Manchester 1 West Brom 1: As a feat of escapology it would be unprecedented since the Premiership's formation. West Bromwich Albion must have grown wearily accustomed to being reminded that, historically, there is no escape for the side that is bottom at Christmas so, at the very least, they are entitled to celebrate the fact they have prolonged the argument until the final weekend of the season.
To clamber out of the relegation zone they need, in betting parlance, an accumulator. First and foremost, Bryan Robson's team must beat Portsmouth at The Hawthorns and then hope that none of Crystal Palace, Southampton or Norwich City win.
In other words, their luck needs to hold out. During the first half they had been so listless, so unimaginative and, in Robson's words, so "downright awful" that Manchester United had greedily accumulated 17 shots against none. Cristiano Ronaldo had danced round the opposition defenders like cones on a training pitch. By full-time it was 31 shots against two. Everyone connected with Albion ought to be grateful to the carelessness of Alex Ferguson's players.
Among the words Ferguson used to describe his team's failure to take a greater percentage of their chances were "terrible," "ridiculous," "unbelievable" and "embarrassing". Ferguson could never have envisaged being 17 points adrift of Chelsea and his antennae will have picked up on the dissatisfaction of the home supporters and, in particular, the voluble dissent when Alan Smith was substituted and the mocking cheers when Kleberson followed.
Kleberson had wafted United's most glaring second-half opportunity into the Stretford End, prompting a former Old Trafford manager, Wilf McGuinness, to shout out in the press box: "Which part of Brazil is he from?"
Ferguson will also be aware that, shortly after Robert Earnshaw's penalty and with the crowd at its most disaffected, Rio Ferdinand was booed when he took a pass from Paul Scholes. The fans are questioning Ferdinand's commitment and Ferguson is too, judging by the fact the defender has temporarily lost his status as vice-captain.
Ferguson was entitled to quibble over the penalty awarded against John O'Shea for grappling with Geoff Horsfield but he conveniently overlooked the fact the referee should have pointed to the spot for a second time when Ryan Giggs hooked away Nwankwo Kanu's trailing leg 10 minutes from the end.
Students of refereeing demonology might also want an explanation about Mark Halsey's part in United taking the lead. Albion's players insist they had been instructed to wait for a whistle but one was not forthcoming as Giggs took a quick free-kick and curled in a soft shot with the defensive wall still lining up.
Tomasz Kuszczak, a goalkeeper signed on a three-year deal from Hertha Berlin, replaced the injured Russell Hoult and played as though, back in Poland, butterflies are for wimps.
Old Trafford also witnessed the worst taunting of the Munich air disaster from visiting fans since Leeds were relegated from the Premiership. Some of Albion's knuckle-draggers need a history lesson. Duncan Edwards, one of the 21 people to die in Munich, was raised a few miles from The Hawthorns. They will have to accept it if many Mancunians wish relegation upon them.
