Another high profile error for David De Gea helped Chelsea earn a point against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
After both Spurs and Arsenal were defeated in the battle for the top four, Chelsea and United knew that victory would give them an edge over their Champions League rivals.
The home side, looking to bounce back from their recent poor run of form, started the game on the front foot and took the lead in the 11th minute through Juan Mata who was restored to the starting XI by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Romelu Lukaku picked the ball up just outside the area and lifted a beautiful pass over the top to the onrushing Luke Shaw whose pass across the box was met by the Spaniard Mata to give United a well-deserved lead.
Lukaku had come under criticism over the past few weeks but looked lively and dangerous throughout the first half as the home side dominated proceedings.
Chelsea, however, found the equaliser just before half-time and it again came from a David De Gea error, the United number one failed to hold a strike from Antonio Rudiger as Marcos Alonso followed up to finish from a tight angle.
The goal arguably came against the run of play and will do nothing for De Gea’s confidence after a number of high profile errors against the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City in recent weeks.
In the early stages of the second half United continued to look the better side, with Eden Hazard rather predictably looking like Chelsea’s best chance at taking the lead in the game.
Neither side managed to threaten the opposing keepers in the first 20 minutes of the second half as Chelsea lost Antonio Rudiger through injury and arguably could have lost Mateo Kovacic to a second bookable offence as United’s Eric Bailly left the field with a worrying knee issue.
The second half in truth was a microcosm of the race for the Champions League spots as a whole, with both sides lacking urgency and positivity as chances proved few and far between.
United did, however, have a chance to snatch victory in the 92nd minute when Marcos Rojo’s header was excellently cleared off the line from Pedro after he looked to have beaten Kepa Arrizabalaga.
At the other end, De Gea made up for his earlier error with a smart save from Gonzalo Higuain in what turned out to be the last kick of the game.
The point leaves Chelsea two points clear of Arsenal in fifth and crucially three clear of United in sixth with just two games to go in the season.