At Old Trafford, after a goalless first half, defender Diogo Dalot broke the deadlock in the 58th minute. It seemed certain that United would climb to fifth place and secure their fifth win in eight matches.
Although the home side didn't add any more goals, they controlled the game until they failed to win a challenge following the opposing goalkeeper's kick. Jarrod Bowen then earned a corner, and it was he who nearly equalized in the 83rd minute, with his effort eventually being tapped in by Frenchman Soungoutou Magassa.
“We had everything under control, even if our performance wasn't perfect. We just needed to manage the long balls. We wanted to stay far from our box because we knew corners could cause problems. We failed to do that, and I'm frustrated and angry about it. We can't be consistent, and we've dropped two points again.”
This isn't the first time Amorim's side has faced this issue this season. In early November, a win against Nottingham could have propelled them to second place, but a week later, they failed to achieve the same goal at Tottenham. In both 2-2 draws, they opened the scoring but had to salvage points late on. This was followed by a 0-1 home defeat to Everton, who played most of the match with ten men.
While fans were pleased with the win over Crystal Palace, Thursday's draw once again sparked their frustration. Heading into the crucial Christmas period, only five points separate the 4th and 14th teams in the Premier League. United could have closed the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea, but instead, they sit in 8th, two points behind the London club.