Chelsea missed chance after chance to take a decisive lead against Manchester United and head the Premiership with Tore Andre Flo the principal culprit. The lanky Norwegian sprayed a header and several shots all around the target as Alex Ferguson's players struggled to get their game together.
Although Chelsea enjoyed the better of the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford a fortnight earlier, United arrived at Stamford Bridge hardly weighed down by pessimism. They had lost only once in seven league visits, and memories of last season's 5-3 FA Cup win at Chelsea were still fresh.
Yet clearly all was not well with a United side still deprived of Dwight Yorke's profound presence, through an abdominal injury, and struggling to find form. Last night they looked to Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to provide the linkage with Andy Cole.
The ease with which Roberto Di Matteo's pass split the United defence in the opening seconds did Chelsea's confidence no harm, even if Gianfranco Zola scorned the chance with a shot over the bar.
United again showed a tendency to defend too deep, a dangerous business with Zola in such good form. The presence of Flo in the Chelsea attack at the start also suggested Gianluca Vialli had remembered United's recent vulnerability in the air.
In fact Chelsea might have gone ahead in the 12th minute when Flo rose at the far post to meet Zola's corner with a firm downward header but the ball sailed just wide. And when in the next instant Di Matteo appeared between United's centre-backs to volley a shot over, United's hopes of a clean sheet appeared even slimmer.
Certainly Flo should have scored after 19 minutes. Zola's pass released Dan Petrescu on the right, the Romanian's low centre found the defence in a tangle and had Flo managed to control the ball Chelsea would surely have gone ahead.
Two minutes later Celestine Babayaro sent Zola on a run at a retreating defence, Jaap Stam was beaten by an Italian shimmy, Peter Schmeichel could only parry the shot and Flo put the rebound wide. At that point all United had achieved was a mishit free-kick by David Beckham, yet they could have scored in their next attack.
Chelsea were caught square as Scholes found Cole to his right, and Cole's run took him clear of Ed De Goey's challenge but by the time he shot from a narrow angle Frank Leboeuf was well placed to clear.
Flo continued to suffer near-misses. Zola put him through shortly before the half-hour but again the Norwegian was off target. As he wafted yet another opportunity over, United might have begun to suspect that the evening could yet be theirs.
If so, Zola was given a wonderful chance to disabuse them of the notion by Roy Keane's aberrant pass across the face of his own area six minutes before half-time. Only Schmeichel barred the way but Zola's first touch for once let him down, allowing Schmeichel to smother the shot when it came.
United's passing became ragged. Even the simple balls were going astray and neither Giggs nor Beckham was more than a peripheral influence.
Yet Chelsea's failure to turn their superiority into goals had left the match evenly balanced. Stam and Keane, moreover, were holding United together as Zola continued to nag away.
When United's attacks achieved some co-ordination they often foundered on the burly Michael Duberry, whose duel with Cole provided an intriguing sub-plot. But after an hour the match had become less than intriguing and at least United's introduction of Teddy Sheringham, for Scholes, gave it a welcome twist.
Sheringham had played a major role in the outstanding Cup victory at Chelsea. Almost as soon as he appeared United's movements acquired better sense of direction.
The Chelsea manager could see the difference. "We played a great first half but second half they had the upper hand, so I think a draw was a fair result. . . Anyway it's okay - we mustn't forget we've just played Manchester United who are a hell of a team," he said. Vialli believes two draws against United - Chelsea drew 11 at Old Trafford earlier this month - will keep his team in the chase for the title.
"We have to think about Aston Villa and Arsenal. They (Arsenal) have the best defence and if you have that, you have a chance of winning the title. We have to look at many teams," said Vialli.
Meanwhile Chelsea defender Leboeuf agreed he had been lucky to escape a red card last night. Leboeuf had already been booked for a trip on Cole when he appeared to tug back Beckham as he broke clear in the second half. He was not booked however and said afterwards: "I think I deserved it (a red card) but I didn't do it on purpose." Vialli said he would have accepted the decision had his defender received the red card.
Chelsea: De Goey, Petrescu, Babayaro, Leboeuf, Duberry, Le Saux (Goldbaek 88), Di Matteo, Ferrer, Flo, Zola, Morris (Desailly 73). Subs Not Used: Hitchcock, Nicholls, Forssell. Booked: Di Matteo, Leboeuf.
Man Utd: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Stam, Beckham, Butt, Cole, Giggs, Keane, Scholes (Sheringham 60). Subs Not Used: P Neville, Blomqvist, Van Der Gouw, Berg. Booked: Cole.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds).
