BY OLIVER HOLT ( The Times )

GIANLUCA VIALLI was determined to avoid any hint of triumphalism. "We are a humble team," he said, with a ghost of a smile, after a draw that must have felt as good as a victory. But to humility the Chelsea player-coach knows that he can add a few qualities that have not been associated with the aristocrats of the King's Road for some time.

The team that fought to the end at Old Trafford last night, that refused to crack like some of the elegant Stamford Bridge sides of the past and that could have snatched a win in the dying minutes, is well on the way to shaking off the reputation for fragility that has dogged the club for so long.

This result, more than any among the 16 FA Carling Premiership matches in which they have remained unbeaten since the opening day of the season, suggests that Chelsea will indeed be viable championship contenders, that they will not fold when the going gets tough. Humility is all well and good and brings only credit on Vialli, but he may soon start using unfamiliar terms such as obduracy and resilience to apply to his side.

They showed those qualities in spades last night in a match in which no quarter was asked and none was given. It was relentless, unyielding, toe-to-toe stuff and, at the end, Chelsea stood unbowed, knowing that they had more than matched the title favourites in all departments.

Where they outdid them was in their determination to recover from adversity. Behind to a smartly taken goal by Andy Cole on the stroke of half-time, Chelsea, inspired by the typically attritional Dennis Wise and by Gianfranco Zola, dominated the second half in their quest for an equaliser. Just when it seemed it would never come, Zola summoned up a beauty.

Chelsea have lost only twice in 23 visits to Old Trafford, but after Stam had kicked Di Matteo's cut-back clear with Schmeichel stranded, it seemed that their proud record was about to be dented. Then Zola played the ball to Poyet on the edge of the area six minutes from time, Poyet touched it back to him with the faintest of flicks and Zola chipped the ball deftly over Schmeichel.

Still they did not rest. They did not sit back and admire their escape. Zola was now irresistible, dancing and turning everywhere, and, in the dying seconds, his trickery led to the ball being worked out to Babayaro. The Nigerian cut inside and unleashed a fierce left-foot drive that clipped Schmeichel's left-hand post.

For that stroke of fortune, perhaps, Alex Ferguson, the United manager, was grateful for a point, but he must be concerned that his side has failed to keep a clean sheet since November 8. In each of their past three games, they have been unable to preserve a hard-won lead. Chelsea, though, will be full of confidence for the return match at Stamford Bridge on December 29.

Ferguson had trumped Vialli with the rotation to beat them all, leaving not only Ryan Giggs but also David Beckham on a substitutes' bench that must have been padded with velvet. Chelsea were also without two of their most important players, but the absences of Desailly and Leboeuf owed more to force of circumstance than an embarrassment of riches. Desailly was out with an injured knee, his compatriot suspended, but it still said much for the visitors' strength in depth that they could field Duberry and Lambourde in their places.

The wealth of talent displayed by the most affluent teams in the Premiership was awe-inspiring, a parade of some of the world's best players, but, in the first half, at least, any hint of silky skills was snuffed out by a succession of fearsome, unyeilding tackles. Rich young men they may all be, but there was no shortage of passion on the pitch last night.

Wise, inevitably, was in the thick of things, applauding sarcastically when he felt that Scholes had contributed to the early booking of Lambourde, protesting vehemently when Butt was not cautioned for what appeared to be an accidental elbow in the face of Le Saux.

Wise, just as inevitably, was booked himself in the 31st minute after a foul on Scholes on the edge of the Chelsea area and further cautions for Petrescu, Ferrer and Di Matteo took Chelsea's first-half tally to five. In goals, though, they remained deadlocked until deep into first-half injury time. Then Blomqvist escaped down the left and sent a cross skidding along the turf on the edge of the area. Butt met it and when his left-foot shot was blocked inadvertently by Cole, the United striker pounced on it instantly and turned it back past the flat-footed De Goey.

Lambourde was lucky not to be shown the red card soon afterwards, when he tripped Yorke as he surged through the middle, and Chelsea's discomfort increased when Beckham, a substitute for Yorke, curled in a delicious cross with his first touch only for the unmarked Scholes to head it straight into the arms of De Goey.

United should have sealed the game two minutes later, when Scholes's chip found Blomqvist in space, but he pulled his shot horribly wide and it seemed somehow appropriate that one goal was not enough to seal a game graced by such an extravagant investment in footballing talent. It was left to Zola to see that justice was done.

Manchester United (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - W Brown, J Stam, G Neville, D Irwin - N Butt, R Keane, P Scholes (sub: E Sheringham, 84min), J Blomqvist (sub: R Giggs, 77) - D Yorke (sub: D Beckham, 61), A Cole.

Chelsea (4-4-2): E de Goey - A Ferrer, M Duberry, B Lambourde, G Le Saux (sub: G Poyet, 44) - D Petrescu, R Di Matteo, D Wise, C Babayaro - T A Flo, G Zola.

Referee: G Barber