United were desperate to get back to winning ways after the Leeds debacle and started strongly.

The Red Devils enjoyed plenty of early pressure and Wayne Rooney twice went close to breaking the deadlock - with Joe Hart pulling off a fine save before the England forward headed wide.

United continued to look the more likely and the Midlands outfit, unbeaten in 12 before the game, had to pull out all the stops in defence to keep it level.

Despite the Reds bossing the early play, it was Brum who went in ahead at the break. A corner wasn't fully cleared by the Champions, Lee Bowyer nodded it back into the danger zone and it fell to Jerome who stabbed home the easiest finish in front of United's travelling masses.

Jerome's strike totally changed the direction of the game. Alex McLeish's on-form men were brimming with confidence and created numerous opportunities to bag a second. Chuco Benitez fired straight at Tomasz Kuszczak, before poor finishing denied Jerome a brace.

Birmingham were left to rue missed opportunities as United levelled things up just after the hour in controversial circumstances. Left-back Patrice Evra drilled a powerful cross across the box and the ball cannoned off Dann and into the back of Hart's net. However, the linesman put his flag up - claiming Rooney was offside - a decision that was soon overturned by referee Mark Clattenburg.

Suddenly, the Reds looked capable of finding a winner until Darren Fletcher was given his marching orders during the closing stages. The Scotsman had already been booked when he tripped up Jerome and the impetus swung back to Brum.

The hosts looked for a winner during six minutes of injury-time, but it remained all square. The draw was the fair result and leaves United one point behind leaders Chelsea having played one game more.

The game saw striker Mame Biram Diouf make a surprise debut for United. The 22-year-old Senegalese international played the final nine minutes and showed some bright touches.

Full Time - Birmingham City 1-1 Manchester United
Attendance - 28,907

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