MANCHESTER, England -- Premiership leaders Manchester United dropped two potentially costly points in the race for the title with Chelsea, after a diving header from Mark Viduka gave Middlesbrough a deserved 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
United had taken an early lead when Kieran Richardson slotted home after Wayne Rooney had collected Paul Scholes' pass and rounded Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer.
United struggled to break Boro down after the break and were indebted to goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar's save to thwart Viduka from scoring his second.
The result leaves United four points ahead of Chelsea, who can cut that gap to just one if they win at Newcastle on Sunday.
United have 82 points from 34 games, while Chelsea, who host United in a potential title decider at Stamford Bridge on May 9, have 78 from 33 games.
If United had had any nerves about their absorbing title duel with Chelsea they should have been dispelled thanks to Richardson's third-minute goal.
Scholes' raking pass took Jonathan Woodgate out of the game to release Rooney, who wasted no time in taking the ball round Schwarzer.
Rooney's final touch on the ball was a little too strong, but it made no matter as Richardson stepped in to sidefoot home.
The Old Trafford crowd could have been forgiven for expecting an avalanche of goals at this point, but Boro failed to play the role of willing lambs to the slaughter.
Belying their mid-table position, Boro were impressive following their uncertain start and dominated for long periods due to their midfield control.
As Boro regrouped United were indebted to some brave defensive play from Wes Brown, who first tackled Yakubu and then came across to block Stewart Downing's attempted cross.
Viduka castigated Downing for not delivering his cross more quickly, but when the England international picked up on the ball on the left at the end of the first half he had clearly learned his lesson.
Downing whipped in a cross to the near post and Viduka stole in between Paul Scholes and Brown to send a diving header past Van der Sar.
With United due to face AC Milan in their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday, Ryan Giggs had started the game on the bench, but Viduka's goal saw the Welshman stripped and ready to go for the start of the second half.
But it was Boro who initially threatened in the second period when Viduka bamboozled Brown allowing the Australian a clear sight of goal. This time Van der Sar got the better of Viduka, spreading himself to make a good save.
United brought on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it was Boro who next threatened as Lee Cattermole went agonisingly close with a powerful shot.
Solskjaer did get the ball in the net, but all he earned was a booking for unsporting behavior towards Schwarzer.
And late on United might have concede a penalty when Dong-Gook Lee went down following a John O'Shea tackle.
Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was full of praise for his side's performance. "We wanted to have a go and our front boys were a real handful. There were some outstanding defensive performances as well.
"We showed real character after the worst possible start. We might even have pinched all three points and the longer it went on you could sense the crowd getting edgy."
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the result opened the door for Chelsea to retain their title for a third straight season.
"We always said that if we made mistakes, they (Chelsea) have got the ability to come back at us," Ferguson said.
"The way I am looking at it is that we have got four games to go and it looks as if the decider is going to be at Chelsea. It will be some game."
United had taken an early lead when Kieran Richardson slotted home after Wayne Rooney had collected Paul Scholes' pass and rounded Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer.
United struggled to break Boro down after the break and were indebted to goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar's save to thwart Viduka from scoring his second.
The result leaves United four points ahead of Chelsea, who can cut that gap to just one if they win at Newcastle on Sunday.
United have 82 points from 34 games, while Chelsea, who host United in a potential title decider at Stamford Bridge on May 9, have 78 from 33 games.
If United had had any nerves about their absorbing title duel with Chelsea they should have been dispelled thanks to Richardson's third-minute goal.
Scholes' raking pass took Jonathan Woodgate out of the game to release Rooney, who wasted no time in taking the ball round Schwarzer.
Rooney's final touch on the ball was a little too strong, but it made no matter as Richardson stepped in to sidefoot home.
The Old Trafford crowd could have been forgiven for expecting an avalanche of goals at this point, but Boro failed to play the role of willing lambs to the slaughter.
Belying their mid-table position, Boro were impressive following their uncertain start and dominated for long periods due to their midfield control.
As Boro regrouped United were indebted to some brave defensive play from Wes Brown, who first tackled Yakubu and then came across to block Stewart Downing's attempted cross.
Viduka castigated Downing for not delivering his cross more quickly, but when the England international picked up on the ball on the left at the end of the first half he had clearly learned his lesson.
Downing whipped in a cross to the near post and Viduka stole in between Paul Scholes and Brown to send a diving header past Van der Sar.
With United due to face AC Milan in their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday, Ryan Giggs had started the game on the bench, but Viduka's goal saw the Welshman stripped and ready to go for the start of the second half.
But it was Boro who initially threatened in the second period when Viduka bamboozled Brown allowing the Australian a clear sight of goal. This time Van der Sar got the better of Viduka, spreading himself to make a good save.
United brought on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it was Boro who next threatened as Lee Cattermole went agonisingly close with a powerful shot.
Solskjaer did get the ball in the net, but all he earned was a booking for unsporting behavior towards Schwarzer.
And late on United might have concede a penalty when Dong-Gook Lee went down following a John O'Shea tackle.
Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was full of praise for his side's performance. "We wanted to have a go and our front boys were a real handful. There were some outstanding defensive performances as well.
"We showed real character after the worst possible start. We might even have pinched all three points and the longer it went on you could sense the crowd getting edgy."
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the result opened the door for Chelsea to retain their title for a third straight season.
"We always said that if we made mistakes, they (Chelsea) have got the ability to come back at us," Ferguson said.
"The way I am looking at it is that we have got four games to go and it looks as if the decider is going to be at Chelsea. It will be some game."
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