By Chris O'Brien
April 23 2007

Manchester United and Middlesbrough shared the spoils at Old Trafford in a nervy Premiership clash. The Red Devils will hope that the dropped points will not cost them the league title with Chelsea heading to Newcastle on Sunday.

Manchester United could only a muster a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough on Saturday evening as the Premiership title race remains wide open.

Chelsea will close the gap to a single point at the top of the table if they can take maximum points from their difficult trip to Newcastle on Sunday.

Surprise starter Kieran Richardson gave the Red Devils an early lead as he side footed home from close range after great work from Wayne Rooney; but the visitors levelled proceedings moments before the half-time break thanks to a Mark Viduka diving header.

Both teams threatened after the interval and United were left thankful of hanging on for a point after the visitors should have been awarded a late penalty. Dong-Gook Lee was hacked down by John O'Shea but referee Peter Walton waved play on.

Full Time - Manchester United 1-1 Middlesbrough
Attendance - 75,967

Manchester United: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand (Fletcher 46), Brown, Heinze, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Richardson (Giggs 46), Smith (Solskjaer 67), Rooney.
Substitutes Not Used: Kuszczak, Eagles.

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Davies, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Taylor, Cattermole, Rochemback, Boateng, Downing, Yakubu (Lee 81), Viduka.
Substitutes Not Used: Jones, Huth, Morrison, Johnson.