MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Moisés Caicedo put the brakes on Manchester United's mini-revival under Ruud van Nistelrooy by securing a Premier League point for Chelsea with a stunning second-half volley in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Van Nistelrooy, who is acting as interim coach following the sacking of Erik ten Hag last week, inspired United to a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup in their first game in midweek. And although Bruno Fernandes gave United the lead with a 70th-minute penalty and gave them hope of a decisive win, Caicedo equalized the score with a goal of his own four minutes later.

Van Nistelrooy remains temporarily in charge of next week's Europa League games against PAOK Thessaloniki and again next Sunday against Leicester in the Premier League. Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim will then arrive on November 11, becoming United's sixth permanent coach since the resignation of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. However, he will need to engineer a quick turnaround to get United back on track this season. – Mark Ogden

Ten Hag's caution still worries United

Van Nistelrooy's natural attacking instincts have already made a difference at Manchester United in his two spells as manager, but the scars from Ten Hag's cautious approach still run deep.

United's toothlessness is confirmed by the fact that they have led for a total of 90 minutes in the Premier League this season – and 55 of those were against struggling Southampton.

Only Fulham, Southampton, Brentford and now Chelsea have fallen behind against United this season. Incredibly, for a club of this strength, only Southampton and Crystal Palace have scored fewer goals than United in the league.

The Red Devils' five goals in the midweek win over Leicester were an example of the team playing with more freedom under Van Nistelrooy, and they also played with flair against Chelsea. But while United were often caught off guard in attack under Ten Hag, they were also laborious and deliberate when operating from the back, and Van Nistelrooy was quick to prevent that from happening again against Chelsea.

The former United striker clearly wants his players to look forward whenever they have the ball, but a key mistake from Ten Hag's side was that players too often took the safety first option and pushed the ball backwards played. When defender Matthijs de Ligt did just that in the first half, choosing to play the pass back to goalkeeper André Onana instead of playing it forward to Alejandro Garnacho, Van Nistelrooy insulted the Netherlands international on the touchline and urged him to to pass forward next time.

There have been other occasions when Van Nistelrooy has pointed forward, but when a team like United is struggling, players tend to take the easy option to reduce the risk of a mistake. That's a problem that still plagues this United team. –Ogden

Caicedo shows why Chelsea wanted him

Had things been different, Caicedo could have worn United red instead of Chelsea blue on Sunday. Instead, he scored a fantastic equalizer that earned Enzo Maresca's side a valuable point.

United tried to sign Caicedo from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador before he moved to Brighton & Hove Albion. From there he moved to Chelsea in 2023 in a deal worth £115 million.

The huge transfer fee brought added pressure but after a rocky first season at Stamford Bridge he is finally looking like the player who was so effective at Brighton.

His goal against United was amazing; A volley from the edge of the penalty area from a ball falling from the sky. It's a difficult skill, but Caicedo executed it perfectly and Onana had no chance – he was almost past him before he had time to react.

Caicedo's overall performance earned him the Man of the Match award. He left at full-time after winning the midfield battle against Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte alongside his midfield partner Romeo Lavia.

Chelsea are still developing under Maresca, but if Caicedo can consistently reach this level he will help them make a big leap forward this season. – Rob Dawson

Amorim most solves United's central quartet

There's still a lot waiting for him when Amorim officially takes charge of Manchester United a week from now, but few things are more important than the problem the current Sporting coach will have with his centre-backs and midfielders.

The new manager will almost certainly quickly impose his preferred 3-4-3 formation on United, but he needs the personnel to make it work. If he watches this game again, he will be concerned about the deficiencies in defense and midfield.

The central quartet of defenders De Ligt and Lisandro Martínez and midfielders Casemiro and Ugarte are enough to give Amorim nightmares.

De Ligt is too slow and reckless to impress Amorim and the former Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich defender has been caught out too often against Nicolas Jackson.

Martínez, meanwhile, will alarm Amorim with his decisiveness and his unhealthy habit of turning a routine situation into a dangerous one. For some reason, Martínez takes far too many chances with overzealous tackles, and he was lucky not to give away a penalty for a push and a foul on Levi Colwill in the first half.

Martínez was booked for a foul on Cole Palmer in stoppage time, which could have been a red card. The knee-high challenge was reviewed by VAR, but Martínez escaped further punishment. Such a rash challenge is all too common for the Argentine defender, and at some point he and United will have to pay a heavy price.

Ugarte is also unreliable in midfield and was substituted late in the game when it looked like he would be sent off for persistent violations following a series of fouls following a yellow card. Paris Saint-Germain's summer signing is struggling to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, just as Casemiro has always struggled since his move from Real Madrid in 2022.

Four expensive signings in key areas and Amorim can't rely on any of them. –Ogden

Palmer's Mancunian roots

Palmer had a quiet game at Old Trafford, but there are many at United who remain hopeful that he will visit the stadium more regularly in the future.

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Janusz Michallik criticizes the performances of Chelsea's biggest names after they failed to score in their 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

He came through Manchester City's academy but has been a United fan since childhood. Since moving to London 18 months ago, he has also regularly returned to Manchester to visit family and friends.

It won't be easy to get rid of Palmer from Chelsea, where the 22-year-old England star has a mammoth contract until 2033. That hasn't stopped some United recruiting staff from believing there's a chance he could one day be at the club, however.

Being young and English, Palmer is exactly the type of player United sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox want to bring in to usher in a new era under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

United fans were quick to remind Palmer of his City past, particularly when a tame pass went under his boot and out of play in the first half. If he came to United and made the same impact he had at Chelsea, all those years at the Etihad Stadium would quickly be forgotten. –Dawson

Where does Enzo fit in Chelsea's midfield?

Enzo Fernández started this season as Chelsea captain. Maresca controversially presented him with the armband despite teammate Wesley Fofana accusing him of “uninhibited racism” for singing a derogatory song during his international appearance with Argentina. The £105million new signing is now out of the team and is left wondering when he will make his next Premier League start after Maresca was again named among the substitutes at Old Trafford.

Fernández was left out of the team for Maresca's last three league games, with Caicedo and Lavia instead selected to play in the heart of the midfield. This pairing shows signs of a positive mix in midfield and Fernández will struggle to reclaim his spot.

He was briefly on the bench in the closing stages, but Chelsea now look more stable under Maresca and Fernández must now find a way to fight his way back into the team.

When he signed from Benfica in January 2023, Fernández was considered a big signing for Chelsea, but he failed to live up to that promise. Now he faces a real battle to prove he is worthy of a starting spot. –Ogden

Van Nistelrooy is not harming his career prospects

Van Nistelrooy won't get the top job at Old Trafford, but the Dutchman improves his chances of another managerial position elsewhere.

The 48-year-old was looking for a No.1 job in the summer and spoke to Burnley before United called with an offer to become Ten Hag's assistant. Van Nistelrooy said at the time that the only assistant job he would take was back at Old Trafford, where he had such an impressive playing career between 2001 and 2006.

His immediate future once Amorim arrives is uncertain. He is still under contract, but Amorim has already made it clear that he will bring his own coaches from Sporting. If there is no role for Van Nistelrooy in the Amorim team, his interim role at United should open other doors.

He began his task on Wednesday with a stunning 5-2 win over Leicester and ended a demanding league game against Chelsea with a respectable draw. United's first 30 minutes were good and a step up from what we've seen from Ten Hag in recent weeks.

These performances will not have gone unnoticed by clubs in the Premier League and Championship who may be in the market for a new manager in the new year. –Dawson