Fallen powers Chelsea, Man United draw; Arsenal rises to 3rd

“The last few years Manchester United haven’t won here so it’s not an easy match and we took the lead with a fantastic goal”.

Hiddink said afterwards that it was a “hyper-extension” and was reluctant to say what the exact nature of the problem was, except that it was a “bad injury”. “I had this same problem once and it hurts”.

The game finally came to life when Lingard put United ahead with a superb goal, turning and shooting after a cross from the left had been touched on by Wayne Rooney.

“Why do the club have to deny when you’re inventing stories? I can say you are getting the sack tomorrow”, Van Gaal said.

“Leicester have opened a big gap from us but it is still possible”.

Van Gaal has regularly been criticised over United’s tactics, but there was little wrong with the display in west London. So it is more frustrating that they scored in added time and how they scored because Daley Blind was slipping, more or less.

Jesse Lingard was next to be denied by Courtois, but the Belgian keeper could do nothing on the hour mark when Lingard received Cameron Borthwick-Jackson’s cross with his back to goal before hitting on the turn and picking out the top corner.

With Diego Costa’s equaliser coming in injury time – referred to as “Fergie time” in the days of the former United boss – Van Gaal was asked whether opposing teams, rather than his own, were the beneficiaries of late heroics.

A first win for Arsenal in four games took them level on 48 points with second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, their bitter local rivals who have a superior goal difference. “We had the better chances but we didn’t win”, Van Gaal told Sky Sports after the match. But we deserved a point. Again, we did not win and we had the chances but we did not win.

Reflecting on his most recent stint at Chelsea, which ended just six months after being crowned Premier League champions at the end of the 2014-15 season, Mourinho suggested complacency was the reason for the club’s horror start to the campaign.

In the 23rd minute he crossed for Olivier Giroud to head down and give Ozil the opportunity to score. And we could have scored after the first goal, but you don’t reward yourselves when you play such a game against a fantastic team like Chelsea. Both teams have a massive point to prove right now, needing to demonstrate that yes, they are competent, and yes, they can be a side to be reckoned with right now.