Ronaldo salvages a point for Man United against Chelsea

Sports Desk, Apr 28 (EFE).- Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue of Manchester United yet again on Thursday, scoring his 17th goal of the Premier League campaign to secure a 1-1 draw against visiting Chelsea, who would have taken all of the points but for some clutch saves by Red Devils goalkeeper David de Gea.

The Blues remain third with 66 points, 6 better than Arsenal.

United sit sixth in the table on 55 points and their chances of a top-four finish are dwindling, as both the Gunners and fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur have two games in hand on the Manchester side.

Chelsea dominated in the first half at Old Trafford and the crowd made no effort to conceal their disgust.

The visitors would end the match with 65 percent possession and 21 shots to just six for the hosts. The Blues would have led 2-0 at the break but for two tremendous stops by De Gea to deny Kai Havertz.

But the Spanish keeper could do nothing to stop countryman Marcos Alonso from putting Chelsea up 1-0 at the hour mark with a volley from the six-yard box.

United drew level two minutes later thanks to Cristiano, who brought down a ball from Nemanja Matic and beat Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy.

The 37-year-old Portuguese great has accounted for eight of Manchester United’s nine most recent goals.

Thursday’s marker brought Ronaldo’s total for the season in all competitions to 23rd in all competitions. No other member of the United squad is in double-digits.

Ronaldo forced a stop from Mendy in the 78th minute just as the offside flag went up and Chelsea’s Reece James hit the post with a potential match winner in the 80th. EFE

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