Like Leicester City, Manchester United also blew up the chances and the points to move up to the third position in the Premier League points table after playing a 2-2 draw against Southampton on Monday.
Stuart Armstrong had given Southampton the lead but goals in quick succession from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial had taken United ahead. But an equaliser in the stoppage time of the match saw the visitors pocketing a hard-earned point at Old Trafford.
After Chelsea lost 0-3 against Sheffield United on Saturday, fourth-placed Leicester and fifth-placed United had a great chance to dethrone the Blues from the third spot. But both the teams squandered the opportunity as Leicester had suffered a shocking 1-4 defeat to Bournemouth before the Red Devils lost points.
After 35 rounds of matches, Chelsea continue to hold on to their third position with 60 points. Leicester and United are tied at 59 points but the Foxes are at fourth due to their better goal difference.
Manchester United have been bolstered by the return of Paul Pogba in the midfield, while Bruno Fernandes has been proving his worth even since joining the club. But the midfield duo was not as effective against Southampton.
In fact, it was a rare error from Pogba that resulted in the visitors’ opener. The Frenchman was caught in possession by Danny Ings before a cross to unmarked Armstrong saw Southampton taking a lead in the 12th minute.
But United, who had scored 16 goals in their last five league games to close the gap on Chelsea and Leicester, came back strong riding on their stupendous goal-scoring form.
Martial teamed up with Rashford in the 20th minute for the latter to smash his 21st goal of the season. The French striker was at the heart of the matter again two minutes later when he cut across Southampton defenders before launching a thunderous strike into the back of the net.
United failed to sustain their dominance after the half-time break and had almost paid the price for their lackadaisical show before keeper David De Gea saved them from embarrassment.
However, their actual misery began when they were left down to 10 minutes after Brandon William suffered a head injury and walked off the ground. Solskjaer could not introduce a replacement as he had used his allocated three stoppages to make substitutions.
Southampton took advantage of their superior manpower and Obafemi scored a late goal to end the match on a parity.