Chelsea vs Manchester United: A (near) Mourinho masterclass at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea scored a last-gasp equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United with substitute Ross Barkley denying Jose Mourinho a much-needed victory at his old club's stadium.

While the bust-up between the United manager and an assistant coach of Mauricio Sarri overshadowed the end of a thrilling contest, Mourinho showed the world that he still has a lot to give to the game.

Chelsea came into the match as strong favourites having stayed unbeaten thus far, all the while being touted as one of the teams to beat for the title. United, on the other hand, have struggled to get going this season and have uncharacteristically shipped in a lot of goals. Still, some had the lingering doubt that Mourinho might come up with something that surprises all.

He very nearly did!

Chelsea under Sarri have developed a possession-based playing style. Their ball keeping and passing statistics are on par with Josep Guardiola's Manchester City this term. It came as no surprise when the team began to dominate the ball starting from the first whistle. They did this while Mourinho's United chose to sit back, apply very little pressure and work solely on closing the passing channels in the final third of the pitch.

Even after going one goal down, Mourinho was content with letting Chelsea have all the ball and wait for a counter-attacking opportunity.

As it happened, the patient game by United paid dividends in the second half as they broke open Chelsea's defence twice, the second of which was a brilliant counter-attacking move which left Martial one on one with Azpilicueta. The Frenchman converted well giving the keeper no chance leaving the Manchester United fans elated.

Hazard was masterfully kept quiet by Mourinho, again

The game had all the looks of another classic Mourinho masterclass. Hazard, who has been the best player in the league by far, was duly kept quiet by his tactics. Matic dutifully keeping him at bay during the entirety of the game and the player behind him such as Young and Lindelof closing the shooting opportunities for the Belgian.

For all of Chelsea's possession, they suddenly couldn't muster any clear-cut opportunity. It was only in the 96th minute that they scored a scrappy equaliser, ironically from route one style of football. Mourinho must be lamenting the fact that he did not have Fellaini at his disposal for these final minutes or he might just have nicked a famous victory at his old ground.

Sarri has displayed respect for the Portuguese manager before the game and it was clear as to why. Jose Mourinho, if criticised for his playing style definitely, knows how to grind results out of tough games. It would have been two back-to-back comeback wins for United had they managed to get past the line in this game.

The reception and the general consensus would have been different for the Portuguese boss right now had that been the case.

Mourinho nearly got into a fight with Sarri's assistant coach after the

equalier

But looking at the way things turned out and following the near-scuffle at the end of the game, headlines would be written very differently on the coming days. And Mourinho would have to prove himself all over again in another game.

How big a difference does a few seconds truly make in football.