Honours even as Kalou rides to Chelsea rescue

HIGH TENSION: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand reacts during the game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. (AFP)

Salomon Kalou came off the bench to salvage a point for Chelsea as Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's first duel with Luiz Felipe Scolari ended in the most exhilarating of stalemates here on Sunday.

Park Ji-Sung's first-half strike ensured the champions got within ten minutes of becoming the first side to beat Chelsea at home in the league in 85 matches.

But Ferguson's men were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw after a resilient defensive display was marred by the lapse that allowed Kalou to head in John Obi Mikel's freekick for an 80th-minute equaliser.

The draw leaves Arsenal one point clear of Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the table but Scolari will have no complaints giving how close his side came to what would have been a hugely-deflating defeat here.

With Ferguson having resisted the temptation to start Cristiano Ronaldo, his line-up had a cautious look to it, notably in the deployment of Owen Hargreaves in an unfamiliar berth wide on the right.

It was the England midfielder who generated the first opening of the match, his low cross flicked wide by Darren Fletcher, and United had another early half-chance when Petr Cech charged out of his area and sent his clearance straight to Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian promptly found Rooney on the edge of the area but, with Cech scrambling back, the England forward's volley bounced wide.

Chelsea replied immediately and should have gone ahead after Jonny Evans made a hash of cutting out Nicolas Anelka's flick-on from Cech's goal-kick. That left Joe Cole with a clear sight of goal but the midfielder crashed his drive into the side netting.

Having lost Deco to an injury in the warm-up, Chelsea suffered another setback when Ricardo Carvalho was forced to limp off with less than ten minutes gone and the Chelsea defence was still readjusting when United carved out their first clear chance that underlined the enormous potential in the Berbatov-Rooney partnership.

Having started the move by feeding Berbatov with an interception on the halfway line, Rio Ferdinand advanced untracked into the area to meet Rooney's lay-off with a shot that cannoned off Cech's legs before shaving the top of the bar.

Six minutes later, however, the Chelsea goalkeeper was at fault as United claimed the lead. Again, Rooney was the instigator, playing Patrice Evra into the area through the inside-left channel.

The French leftback was able to muscle Jose Bosingwa aside a little too easily before finding Berbatov, whose attempt to place the ball into the bottom corner was fumbled by Cech, presenting Park with the simplest of side-footed finishes.

As they attempted to counter-punch, Chelsea's players felt they should have had a penalty when Florent Malouda was felled in a collision is Edwin van der Sar that was to result in the United goalkeeper being replaced shortly afterwards.

His replacement, Tomasz Kusczak, was shielded from any serious involvement in the contest until five minutes before the break, when his failure to hold a long-range strike from Carvalho's replacement, the Brazilian Alex, forced Ferdinand to scramble the ball to safety.

That Chelsea's best chance in that period came from a centreback trying his luck from 30 yards was symptomatic of the Londoners' lack of penetration and it was no surprise when Malouda made way for Didier Drogba at the start of the second half, his entry followed ten minutes later by Ronaldo's introduction for the visitors.

Joe Cole spurned his second glorious chance of the afternoon soon afterwards, firing straight at Kuszczak after Lampard's first-time pass had sent him into the box.

Chelsea were edging closer to an equaliser but the risks involved were underlined when Ronaldo, having got clear on the left, slid the ball invitingly across their goalmouth. Berbatov was unable to make contact and, from a tight angle beyond the back post, Rooney could only find the netting.

The England forward had been United's outstanding performer for much of the match, but the rashness that constitutes one of the weaknesses of his game was to cost his side dear after a wild lunge at Ashley Cole that brought a yellow card.

Mikel floated the resulting freekick into the box and Kalou timed his run in behind the United centrebacks to perfection to nod past Kuszczak.

The manner of the equaliser will leave United frustrated but few neutrals will quibble over an outcome that was just about right.

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