Robin van Persie struck deep into stoppage time to rescue Manchester United a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford this evening.

The visitors looked set to strengthen their grip on top spot in the Premier League table with all three points, until a late twist in the fourth minute of added-on time ensured that the spoils were shared.

The first chance of the contest fell the way of Angel di Maria, but he failed to keep his volley down after being picked out by Juan Mata, with the ball flying over the bar.

Van Persie was the next United player to try his luck on goal in what was a frantic start to the game, latching on to Adnan Januzaj's incisive pass before getting away a shot which was well kept out by Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea looked to hit their opponents on the break as the game edged towards half time with Willian leading the charge, yet after racing past Marcos Rojo the Brazilian midfielder failed to get the better of Chris Smalling, who made a vital interception.

David de Gea was forced into action shortly after to push away Didier Drogba's low effort, ensuring that the scoreline remained goalless at the interval, despite both sides creating decent openings.

Chelsea did manage to make the breakthrough eight minutes after the restart, though, with Drogba flicking a header into the back of the net just moments after De Gea had produced a fine save to deny Eden Hazard, who was through on goal.

The league leaders spurned a great chance to double their advantage when Branislav Ivanovic weaved his way through the United defence, but he could not find the target at the end of his run.

Louis van Gaal's charges upped the pressure in the final 10 minutes of the game in search of an equaliser, with Van Persie being afforded a glimpse on goal after being slipped in by Luke Shaw, although his angled-shot was kept out by Courtois once more.

The game looked to be beyond the Red Devils, even after Chelsea were reduced to 10 men when Ivanovic was shown a second yellow card, until Van Persie smashed the ball past Courtois in the fourth minute of added-on time to rescue a point for the hosts.

Chelsea see their lead stretch to four points at the top of the table, while United are in eighth place.