Casemiro scored in the fourth minute of added time to stun Stamford Bridge as his late goal restored parity in the high-profile fixture with Chelsea, resulting in both sides having to share the spoils of the contest.
Going into this high-voltage clash, most of the headlines in the buildup surrounded the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been banished from the squad by manager Erik ten Hag after refusing to come off the bench in the previous fixture with Tottenham.
In the absence of the Portuguese, as has been the case most often this season, United played fast and fluid attacking football, and they were the better side in the first half of the contest after dominating possession and heaping the pressure on the Chelsea defence.
However, none of their efforts amounted to anything significant as an inspired Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is witnessing a career resurgence in England, managed to keep the scores level.
The best chances of the first half fell to United attackers Marcus Rashford and Antony, with the former extracting a fingertip save off Kepa in the 13th minute while the recent signing put a shot wide just before halftime with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Chelsea managed to claw their way back into the game in the second half and were more competitive. However, they failed to get their noses ahead at home as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, signed on deadline day from Barcelona, missed a series of near chances while Trevor Chalobah struck the woodwork.
The home side looked to have sealed the fate of the contest when Scott McTominay, who had come off the bench in the second half, manhandled opposing striker Armando Broja to the ground, and up stepped Jorginho to slot away the penalty with no mistake just five minutes before the end of regulated time.
However, as is almost always the case with the Premier League, there was more drama in store. A serial Champions League winner with Real Madrid, Casemiro showed his clutch mentality when he popped up in the box in the final moments to meet a beautiful cross from Luke Shaw and provided a fierce header. It beat a diving Kepa and took a rebound off the far post to find its way into the net.
The result means Chelsea and United remain in fourth and fifth, respectively, after 11 games this season.
Elsewhere, Manchester City, led by the brilliant Erling Haaland, continued their strong show of form after the slump against Liverpool last weekend. They bounced back at home with a 3-1 victory over Brighton.
The Norwegian extended his Premier League tally to an incredible 17 goals in 11 games as he netted a brace while Kevin De Bruyne scored a late screamer to put Brighton out of their misery and secure the three points for the defending champions.
City are now a point behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, although Mikel Arteta’s side are yet to play this weekend.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, fresh off the back of their statement 1-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield, undid all of that momentum with a disappointing 1-0 loss to bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest. Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal of the game in the 55th minute to secure a massive result for the relegation contenders.
