Cristiano Ronaldo’s emphatic finish rescued a point for Manchester United as they held Chelsea on Thursday night, despite being dominated for large portions of the game at Old Trafford.

It was a case of attack versus defence in the first half as the passive hosts allowed Thomas Tuchel’s side to monopolise possession and create openings at will.

David de Gea was a busy man, called into action inside five minutes to beat away Reece James‘ rasping drive and keeping hold of Timo Werner’s effort shortly afterwards.

In a rare foray forward at the other end, Bruno Fernandes could only guide a header straight at Edouard Mendy.

N’Golo Kante was next in line in Chelsea’s shooting practice and he should have done better from the edge of the box when he was found in acres of space, but his strike flew straight into De Gea’s grateful gloves.

The visitors‘ three best openings came the way of Kai Havertz. First, Chelsea broke and Kante fed the German in the right channel, but he could only blast a finish into the side netting from the angle.

Two minutes later, Kante slipped Havertz in again but he couldn’t make the most of the one-on-one situation as De Gea stood tall to block his shot.

Then, nine minutes before the break, De Gea reacted again as the Chelsea forward rose highest to meet a deep cross – although the header was straight at the Spaniard.

Tuchel’s side finally made their dominance pay on the hour mark – but were somehow pegged back just two minutes later.

Havertz inadvertently flicked on a deep cross from James and Marcos Alonso was on hand to thump a volley into the bottom corner. However, United caught Chelsea cold and hit back immediately, with Ronaldo latching onto Nemanja Matic’s scooped ball over the top with a magnetic touch and finishing emphatically into the roof of the net.

Chelsea went closest to finding a winner, with James running onto Mason Mount’s cute flick and guiding a curling effort onto the outside of the post.

It finished 1-1 at Old Trafford, here’s how the players rated…

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GK: David de Gea – 6/10 – Good, if unorthodox, save to deny James. Made himself big to stop Havertz one on one and did well to keep the German’s header out. No chance with the goal.

RB: Diogo Dalot – 6/10 – Battled and did well defensively – until he lost Marcos Alonso for the opener.

CB: Victor Lindelof – 5/10 – Havertz ran into a gaping hole down his flank. Solid if unspectacular otherwise.

CB: Raphael Varane – 5/10 – Not as dominant as a player of his prestige should be.

LB: Alex Telles – 6/10 – Workmanlike going forward but won plenty of duels and made plenty of recoveries.

DM: Scott McTominay – 4/10 – Bypassed by the Chelsea midfield far too easily at times. Lost the vast majority of his duels and was loose on the ball.

DM: Nemanja Matic – 7/10 – Showed composure and fine feet throughout. Deftest of assists for Ronaldo to level. Lucky to avoid punishment for treading on James.

AM: Bruno Fernandes – 6/10 – Scampered about with intent initially. Should have done better with an early header. Some good tackles and intensity.

RW: Anthony Elanga – 5/10 – Struggled to get involved. One impressive late ball carry. Took a hefty whack from Antonio Rudiger late on.

ST: Cristiano Ronaldo – 7/10 – Provided something of a focal point and looked threatening at times. Exquisite touch and finish out of nothing to equalise immediately.

LW: Marcus Rashford – 4/10 – His pace caused some early issues but his confidence looked shot. Worked hard but subbed late.

SUB: Phil Jones (79′ for Matic) – N/A

SUB: Juan Mata (79′ for Rashford) – N/A

SUB: Alejandro Garnacho (91′ for Elanga) – N/A

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GK: Edouard Mendy – 5/10 – Held Fernandes‘ header but generally had very little to do. No chance with Ronaldo’s strike.

CB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10 – Very good defensively – far more useful at centre-back.

CB: Thiago Silva – 5/10 – A cool head at the back. Passed astutely. Lost Ronaldo for the leveller.

CB: Antonio Rudiger – 6/10 – Showed his professionalism with a committed display. A couple of trademark potshots from range. Over-physical at times.

RWB: Reece James – 7/10 – Crisp early hit beaten away by De Gea. Physicality, positioning and crossing caused United serious issues.

CM: Jorginho – 6/10 – Some neat combination with his midfield partner. Bypassed United’s press with neat movement and intelligent passing.

CM: N’Golo Kante – 7/10 – Should have done better with an early chance from the edge. Made some marauding runs and had the pass to match at the end. Front-footed display, but gave it away twice before the leveller.

LWB: Marcos Alonso – 7/10 – Rarely tested defensively so ventured forward to support the attack. Reaped the rewards with a perfect volleyed finish.

AM: Mason Mount – 6/10 – Given a free role and popped up everywhere. A bright spark throughout – lovely flick deserved an assist.

ST: Timo Werner – 4/10 – Tried to make things happen but forced it somewhat.

ST: Kai Havertz – 6/10 – Drifted around menacingly. Spurned three very good first-half openings, including a one on one and close-range header. Inadvertent flick on to assist the opener.

SUB: Romelu Lukaku (70′ for Havertz) – 3/10 – Struggled to have any effect.

SUB: Christian Pulisic (70′ for Werner) – 4/10 – Tried to threaten but not great.

SUB: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (82′ for Kante) – N/A

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