Aston Villa blew the chance to go top of the Premier League and needed Nicolo Zaniolo’s late goal to rescue a 1-1 draw against struggling Sheffield United.
The substitute levelled in stoppage time just as Cameron Archer’s 87th-minute strike looked to have given the Blades a stunning smash and grab win.
Villa needed victory to go top but now sit second, behind Arsenal on goal difference.
The Blades, meanwhile, still climbed off the bottom of the table after coming so close to a brilliant, resilient, victory.
Leon Bailey had a goal disallowed and the hosts had three penalty claims rejected by VAR as they failed to make their dominance count.
It was supposed to be Villa’s ascension to the top of the Premier League, somewhere they had not been, outside the opening weeks of the season, since December 1998.
The contrast could not have been more different from three-and-a-half years ago when Villa drew 0-0 with the Blades and sat second bottom following the first game of the Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ after the Covid outbreak.
Back then, in an empty stadium, Villa were fortunate to avoid defeat after Orjan Nyland fumbled Oliver Norwood’s free-kick over the line, only for referee Michael Oliver’s watch to fail to signal a goal.
It was a pivotal point in Villa’s fight for survival which, ultimately, gave them the platform to build.
Now, the fact they missed their chance to go above Arsenal, will not diminish their progress, although boss Unai Emery was noticeably angry at full-time after being frustrated by the gutsy visitors.
Blades boss Chris Wilder packed a five-man defence to contain the hosts and United lived dangerously early when Ollie Watkins was shoved by Vini Souza as he lurked for Lucas Digne’s cross.
VAR rejected Villa’s penalty appeals and then disappointed the hosts again when George Baldock blocked Watkins’ header from the resulting corner.
Inevitably, Villa were the aggressors with Wes Foderingham’s smart stop denying Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa heading over but there was no early procession.
With 15 straight home wins, the expectation was on Villa to roll the bottom side over but patience was still needed and Watkins hooked over from a Clement Lenglet knockdown.
It was one-way traffic, just without the goal, and the compact Blades would have been very content at the break.
Yet Wilder would have been fuming after 58 minutes when his side looked to have gifted Villa the opener until VAR intervened.
Baldock was sloppy as he tried to play the ball out as United cleared a corner and was robbed by Watkins, who swapped passed with Jacob Ramsey.
The England striker then crossed for Bailey to sweep in but play was eventually pulled back as Ramsey had fouled Foderingham at the corner.
Another VAR reprieve for the visitors came 15 minutes later when Baldock survived a handball review as Villa Park became increasingly anxious.
It emboldened the Blades and Norwood tested Emiliano Martinez from distance, their first shot, after 78 minutes before Konsa almost sliced Max Lowe’s cross into his own net.
Archer’s shot was blocked and Norwood drove over before United stunned Villa Park with three minutes left.
Vini Souza’s free-kick found Gustavo Hamer running behind and a brilliant piece of skill from the midfielder saw him leave John McGinn floundering.
The substitute then had the presence of mind to cut the ball back for Archer to convert from six yards.
Foderingham saved Alex Moreno’s header but Villa found a leveller deep in stoppage time when Zaniolo headed in Douglas Luiz’s cross.
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
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