Late Costa strike denies Man United a rare victory at the Bridge

Diego Costa’s extra time goal was all Chelsea needed to secure a draw as a formidable Manchester United side paid Stamford Bridge a visit for their week 25 match.

But they suffered a bigger blow in the second period when they lost central defender Kurt Zouma, who was carried off on a stretcher shortly before United took the lead after landing awkwardly on his right leg and seemingly damaging his knee.

Chelsea will look to continue their climb up the Premier League table when they take on Manchester United at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. “Tomorrow when we know, we’ll give notice as soon as possible”. In a frenzied end to the game, Costa turned away from his marker and shot at De Gea, but the Spaniard got down well to make a vital save and preserve United’s point, as the game ended 1-1.

Asked if Zouma might miss the rest of the season, Hiddink replied: “The rest of the season is hopefully too much, but tomorrow (Monday) he will have an examination, so not too many speculations about that”. He shimmied past Borthwick-Jackson to fire a good ball across the six-yard box which evaded everyone, and then shortly before half-time, played a deflected cross from a similar position, which saw John Terry’s close-range shot blocked by Daley Blind.

Louis Van Gaal’s side mustered seven shots on target – their joint most in a Premier League away game this season (also vs Everton).

Having been poor at times in recent months, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard have all contributed to the club’s 11-game unbeaten run since Guus Hiddink’s appointment.

The result left United without a win over Chelsea since 2012.

I hope the groundskeepers can get the corners ready for the next home match.

“We had a strong start, with good finishing, and we controlled the game”, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the BBC.

Goalscorer Lingard added: “I think we played the majority of the game well”.

He was even close to a winning goal in the sixth and last minute of stoppage time but was denied by the goalkeeper.

Manchester United have been showing signs of a revival in the last couple of weeks and there was further evidence that they are rediscovering a little of their best after a 1-1 draw at Chelsea. He did it also in the first half. Many have said Van Gaal’s possession-based approach doesn’t fit with United’s historic style of play, but more performances in this manner, and that criticism becomes less valid. “We played better than Chelsea previous year but they won 1-0 now it is 1-1 so we improve”.