After a disappointing midweek EFL Cup exit at the hands of Newcastle, Chelsea were looking to restore some positivity against the Red Devils, who were unbeaten in 11 league meetings at home (W5, D6).
A tentative start to proceedings resulted in few goalscoring opportunities for either side, although Noni Madueke could have broken the deadlock with a close-range header that struck the near post from a corner kick.
Both teams exchanged chances during a rather disjointed half of football, with Alejandro Garnacho curling a tame effort straight at Robert Sanchez and Rasmus Hojlund forcing a save from the goalkeeper, albeit after the whistle had blown prematurely, either side of a blocked Cole Palmer strike.
The final action of the first half saw Marcus Rashford’s side-foot volley strike the woodwork, but unfortunately for the neutral, that wasn’t a precursor to an action-packed restart.
Pedro Neto fired a low shot inches wide of the far post for the visitors, who may have been the more cohesive side but had little to show for it.
No match-up has produced more draws in Premier League history, and with an hour gone, another stalemate was looking increasingly likely.
A dip in quality from the Blues was punished with 20 minutes to play when Casemiro’s raking pass found Højlund, whose delicate first touch provided a shooting opportunity that was swiftly taken away from him as Sánchez’s hand caught the Dane’s feet.
Referee Robert Jones had no choice but to point to the spot, and after the penalty decision was confirmed by VAR, Bruno Fernandes made no mistake from the spot.
However, that lead lasted just four minutes as a partially cleared corner dropped to Moises Caicedo, who sent a venomous volley from the edge of the box through teammate Mykhailo Mudryk’s legs and past the unsighted Andre Onana.
An edgy ending to the contest could have swung either way thanks to a pair of substitutes, with Enzo Fernandez ballooning a promising chance over the bar before Joshua Zirkzee’s charge towards goal ran out of steam at the other end.
Garnacho sent a late effort marginally over the bar, but in truth, neither Enzo Maresca nor interim United boss Ruud van Nistelrooy will likely feel that their side did enough to claim all three points.
Had they won, it would have been the first pair of successive H2H victories since March 2011 for Chelsea, who nonetheless climb above Arsenal and into fourth in the PL standings.
As for United, a draw leaves them 13th in the table, three points off the top half with Ruben Amorim taking the reins after the upcoming international break.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)