PREMIERSHIP Champions Manchester United held off a determined Chelsea side to earn a creditable point at Stamford Bridge.

The Reds made eight changes from the side which beat rivals City with Wes Brown, Gabriel Heinze and Alan Smith the only survivors.

Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Edwin van der Sar, and Paul Scholes were on the bench - but the rest of the first team squad were handed a day off for this Barclays Premiership match.

Chelsea must have wondered whether it was worth giving the newly-crowned champions a guard of honour as only three regular first-team players started the game for United.

It was almost a clash of the reserve teams as Chelsea also took the opportunity to rest a host of their own first-teamers.

The FA Cup final between the two teams on May 19 will be a vastly different affair but the opening five minutes of this league clash produced little to enthuse about.

Chelsea were the first to show any attacking desire when Shaun Wright-Phillips was put clean through on goal by Mikel John Obi.

Save

The former City winger managed to get a shot away but Tomasz Kuszczak denied him an opening goal with a one-handed save.

Wright-Phillips surprised Kuszczak in the 15th minute when his cross almost dropped into the net at the far post with the United keeper struggling.

But the game livened up in the 20th minute when Mikel’s lunge on Chris Eagles brought him a booking and Sir Alex Ferguson out of his touchline seat.

Mikel had already been the victim of two reckless tackles by Alan Smith but the Nigerian youngster, who shunned United in favour of Chelsea, deserved a yellow card for his crude tackle.

The subsequent uproar from the United players and officials saw Gabriel Heinze booked by referee Graham Poll for dissent.

United’s first chance of the game arrived in the 36th minute when Terry’s poor header fell to the feet of the waiting Smith but instead of having a shot himself, the United schemer’s pass was deflected into the path of Gabriel Heinze who fired wide from six yards.

Chelsea replaced Mikel with Joe Cole at half-time and the home side momentarily lifted the tempo.

United defenders Kieran Lee and Wes Brown were booked within minutes for poor challenges on Cole and then Sinclair respectively.

Chelsea’s Lassana Diarra then found himself on the wrong side of referee Poll when he upended Chris Eagles.

The Chelsea player was shown the yellow card but United failed to punish them further when Kieran Richardson’s free-kick sailed by Carlo Cudicini’s right-hand upright.

Booked

In the 53rd minute Sinclair was replaced by Israeli international Ben Sahar.

The game then livened up again but for all the wrong reasons in the 56th minute.

First Michael Essien was booked for throwing the ball away and moments later United should have had a penalty when the Ghana international brought down Eagles.

But with some of United’s players still appealing for a spot-kick, Eagles exacted revenge with a lunging tackle on Wright-Phillips.

The United man was lucky to escape with just a yellow card for the offence which brought the tally of bookings to five inside 12 minutes since the start of the second half.

In the 64th minute Michael Carrick replaced Heinze for United but it was Chelsea who almost broke the deadlock four minutes later when Wright-Phillips tested Kuszczak with a stinging shot.

In the 78th minute, Mourinho was momentarily banished to the stands after being ordered from the dugout by referee Poll.

Mourinho was involved in a pointed exchange of views with Poll on the touchline after the Chelsea coach was angered by the official’s decision to penalise Makelele for a foul on substitute Wayne Rooney.

But seconds later he returned to his seat in home dugout after being asked to do so by fourth official Mark Clattenburg.

Chelsea almost won it two minutes from time but Sahar’s effort was cleared off the line by Kieran Lee.

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