Costa’s late show denies United

Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard gets his shot away despite the challenge of Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta to give the Red Devils the lead at Stamford Bridge on Sunday night. Photo: Tim Ireland, AP

Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard gets his shot away despite the challenge of Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta to give the Red Devils the lead at Stamford Bridge on Sunday night. Photo: Tim Ireland, AP

Published Feb 7, 2016

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It was one of those end-to-end classics, but a draw was probably the fairest result as Chelsea and Manchester United played to a 1-1 Premier League stalemate at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday night.

United midfielder Jesse Lingard got the opener for the visitors with a stunning twist and turn inside the Chelsea penalty area to score in the top corner just beyond the hour mark.

But after sustained pressure from the home side in the last 15 minutes, Spaniard Diego Costa ensured that Chelsea extended their unbeaten league run against United to 10 matches with a cool finish following a defensive lapse in the first minute of stoppage time.

The result doesn’t affect either side’s log position as the Red Devils remain fifth on 41 points, 12 behind leaders Leicester City, while Chelsea stay in 13th spot on 30, behind Crystal Palace.

Despite both teams’ struggles this season, they produced a typically energetic game that harked back to the reigns of Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson.

Louis van Gaal’s side made the sharper start to proceedings, with left back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson utilising his speed and crossing ability to provide good width, while Man-of-the-Match Juan Mata was a busy presence in central midfield. Michael Carrick, Anthony Martial and Daley Blind also all threatened goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal.

At one stage during the opening 30 minutes, United had won nine corners to the zero of their opponents, but failed to get the ball past Courtois. One particular shot by Martial looked like it was going into the back of the net, but the Belgian goalkeeper kept it out.

But Guus Hiddink’s Blues started to find their rhythm before halftime, with Brazilian right winger Willian becoming more influential as the clock ticked by.

Serbian anchorman Nemanja Matic also provided extra options on attack for the home side as he made a few surging runs from deep, and was a physical presence inside the United box from free kicks and corners.

After a relatively quiet first half, United captain Wayne Rooney got more involved after the break, taking one long-range shot that Courtois saved, and even attempting a bicycle kick that went just wide.

Chelsea suffered a sickening blow when defender Kurt Zouma had to be stretchered off when he landed awkwardly from a clearing header in the air. There were no players close to Zouma, but as he came to ground, his right leg appeared to buckle underneath him, and he was writhing in pain.

Hiddink said afterwards that it was a “hyper-extension” and was reluctant to say what the exact nature of the problem was, except that it was a “bad injury”.

But then came the United goal, with the impressive youngster Borthwick-Jackson overlapping on the left and drilling the ball into the Chelsea penalty area, with Rooney getting a touch. The ball fell to Lingard, who slammed the ball into the top left-hand corner in the 61st minute.

Van Gaal, though, would’ve been disappointed to see his players go into their shells somewhat after Lingard’s goal as Chelsea came back with a vengeance in their search for an equaliser.

United’s Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea pulled off several fine saves in the last 25 minutes of the match to deny the likes of Willian, Cesar Azpilicueta, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.

But the pressure told late in the game as Costa was played through by Fabregas, with Blind slipping to put Costa on goal. Borthwick-Jackson and De Gea both made contact with the ball, but it squirted out to Costa, who had a virtual tap-in to negotiate for the equaliser.

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Weekend Premier League Results

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 1, Bournemouth 0 Arsenal 2, Southampton 1 West Ham 0, Aston Villa 2 Norwich City 0, Liverpool 2 Sunderland 2, Stoke 0 Everton 3, Tottenham 1 Watford 0, Newcastle 1 West Brom 0, Swansea 1 Crystal Palace 1, Manchester City 1 Leicester City 3.

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