Moises Caicedo’s crisp volley gave Chelsea a deserved point against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
United’s interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, in charge while the Red Devils await the arrival of newly-appointed Ruben Amorim, looked on course for a second successive victory when Bruno Fernandes broke the deadlock from the spot in the 70th minute after Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez brought down Rasmus Hojlund.
Van Nistelrooy celebrated wildly on the touchline but United’s elation lasted only four minutes until Caicedo expertly struck a superb shot past Andre Onana from the edge of the area.
It resulted in a share of the points in a largely unspectacular encounter, although Wesley Fofana hit the woodwork with a header in the first half, with United striker Marcus Rashford also volleying against the angle of post and bar before the break.
Right before the final whistle, Garnacho worked the ball down the left before sending a cross to Joshua Zirkzee, whose shot deflected off a Chelsea defender and over the net, to groans from the Old Trafford crowd.
Both sides hit the woodwork in a back-and-forth first half of a game that will not go down as a classic. Chelsea’s Noni Madueke headed into the post from close range from Cole Palmer’s corner early in the game.
Marcus Rashford nearly scored in style in the last action before the halftime whistle when Fernandes chipped the ball over Chelsea defender Reece James but Rashford’s side-footed volley bounced off the crossbar.
There were some heated minutes of pushing and shoving after United defender Lisandro Martinez caught Palmer’s foot, although a VAR check decided it was a reckless challenge and not serious foul play and so did not merit a red card.
Chelsea are fourth in the table on 18 points while United, who had interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy in the dugout, are 13th on 12 points after 10 games.
