There was nothing to separate Manchester United and Chelsea for the 27th time in Premier League History, with the sides playing out a frustrating 1-1 draw.
Ruud van Nistelrooy led the Reds for his second fixture as interim manager and had hoped to build on the positivity created with the midweek victory against Leicester.
The Dutchman witnessed Bruno Fernandes score for the second straight game, dispatching a confident penalty past Robert Sanchez.
But, much to the annoyance of the home crowd, the lead lasted less than five minutes, thanks to the quick thinking of Moises Caicedo.
The result leaves United six points behind the Blues in the final Champions League place, with eyes shifting to Thursday’s Europa League encounter against PAOK.
A heavyweight encounter that lacked quality
Heading into the fixture with the knowledge of the side’s tendencies to share the points, few would have bet against another occurrence.
Ironically, despite the millions spent between both, the shared characteristic is that of a Jekyll and Hyde mentality.
A tentative start returned little to no goalscoring threat, with the home side edging the possession statistics without offering a shot in anger.
In contrast, Chelsea opted to rely on technical counterattacking to fashion their assaults, managing three efforts within the opening 15 minutes – albeit none on target.
The Blues did come closest through Noni Madueke, with the woodwork rattled following a powerful header from one of his side’s many corner kicks.
Both teams traded attacking attempts, with Alejandro Garnacho supplying a tame effort into the hands of Sanchez before Rasmus Hojlund was denied and play halted for a United free-kick.
Marcus Rashford saw his side-footed volley crash off the woodwork in the final seconds, with Robert Jones signalling an end to an abject 45 minutes afterwards.
If the first half offered little to the imagination, the second compounded the frustration within Old Trafford.
None would doubt the player’s efforts and desire to work for the badge. However, the inability to complete successful transitions was a familiar feeling among the home support.
It was a game crying out for a moment of quality, and Hojlund’s sublime touch and movement past Sanchez provided that spark.
The Dane struggled for large parts of his evening, but his first touch in the opponent’s box emphasised a need for his teammates to find him more regularly.
Fernandes calmly slotted home the resulting spot kick, with Ruud unable to hide his delight.
But, as has often been the case with this side, Chelsea hit back within five minutes when Caicedo expertly volleyed home an ineffective clearance into the bottom corner.
Ultimately, it is a credible point for a struggling Manchester outfit, but an inability to complete the simple tasks remains an Achilles heel for this group.
The result sees the Old Trafford side in 13th position with 12 points from ten fixtures, ahead of Thursday’s European encounter with PAOK.
What are your takeaways from today’s draw with Chelsea at Old Trafford?
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