di Maria's free-kick from wide on the left was headed goalward by Fellaini - left unmarked after Ivanovic's dismissal - forcing Courtois into an excellent diving save, only for van Persie to blast home the rebound.

Resilience and late goals were both specialist subjects at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson. They'll be nice habits for van Gaal to bring back.

Teams

Manchester United: De Gea; Rafael, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw; Di Maria, Blind, Fellaini, Januzaj; Mata; van Persie (c)

Subs: Wilson (Mata 66)

Chelsea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Filipe Luis; Fabregas, Matic; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Drogba

Subs: Mikel (Oscar 66), Schurrle (Hazard 85), Zouma (Willian 90)


Martin Lipton's analysis

Out of nothing, salvation. In the third minute of stoppage time.

Mourinho was disgusted when Ivanovic was deemed to have fouled Di Maria, earning his second booking.

The Blues boss then simply shook his head in disbelief as Courtois' stunning save from Fellaini counted for nothing as Van Persie rammed home the rebound.

United will know they got away with one. This game seemed dead and buried with Chelsea seemingly cruising after Drogba's header on the hour.

For all United's endeavour – with Fellaini and Rafael the pick of the bunch – they rarely looked likely to get more from the game.

Courtois saved twice from Van Persie but De Gea was the busier, unquestionably.

In too many areas, Chelsea were simply better. But one goal is a slender advantage, proven at the death.


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Express:

Man Utd 1 - Chelsea 1: Van Persie rescues LVG as Mourinho's Blues stutter in title race

Richard Tanner


During David Moyes' ill-fated season in charge and in the early weeks of Louis Van Gaal stewardship, Man United'stendency was to fade away in games.

But Robin Van Persie's added time equaliser yesterday - following on from Daley Blind's late leveller at West Brom on Monday - showed that while their defence continues to look vulnerable and they are wasting too many chances, they have, at least, got back their old resilience and fighting spirit.

And this result could just prove the "Juventus moment" Louis Van Gaal has been looking for to provide his re-modelled team with a belated lift-off for their season.

In his first few difficult months at Bayern Munich he had to wait for his players to produce a stunning Champions League victory in Turin in the late autumn to validate his philosophy.

This performance hardly matched that victory in terms of quality but in terms of confidence it could do wonders for United - especially with the Manchester derby derby looming at the Etihad stadium on Sunday.

Until that fourth minute of added time, a trademark Didier Drogba goal appeared to have put the seal on a trademark Chelsea away performance.

For a quarter of an hour after Drogba headed home from Cesc Fabregas' corner in the 53rd minutes, United looked lost - like so many teams have when trailing Chelsea, usually the masters of seeing a game out from a winningposition.

But they kept plugging away and their efforts were rewarded in a controversial final few seconds.

Branislav Ivanovic was sent off for a second caution for clipping Angel Di Maria's heels - only he will now if it was accidental or not. That followed a booking apparently for dissent after Di Maria had gone easily after feeling a touch on his shoulder from the Chelsea defender.

To compound Chelsea's misfortune, Ivanovic's aerial presence was missed when Di Maria floated in the free-kick. Serb Ivanovic would have marked Fellaini but the big Belgian was able to power in a header that Thibault Courtois could only block allowing Van Persie to ram home the rebound.

The goal was something of an act of redemption for Fellaini and Van Persie. Fellaini should have picked up Drogba for his goal but a mix-up in communication left the diminutive Rafael to try and out-muscle the Chelesea's giant striker. It was no contest. Drogba gave him a shove, gained a yard and glanced in Fabregas' inswinger, evoking memories of his Champions League final winner in Munich in 2012.

Van Persie could have blocked the header had he not strayed away from his sentry duty on the near post, the ball deflecting in off his head.

The goal was like seeing a ghost from the past for United. Remember, Drogba scored the winner in the 2007 FA Cup final as well what was effectively a title-clinching goal at Old Trafford in 2010.

That Drogba's first Premier League goal of his second spell with Chelsea came from a set-piece came as little surprise because United lived on their nerves every time the ball was played into their area. Chelsea had two clear appeals for penalties turned down with Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling wrestling John Terry and Ivanovic to the ground respectively from the same Fabregas delivery in the first half.

It not only needs 20-20 vision by referees to award spot kicks in those circumstances but also bravery because it happens so often in every game.

In the final analysis a draw was a fair result but Chelsea left frustrated at the end despite maininting their unbeaten start and stretching their lead to three points at the top of the table. Twice now they have led games in Manchester this season and been pegged back to draws.

Had they not just sat on their lead but kept pressing United, they would almost certainly haave come away with three points.

