Blind helps United snag point at West Ham

Fourth place behind Southampton, one clear of Tottenham

Manchester United needed an injury-time equalizer by Daley Blind to escape with a point from a 1-1 draw against West Ham in one of three stalemates in the Premier League on Sunday.

Trailing because of a superbly improvised goal by West Ham’s makeshift defender Cheikhou Kouyate, United persevered at Upton Park and got its reward when Blind pounced on a weak headed clearance to volley into the corner two minutes into added time.

“In the end, we couldn’t cope with long-ball United,” said West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, whose side struggled with United’s late aerial bombardment inspired by Marouane Fellaini’s introduction as a substitute. “It was ’ pump it forward and see what you get’ in the end.”

With Arsenal losing and both Manchester City and Liverpool drawing, United, which had Luke Shaw sent off in injury time for two yellow cards, missed a chance to gain ground on its main rivals in the frenzied fight for Champions League qualification.

United has dropped to fourth behind Southampton and is only a point clear of resurgent Tottenham. Six points separate Southampton and seventh-place Liverpool.

On Saturday, Chelsea extended its lead in the standings to seven points by beating Aston Villa 2-1 as Manchester City was held to a 1-1 draw by Hull.

Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic scored for Chelsea, either side of Jores Okore’s header for Villa, which ended a goal drought of 11 hours for Paul Lambert’s team.

It is the first time Jose Mourinho has won as Chelsea manager against Villa in the Premier League at Villa Park.

“Obviously it is a very important victory for us,” Mourinho said. “There is a long way to go, the Premier League is the Premier League and every game is difficult. It is the only league in the world where the teams from the bottom, they can play the teams from the top and not just make it difficult, they can win matches and points.”

Defending champion City needed a last-minute free kick from midfielder James Milner to salvage a point at home to Hull after David Meyler had surprisingly put the visitors ahead in the first half.

City has now gone four games in the league without winning and manager Manuel Pellegrini conceded that Saturday’s result makes his side’s hopes of retaining its title harder.

“It is more difficult to reverse seven points than five points but Chelsea can also lose games,” Pellegrini said. “More importantly, for our team it is important to recover our performances.”

West Bromwich Albion began Sunday’s comebacks by reversing a 2-0 deficit for a 2-2 draw at Burnley, which could at least console itself with climbing out of the relegation zone. Then substitute Peter Crouch scored a 90th-minute header to salvage a 1-1 draw for Stoke at Newcastle in a match between two midtable teams.

Blind left it even later, rescuing United after a mediocre display that highlighted the frailties in Louis van Gaal’s expensively assembled team as it fights for a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League.

With Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao lacking spark up front and Wayne Rooney toiling in midfield, United was indebted to goalkeeper David de Gea for keeping them in the game. It’s not the first time that has happened this season.

De Gea could do little about the excellent goal scored by Kouyate, who controlled Rooney’s attempted headed clearance and juggled the ball twice before swivelling and sending in a volley that deflected into the net off Blind.