Disjointed in the first half but dominant in the second, Manchester United last night recovered from a dreadful start against Chelsea to take a deserved point. If the performance of their defence under pressure showed again that Rio Ferdinand cannot get back soon enough, anyone wondering about the desire of Sir Alex Ferguson's players got an unequivocal answer.
Having fallen behind to an early William Gallas goal and found themselves 2-1 down at half-time after Boudewijn Zenden struck spectacularly in injury-time, United roused themselves to equalise through Ryan Giggs as Chelsea ran out of steam, lost their fluency and rarely threatened.
Recent history had suggested that United would emerge with at least a point. They had been beaten only once in their previous 10 visits - a 5-0 hammering in 1999 - and Ferguson had referred on the eve of the match to that "fantastic record".
Doubtless he had seen this as an opportunity for his players to show their doubters that talk of decline was misplaced. Defeat at Zalaegerszeg in a Champions League qualifier and a 1-0 victory at home to West Bromwich had suggested signs of cracks.
His team, moreover, could hardly have got off to a worse start. Less than three minutes had gone when Gallas steered Zenden's free-kick beyond Roy Carroll at the near post. Roy Keane, so critical of his team-mates over recent months, was the defensive culprit, allowing Gallas to escape his attention. Presumably he was left cursing his own lack of hunger.
There was no doubting Chelsea's determination, with Emmanuel Petit and Marcel Desailly starting in the manner that the home fans would like to see every week. Claudio Ranieri's players began at a fast tempo, seeking to pull to and fro a defence lacking key personnel in Ferdinand and Gary Neville, not to mention Fabien Barthez in goal.
Ferguson has acknowledged the need to strengthen his defence by organising a meeting this weekend to discuss the possible signing of Julien Escudé from Rennes, and it was plain to see why. Inside a quarter of an hour Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had a shot deflected just wide and a corner flew dangerously across the face of Carroll's goal.
United certainly cannot have expected to find themselves a goal behind so quickly. Although Carlo Cudicini had to save low from Ruud van Nistelrooy, United's early play lacked verve and fluency. Ferguson's tinkering with his personnel did not bear instant fruit.
The manager had taken the bold step of dropping Juan Sebastian Veron, finally acknowledging the difficulty of accommodating the talented Argentinian. Yet that was not the cue for him to use the Beckham-Keane-Scholes-Giggs midfield that many consider his best option.
Instead Nicky Butt played alongside Keane in the centre and Paul Scholes was asked to operate in the hole behind Nistelrooy - a role he struggled with last season. Scholes had been a peripheral figure up to the 26th minute, when Beckham equalised.
The build-up was hardly vintage United as Mickael Sil vestre hit a long diagonal ball to the right-hand edge of the Chelsea area, but Beckham's finish was excellent. Having cut inside Celestine Babayaro, the England captain struck a left-foot shot over Cudicini.
That inevitably slowed Chelsea, though they continued to put together the better possession and threaten more against a defence which remained shaky. Hasselbaink should have scored from Zenden's pass and it would have been an unfair reflection on the first half had Giggs found the net rather than a post from Beckham's cross.
Instead, in stoppage time Zenden restored Chelsea's lead with a powerful left-foot shot from just outside the area after United, not for the first time, had failed to close the danger.
United might have been expected to begin the second half with a surge of attacking momentum in search of an equaliser yet Chelsea remained the smoother passing, livelier side for a short while.
Swiftly, though, the United pressure began to mount, sparked by a Scholes shot which forced Cudicini into a good low save. Before long Beckham had hit the bar with what may have been a cross and Keane brought the home goalkeeper into action once more.
When an enraged Ferguson screamed and gesticulated with displeasure minutes later, it was no surprise. United should have had a penalty when Scholes tumbled under a challenge by Cudicini as he raced on to a Keane pass but the referee Graham Poll incorrectly waved play on.
Undeterred, United continued to pour forward and soon equalised. Silvestre was again the provider, this time using his speed and strength to beat Quique de Lucas down the left flank before crossing for Giggs to score with a first-time shot.
