Didier Drogba scored a great header but Chelsea did not see through a good performance as Robin van Persie levelled the score deep into stoppage time.
The Ivorian forward met a Cesc Fabregas corner with his head and guided the ball past David de Gea in the Manchester United goal to open the scoring just after the break.
Robin van Persie’s then rescued a point for the struggling hosts in the 94th minute after Branislav Ivanovic had been sent off with two bookings.
First half
Manchester United were probably the better side in the first half but a couple of great saves from Thibaut Courtois denied them a goal.
We edged the statistics for ball possession in the opening minutes and got a few corners but the delivery was not up to scratch.
That opened up for the home side to create a couple of half chances through Angel di Maria, but it wasn’t until van Persie got one-on-one with Courtois that we were really tested.
Our Belgian goalkeeper showed exactly why Petr Cech is out of the team and delivered a couple of decent saves to stop the striker.
We also had a decent penalty shout from a free-kick, but referee Phil Dowd somehow managed to overlook Ivanovic being wrestled to the ground by Chris Smalling.
Drogba finished the first half with a decent chance from inside the box but de Gea parried well with his feet at the near post.
Second half
If United were the better side in the first half, we were bossing it in the second.
Just a few minutes into the second half and Eden Hazard cut in from his left-hand side, played a one-two with Drogba and found himself in acres of space alone with de Gea.
The Belgian winger fired hard and low towards the near post, but de Gea somehow got his body behind the shot.
An opening goal was looming for the visitors and when Drogba replicated his equaliser in the Champions League final from two and a half years ago, we were in front.
Fabregas struck the corner with great pace and Drogba brushed off Rafael, met the ball by the near post and guided it in off van Persie.
We controlled possession well after the goal, denied Manchester United opportunities and it looked like we would be able to add another three points to our tally.
But Ivanovic fouled di Maria down the United’s left-hand side with just a minute left of stoppage time and was harshly sent off with a second yellow card.
The free-kick was struck into the box and Marouane Fellaini headed towards goal. Courtois got a hand on it but the rebound fell into van Persie’s feet and he levelled the scoring just 20 seconds before stoppage time was over.
In the end we had to settle for a draw but the performance by the lads was brilliant, with standout performances from Hazard, Matic and Courtois. It was rather unfortunate that we didn’t leave Manchester with three points, as we deserved more from such a professional performance.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Filipe Luis; Matic, Fabregas; Willian (Zouma 90+2), Oscar (Mikel, 67), Hazard (Schurrle 90); Drogba.