Manchester United 0 Chelsea 0
Chelsea relied on the woodwork and Thibaut Courtois’ brilliance to secure a point at Old Trafford.
Amid speculation over the future of United manager Louis van Gaal, with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho touted as a potential replacement for the under-pressure Dutchman, the hosts produced a much-improved performance.
They went close in the first half, when ex-Chelsea star Juan Mata hit the bar with a thumping strike after a fine pass from Wayne Rooney.
United keeper David de Gea superbly kept out a header from John Terry and as the frenetic start continued, Van Gaal’s side hit the woodwork again, this time when Anthony Martial fired against the post.
Chelsea, playing without a recognised striker in the absence of the suspended Diego Costa, were on the back foot for most of the match.
Courtois ensured they made it to half-time on level terms when he produced a fine save to keep out a long-range effort from Rooney.
The visitors would have taken the lead shortly after the interval had De Gea not produced a fine double save, denying Pedro and then keeping out Cesar Azpilicueta’s follow up.
United responded with another spell of pressure and were again kept at bay by Courtois, who somehow saved at point-blank range from Ander Herrera after he had been teed up by Martial.
For all United’s dominance, a golden opportunity for Chelsea fell to Nemanja Matic, who shot wastefully over with only De Gea to beat.
And Rooney missed a chance in the 87th minute when he was unable to hit the target after being found by youngster Cameron Borthwick-Jackson’s cross.
Rooney was lucky not to be sent off for an awful challenge on Oscar in injury time, which earned the England captain only a yellow card.
This post was last modified on 29/12/2015