United come close to ending Chelsea's 85 game unbeaten home run - but not close enough

The first ‘real’ win of the season that Sir Alex Ferguson was so keen to secure never materialised at Stamford Bridge but the real Manchester United at least made an appearance.

After dropping points against Newcastle and producing such a desperate losing display at Liverpool, Ferguson’s side went some way to reminding us how they emerged last May as the champions of England and Europe.

It was far from pretty, their performance earning seven yellow cards and an automatic £25,000 fine as well as a precious point. 

United's Ji-Sung Park slots past Edvin van der Sar to give Sir Alex Ferguson's men a first half lead

But United will take heart from the fact that Ji-sung Park gave them a lead that lasted more than an hour, just as they should take pride in their contribution to what, for all their apparent indiscipline, was a wonderful match between the two best sides in the Barclays Premier League.

The team sheet suggested Ferguson had approached the encounter with more than a hint of trepidation and, when Mike Phelan chose to burst a balloon under his seat, United’s manager almost jumped out of his skin.

‘I wish he’d burst it under Mike Riley,’ Ferguson said, ‘it might have woken him up.’

In his players, however, there was only confidence and composure, the manner in which they responded to Ferguson’s decision to omit Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from his line-up as impressive as it was perhaps surprising to Chelsea.

The sight of Owen Hargreaves and Park on each flank suggested they were going to defend.

They did anything but, attacking with pace, purpose and precision.

Good fortune appeared to be their companion and a hugely disruptive influence for Chelsea.

First came the warm up injury preventing Deco from even starting and then one that ended Ricardo Carvalho’s afternoon after just 13 minutes.

That gave the impression that it might be United’s day, as did the moment when Joe Cole squandered the first of two easy chances.

Edwin van der Sar was so convinced there was nothing he could do he dropped to his knees, seemingly in prayer.

Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou celebrates scoring his side's equaliser

Those prayers were answered, Cole guiding his effort wide and leaving United to continue their pursuit of a win that would have ended Chelsea’s unbeaten home league run, now stretched to 85 matches.

Industry rather than invention was the order of the day and how hard United worked.

The back four were superb, Jonathan Evans coping admirably in his role as partner to Rio Ferdinand, and so were the midfielders joining tireless Wayne Rooney in battling for every ball.

Chelsea coped well in the sudden absence of Deco but they were disrupted by the fact that Michael Ballack was not fully fit.

They earned the equaliser from Salomon Kalou and probably feel miffed that a late final chance to score a decisive goal was taken away by Mike Riley’s bizarre decision to blow the final whistle when time remained on the clock, with Didier Drogba wanting a free kickafter colliding with Ferdinand.

Ferdinand was incensed as he marched off, indicating to Ferguson that the Chelsea striker had dived and apparently delivering a less than flattering verdict about the referee.

Both sides will reflect on chances missed.

Shortly before Cole wasted the first of his two sitters Rooney sent a volley wide after Dimitar Berbatov attempted to catch Petr Cech off his line.

Set up by the excellent Rooney, who was enjoying his preferred role of support striker, Ferdinand failed to punish Chelsea, albeit with a shot that forced a fine Cech save.

If Chelsea’s keeper impressed on that occasion, he did not excel two minutes later.

Errors have crept into his game and his failure to hold a Berbatov shot presented Park with his chance to score in the 18th minute. 

It was Rooney’s pass and Evra’s success in muscling past Jose Bosingwa that enabled Berbatov to shoot in the first place.

More good fortune for United followed. Riley, not having one of his better games, just about called it right when he ignored Chelsea’s penalty claims after seeing Van der Sar collide with Florent Malouda.

United survived but their keeper did not as he injured a knee in the incident.  He was replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak.

Further chances followed. Joe Cole drove a shot straight at Kuszczak and Nicolas Anelka, just two yards out, allowed a pass from Cole to slip through his legs when he seemed certain to score.

At the opposite end, Ronaldo — on for Paul Scholes — delivered a ball that Berbatov somehow missed and Rooney shot into the side-netting.

It was the inexperience of Kuszczak that ultimately cost United.

In failing to come for John Obi Mikel's 80th-minute free-kick, he allowed Kalou a free header that more than vindicated Luiz FelipeScolari’s decision to send him on and protect a superb home record.

Not quite the battle of The Bridge, but a battle nonetheless.