Jose Mourinho discards step up as under-fire Manchester United boss 'fights' on

There was a moment of unseen appreciation in the 77^th minute of Manchester United's visit to Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho literally stepped onto the pitch during open play to pat Anthony Martial on the back as the often-maligned Frenchman tracked back and stopped Hazard dead on his tracks.

Only four minutes earlier Martial had scored once again – his second of the game – to give Manchester United a rare lead away at Chelsea. The second goal was a thing of beauty, as much for its execution as for the people who were involved in its creation.

Juan Mata charged down the right to knock the ball beyond an onrushing David Luiz and passed it to Marcus Rashford who looked up and found Martial in the box. The Frenchman then knocked the ball in front of him and in a motion resembling a whiplash, swung his right boot at the ball and Kepa in the Chelsea goal stood fixed in his position as the ball rifled into the bottom corner.

Mata, Rashford and Martial – three players whom the media have reported Jose has fallen out with, combined for a goal that looked like the winner until Barkley found the equalizer in the 6^th minute of stoppage time.

The game itself was played in two halves with Chelsea dominating the first half and United replying in the second. In the first half, United was, in typical Mourinho fashion, content at sitting back and allowing Chelsea to play 'Sarri ball' out of the back.

Although Chelsea did have a lot of the ball, their creator-in-chief hardly managed to create inroads. The only time the Blues managed to trouble De Gea was from a Willian set piece when Pogba let Rudiger free to head Chelsea into the lead.

In the second half, Mourinho seemed to undo the shackles and like the Newcastle game, United looked an absolute throwback of a team belonging to an era when the Premier League was their stomping ground.

This change, once again, coincided with Pogba coming into his own. The World-Cup winner started controlling the midfield with panache only he can exude – leaving his markers in a dizzy with quick body feints before setting off on his unique leggy vigils forward.

United started pressing Chelsea in their defensive areas and all the positivity paid off when Martial found a lucky break in the 55^th minute to volley home the equalizer.

Every player that allegedly did not want to play for Jose Mourinho stood up for their manager and displayed great desire, not only this week but in the last game where United came from 0-2 down to win.

Martial, whose contract is expiring this season, was even seen hugging his manager as he was substituted and the words whispered by Mourinho while in embrace made the stoic Frenchman smile.

But this game will perhaps be remembered for the fracas involving a fired-up Jose Mourinho off the pitch following Barkley's late equalizer. As Mourinho sat in his familiar Stamford Bridge seat almost overseeing a monumental United victory, Barkley's gut-wrenching equalizer prompted a member of Sarri's staff to, quite distastefully, overdo his celebrations visibly in front of Mourinho.

This triggered a huge melee in front of the tunnel as plenty of people had to intervene to stop Mourinho from getting into a brawl. The Chelsea fans began booing their former manager and the game had to be halted for a good 3 minutes.

But thankfully, the situation calmed down and the game finished 2-2. Following the final whistle, Jose Mourinho headed over to applaud the home fans and, on his return journey from the far end, he held up three fingers to the Chelsea fans in a clarion call for respect and reminder that the Portuguese still remains their most successful manager.

Talking to the media after the game, Mourinho said, "What happened was with Sarri's assistant, and Sarri came to me and said he would resolve the problem internally. Then Sarri's assistant came to me in Sarri's office and apologised, and I said if you really feel that way and want to apologise, of course I accept it, and forget it because I have made lots of mistakes in my career and I'm not going to kill you because of one. It is over, he apologised, and I accepted it!"

Speaking about the game, Mourinho seemed bemused as to where the 6 added minutes came from and felt that might have cost the "best team" on the evening a victory. "We were the best team on the pitch. If you say before the match, one point at Stamford Bridge is always a good result. But after it, the way the game was, it was an awful result for us, and a phenomenal result for them. The referee gave six minutes; normally when I am losing I never get six minutes. I do not know where the extra time came from."

Mourinho also had a word about the lack of respect from Chelsea fans. When asked whether he got the respect he gave, back from the fans, he said, "No I don't think so. But that is not my responsibility. I have a certain level of education, socially and in sport. What I did here today I would do in Porto and Madrid and Milan, try to behave always the same way, which I did. The reaction of the fans is up to them. I am not annoyed with anything."

Manchester United fans will be happy that the fight, on Saturday, was not restricted to just the touchline as the players still seem to be playing, if not for the manager, then certainly for the badge.