Twice United needed the heroics of David De Gea to deny Chelsea. In the first half he stopped Drogba's first time shot and seconds before the goal he produced a magnifcent save to stop the impressive Eden Hazard. He also produced more acrobatics to stop a long-range from Willian.

Thibault Courtois was as impressive at the other end, twice denying Van Persie but he could nothing about the Dutchman's added time strike that would certainly have earned cheers in the blue half of Manchester as well.

Man Utd (4-1-4-1): De Gea 8; Rafael 6, Smalling 6, Rojo 6, Shaw 6; Blind 6; Di Maria 5, Mata 6 Wilson 67, 6), Fellaini 7, Januzaj 7; Van Persie 7.

Goals: Van Persie 90.

Booked: Rafael, Fellaini.

Next up: Sunday - Man City (a) PL.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois 8; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Filipe Luis 6; FÃ bregas 6, Matic 8; Oscar 6 (Mikel 67, 5); Willian 6 (Zouma 90), Drogba 7, Hazard 9 (Schurrle 90).

Goal: Drogba 53.

Booked: Drogba, Matic, Fabregas, Oscar, Ivanovic, Hazard.

Sent off: Ivanovic.

Next up: Tomorrow (Tues) Shrewsbury (a) Capital One Cup.

Referee: P. Dowd (Staffs).


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Star:

Man Utd 1 - Chelsea 1: Robin van Persie strikes at death to snatch point off 10-man Blues

David Woods

In the third minute of added-time it was looking like United were going to find out again you can't keep a good Drog down, after Didier Drogba scored another key goal against them.

But then, an afternoon when the Blues committed cynical fouls aplenty - something Arsenal's Arsene Wenger had moaned so much about earlier this month - Branislav Ivanovic brought down Angel Di Maria on the left wing.

It turned out to be costly when referee Phil Down reached for a yellow card, the SEVENTH time he'd decided to do so after a Blues foul.

It was the Serbian's second, so off he went and, with the game in the fourth and final minute of stoppage-time, Di Maria drove in the free-kick.

One man down, Jose Mourinho's men were exposed and Marouane Fellaini, United's best player, glanced a powerful header goalwards.

The Londoners' inspired young keeper Thibaut Courtois kept it out with an excellent save, but his parry went straight to the left foot of Robin van Persie, who smashed in to convert his third good chance of the match.

Wenger, if he was watching, would not doubt have thoroughly enjoyed seeing his former star striker punish Chelsea and deprive them of two vital points.

To be fair to Chelsea, the Red Devils were no angels either, being pulled up for 13 fouls, one less than the visitors.

But Louis van Gaal and his men will come away from this match, which was engrossing if not thrilling, the happier after their great escape, which ensured Mourinho's teamhave just a four-point lead at the top.

United are eighth, 10 points behind.

Up until Van Persie's rescue job, it had looked as if Drogba was going to claim a third VITAL goal against United.

The 36-year-old does not have the greatest of goal-scoring records against United, but, boy, when he gets one it usual counts for plenty.

Yesterday was only his fourth strike against United in 20 appearances against them, with none of the goals coming at Stamford Bridge.

In the 2007 FA Cup Final against United he claimed the only goal of the match in extra-time and in April 2010 he came off the bench to claim what turned out to be the winner in a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

It also won them the title as Carlo Ancelotti's team ended the season on top just a point ahead of United.

The only time he has notched and the Blues have failed to get anything from it was the Champions League quarter-final, second leg in 2011 when a 2-1 defeat saw them crash out to Sir Alex Ferguson's outfit.

Drogba, playing only due to injuries to Diego Costa and Loic Remy, struck in the 53rd minute after David De Gea did superbly to turn round Eden Hazard's shot for a corner.

Drogba had played him through into the box in a clever one-two and from Cesc Fabregas' corner he dashed in front of Rafael and glanced a powerful header, which Van Persie failed miserably to keep out standing near, but not on, the line.

It looked like it was going to be a rotten afternoon for Van Persie and his countryman Louis van Gaal.

Van Persie, in the 13th minute, had been played clean through by Adnan Januzaj but Courtois stretched out a long leg to deny him.

The Belgium stopper also used a leg to keep out Van Persie in the 79th minute, with De Gea pulling off a similar save to thwart Drogba in the 41st minute.

In the end it was all-square, although how Chelsea did not get a penalty in the first half when first Ivanovic and John Terry were grabbed round the neck by Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling only Dowd can say.

It was probably a fair result and one which ensured Van Gaal and his former apprentice Mourinho could both hold their heads high.

But it still looks like Mourinho will prove to be the master when it comes to who wins the title.