ALL of a sudden Manchester United are a home defeat waiting to happen. It is 20 months since they last lost at Old Trafford in the Premier League, but in less than a week Everton and now Blackburn Rovers have led the champions twice before being held to 2-2 draws.

Yesterday Blackburn were denied the sweetest of victories by a baby faced 23 year old Norwegian, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who within nine minutes of making his first league appearance for United brought the scores level for the second and last time. But for the goalkeeping of Tim Flowers, Manchester United would have won the game in the closing minutes, an outcome which would have done scant justice to the way Rovers had controlled the better part of it.

Even so, Blackburn were still entitled to take more satisfaction from the afternoon. They came to Old Trafford pointless and goalless after defeats by Tottenham and Aston Villa. The departure of Alan Shearer to Newcastle United, rather than Kenny Dalglish to the golf course, had left Ewood Park in a prolonged state of shock and Manchester United's summerlong overtures to the England striker had hardly improved relationships between the clubs.

But yesterday, playing without an orthodox centre forward and dominating the midfield for an hour, Blackburn took on United at their own counter attacking game and preyed on the generous amount of space Alex Ferguson's defence continued to allow the opposition.

Where the tall figure of Everton's Duncan Ferguson had reigned five days earlier the small, scampering form of Kevin Gallacher took over. Considering the number of times he appeared between the United centrebacks, May and Pallister, in the first 45 minutes Blackburn could have won the match by half time.

Ray Harford, the Rovers manager, thought so. "We should have been at least two goals clear by then," he said, "but we were getting people into good positions and then choosing the wrong options.

Certainly Blackburn should have been more prepared to exploit the regularity with which Georgios Donis, their free Greek from Panathinaikos, was turning United's defence on the right.

Essentially, however, Blackburn's initial superiority, and Manchester United's discomfort, sprang from the command established in midfield by Lars Bohinen a member of the Nottingham Forest side that had won at Old Trafford in December 1994 - and Tim Sherwood.

Again Manchester United were given a foretaste of how difficult life, and especially life in the Champions League, is likely to be until Roy Keane returns after a knee operation. Their other Norwegian signing, Ronny Johnsen, filled in for Keane adequately enough but without providing the drive the Irishman gives the team. Nicky Butt, another casualty, was also missed.

After Ferguson had made what proved to be a crucial substitution, bringing on Solskjaer for David May, Johnsen reverted to his more normal position at centre back. But to the last - and with Phil Neville, who is to have an ankle operation this week, forced off after half an hour - United were vulnerable at the back.

In fact they were again out of sorts all round. David Beckham is not the first young footballer to be dazed at the prospect of playing for England and it showed in much of his play yesterday. Eric Cantona was stifled by tight covering until late on, and only the swift interchanges of position between Ryan Giggs and Jordi Cruyff, one moving inside while the other went wide, unsettled Blackburn's defenders from the start.

Even then Rovers rather allowed Manchester United back into the match after going ahead in the 33rd minute when Gallacher met Stuart Ripley's centre from the left with a glancing header and Paul Warhurst forced the ball in, Peter Schmeichel having failed to hold it on the goalline. Five minutes later Colin Hendry, attempting to nod Schmeichel's long clearance back to Flowers, merely set up the alert Cruyff to lob the scores level.

Five minutes after half time Bohinen gathered a ball from Sherwood on the right, drew clear of McClair and turned inside Irwin before beating Schmeichel at the near post to restore Blackburn's lead. Then Rovers began to think of holding what they had, the midfield pressure on United eased, and victory slipped away.

Solskjaer, skilful and quick, was an immediate influence. In the 69th minute Cruyff touched on another huge kick from Schmeichel and the young Norwegian volleyed in United's second goal on the rebound after seeing Flowers block his first shot. Flowers then denied Old Trafford a win with late saves from Pallister and Beckham.

"That was the best Blackburn have played against us in recent years," Ferguson admitted later. "For an hour they gave us a really hard time of it." But Rovers would have preferred three points to consoling words.