So United find themselves six points off fourth spot (and 12 behind leaders Leicester) while Chelsea are a whopping 17 points off the top four, leaving that dream dead and buried.
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Costa headed over the bar from close range in the closing stages, but it did not prove too costly as he made amends in the dying stages, taking advantage of a slip in the United defence to tap into an empty net. When that was pointed out to Van Gaal in a soft post-match question, the manager wrongly interpreted it as a further contrast between the current struggles and the glory-filled period under Ferguson.
The one positive for Chelsea is that the ailing champions remain unbeaten since Guus Hiddink was brought in as manager until the end of the season in December to replace the fired Jose Mourinho.
United dictated large parts of the game, making an assertive start at Stamford Bridge, passing with precision and speed across the field.
“When you win and when you play good football, confidence grows”.
United came close, though, to conceding a penalty on the stroke of half-time when Daley Blind’s arm blocked a shot by John Terry on the captain’s first home appearance since announcing he will not be getting a new Chelsea contract.
Hiddink said Zouma’s injury, which he called a “hyperextension of the knee joint”, will be examined Monday.
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, having saved his team in the first half, denied both Wayne Rooney and Lingard after the break.
It also meant United had failed to win any of their last 10 league and cup meetings with Chelsea over the past three years.
Chelsea’s response was Branislav Ivanovic’s volley that De Gea saved.
Man United went in front thanks to a superb effort from Lingard before Costa struck in the dying minutes to earn a point for Chelsea.
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“It’s a pity. It would have been a very important step in this second half of the Premiership, but Chelsea pushed hard (as expected) to at least tie the game and they finally scored their goal”.
