Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford, in an entertaining and end-to-end Premier League clash.
The Blues arrived for the second of four matches Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of before handing the reins over to our new permanent head coach, Ruben Amorim, whose arrival we announced earlier this week.
In the Dutchman's first game he secured a 5-2 victory against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, and he maintained his unbeaten record in the dugout despite having to share the spoils with the west Londoners on this occasion.
We were still in stalemate at the interval, but went ahead via a penalty from Bruno Fernandes, after Robert Sanchez had fouled Rasmus Hojlund.
The game felt destined to end even though and Moises Caicedo's volley four minutes later, after United had only half cleared a corner, pegged us back.
FIRST HALF - NOTHING TO SEPARATE
The Reds started with the same intensity that van Nistelrooy enjoyed against the Foxes, pressing the Blues high and giving their defenders plenty to think about in the early moments.
Enzo Maresca's side proved they had plenty of attacking threat of their own, however, before 10 minutes had elapsed in the game.
Caicedo seized the ball inside United's half and immediately offloaded it to Cole Palmer, who was entering the box. Matthijs de Ligt stood strong to see it behind for a corner, but it was an early reminder of the tough test ahead.
That chance gave the visitors a foothold in the game and Noni Madueke almost broke the deadlock, nodding a Palmer corner on to the post from the front of a crowded six-yard box.
There was more danger in front of our goal when Andre Onana played a short pass to Casemiro with three blue shirts closing in on the defender, but thankfully crisis was averted.
It seemed to shake the Reds up slightly as, in the blink of an eye, Bruno Fernandes was at the other end, whipping a ball in from the right, towards the head of Hojlund — but it was neatly intercepted at the last second by Sanchez.
Marcus Rashford then tried his luck from the opposite flank shortly afterwards, neutralising Malo Gusto with a piece of skill that left the full-back bewildered, but Sanchez managed to get in the way again when our no.10 tried to flash it across goal, and Fernandes put the rebound over.
Late action followed at both ends, first from a close-range Fernandes free-kick which was met by the wall, before the Blues had two midfield runs stopped by Ugarte and Dalot, and we waved goodbye to the opening 45 minutes with a first-time hit by Rashford at the far post that clipped the bar as the referee's whistle sounded.
Both teams had created chances but, in truth, neither had a strong claim to deserving the lead at the interval.
SECOND HALF - SHARING THE SPOILS
The second half started with a similar energy to the first. There was no shortage of intensity or creativity, but neither side had a solid grip on the game.
A microcosm of that was captured in the 55th minute with the ball left bouncing between the two sides near the halfway line. Chelsea were first to get it under control, switching it to Pedro Neto on the opposite side, who flashed an effort inches wide of Onana's post, delivering another warning to the Reds that any lapse can be punished.
Rashford, who had been United's most promising outlet for much of the first hour, made a similar point at the other end minutes later, first sweeping an unanswered ball across the Blues' penalty area, before letting off a shot of his own from the edge of the box following the resulting corner — gratefully clutched by Sanchez.
United had another break in the 65th minute, this time Fernandes advancing down the right, before cutting back to an unmarked Alejandro Garnacho in the middle. The Argentinian, unfortunately, couldn't get his feet sorted in time and his effort fell straight to the Chelsea keeper.
Five minutes later, Casemiro lifted a pass over the Chelsea defence that was expertly controlled by Hojlund, drawing the attention of Sanchez, who ultimately tripped the Dane in the box.
The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and our captain wrong-footed the goalkeeper, rolling the ball into the opposite side of the net to which Sanchez had dived.
It had been an end-to-end game throughout, and the scoresheet came to reflect that, as just four minutes after Bruno had broken the deadlock, Caicedo levelled the game with a first-time hit off the back of a corner, his shot just evading the grasp of Onana.
Despite Chelsea looking to end the game stronger, efforts from Garnacho and Fernandes will have sent shivers through the Chelsea contingent in Old Trafford, but both went sailing over the bar.
In the end, a point each will likely feel like a fair result in both camps, with no hero popping up to secure all three.
MATCH DETAILS
United: Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui; Ugarte (Lindelof 84), Casemiro; Garnacho, Fernandes (c), Rashford (Amad 73); Hojlund (Zirkzee 84).
Subs not used: Bayindir, Evans, Amass, J.Fletcher, Fitzgerald, Wheatley.
Goals: Fernandes 70 (pen).
Booked: Ugarte, Dalot, Rashford, Casemiro, Martinez, Amad.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto (Cucurella 46), Colwill, Fofana, James (c); Caicedo, Lavia (Fernandez 70); Madueke (Mudryk 70), Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
Subs not used: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Veiga, Felix, Nkunku.
Goals: Caicedo 74.
Booked: Gusto, Jackson.