Middlesbrough 2 - 2 Manchester United

Middlesbrough 2-2 Man Utd: Alves double

Updated: April 6, 2008, 11:01 AM ET

Afonso Alves sent an icy blast through Manchester United's hopes of wrapping up the title with an excellent double to earn Middlesbrough a valiant 2-2 draw.

The result sees United's lead over Chelsea down to three points - and they still have to go to Stamford Bridge.

Gareth Southgate's side were well worth the point at a snow-swept Riverside, and could even have stolen a late winner.

• Fergie sweats over Rio injury

United could point to several chances apart from Cristiano Ronaldo's 37th goal of the campaign and an equaliser from Wayne Rooney, but there was an unusual frailty in defence.

Perhaps the absence of Nemanja Vidic upset the balance - John O'Shea was never comfortable and Rio Ferdinand also limped off in the second half.

The biggest crowd of the season at the Riverside witnessed a hugely-entertaining encounter, Alves warming things up with a promising early run into the United penalty box.

The home fans were left cold however when their marking completely went to pieces and United scored a 10th-minute opener.

First Michael Carrick found himself in the clear at the rear of the area to pick up possession from corner, and then Ronaldo drifted away from his marker to fire home his cross from inside the six-yard box.

Alves showed a couple of flashes, including a decent downward header, as Boro tried to reply then Ryan Giggs hit the side-netting after some stylish interplay between Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Jeremie Aliadiere was then guilty of a horrendous miss after Middlesbrough broke at speed, the French striker pulling the ball wide from a one-on-one position.

Afterwards, United players complained bitterly that referee Mike Riley did not halt play to allow Patrice Evra to receive treatment - van der Sar even had to push Ronaldo away from the match official. Riley, though, was following the FA's rules to the letter and Evra was soon back on his feet anyway.

Ronaldo then showed human blood does flow through his veins after all. A thrilling run saw the Portuguese winger leave Gary O'Neil trailing in his wake but when he cut into the penalty box his finish for once lacked composure and was sliced wide.

Alves won a free-kick against Ferdinand 30 yards out and took it himself. It was a terrific effort two, curling and dipping wickedly but straight at van der Sar, who was up quickly again to claw away the follow-up header from Emmanuel Pogatetz.

But the Brazilian was not to be denied again and 10 minutes before the break he scored an excellent equaliser.

Gary O'Neil's long pass from the right caught United ball-watching, Aliadiere's flick-header took it into Alves' path and he kept his cool to lift the ball over the sliding van der Sar with his left foot.

Boro came agonisingly close to taking the lead when George Boateng found Stewart Downing on his own at the far-post but van der Sar was out like lightning to block the shot.

Ronaldo was then furious again when a powerful strike appeared to be blocked by Andrew Taylor's arm - Riley only awarded a corner.

Alves' equaliser had been the first goal conceded by United since February 23 so when he put Boro ahead in the 56th minute, the majority of the 33,952 crowd went mad with excitement.

Again Aliadiere played a part, the ball coming off his head into Alves stride and the Brazilian this time finished expertly with his right foot.

United were well and truly rocked and Alves nearly sealed the perfect hat-trick but his header struck Ferdinand's knee.

Rooney, who had been out of sorts all match, was booked for following through on Mark Schwarzer. Sir Alex Ferguson had seen enough and took off O'Shea, pushed Wes Brown to centre-back and sent on Owen Hargreaves.

Downing then embarked on a penetrating run that saw him outpace two defenders but his drive from a tight angle only found the side-netting.

Rooney, who had looked close to boiling point, finally found an outlet to his frustration when substitute Park Ji-Sung beat Taylor and centred for the England striker to clip home from close range off Pogatetz's leg.

With 10 minutes to go, Alves departed to a standing ovation as Southgate sent on Tuncay to hunt for a winner.

As the clock ran down the tension increased and both sides had chances to seal it in a frantic finish.

First, van der Sar pulled off a diving save to deny Aliadiere then Rooney dragged his effort wide from a threatening position.

Tuncay looked poised to steal it in injury-time after a brilliant turn - but van der Sar once again proved United's saviour.

Fergie sweats over Rio injury

Rio Ferdinand has given Sir Alex Ferguson another defensive headache after leaving the Riverside with his foot in a protective case following Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.

United can ill afford to lose Ferdinand for long with fellow centre-back Nemanja Vidic out for three weeks and some crucial matches coming up in the Premier League and Champions League.

The draw with Boro sees United just three points ahead of Chelsea, and they have to face Arsenal next weekend before going to Stamford Bridge on April 26.

Ferdinand limped off during the match and left the stadium with his foot in a plastic case, as a precaution.

Ferguson said: 'Hopefully it's not serious with Rio but he was limping for too long.

'The danger was to keep carrying on with him when he was limping he was not playing at his full performance level.'

It looks unlikely that Ferdinand will play in the Champions League second leg against Roma, especially with Gerard Pique impressing Ferguson as a replacement for the England defender.

'Pique came on and did absolutely terrific, he was absolutely marvellous and I think that helped us actually,' added Ferguson.

United had taken the lead at an icy Riverside courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo's 37th goal of the season but two goals from Brazilian striker Afonso Alves put Boro ahead.

It was left to Wayne Rooney's late deflected effort to secure a share of the spoils.

Ferguson admitted United had flirted with defeat.

He added: 'We could have lost the game there's no question, they had some chances and at times our defending was a bit haphazard I thought.

'But at other moments we could have won the game because some of the quality of our football was terrific.

'At 1-0 we looked very strong, and were controlling the match and Wayne Rooney was unlucky to be given offside when he was clear through - it wasn't offside.

'They changed the formation back to 4-4-2 got an equaliser and I thought it was a great game of football after that. It was end to end and both teams deserve great credit for producing a game of football like that at this time of year.

'At times we played some fantastic football but in the context of the game Middlesbrough also produced some great moments and it was just a fantastic game.'

Ferguson insisted United had showed they will keep fighting every inch of the way for the title.

He said: 'The nature of the club is that we never give in and that's a great quality to have at this time of year.

'It sends out a signal to everyone, and our players and fans in particular, that we will never give in. We will be stretching ourselves in every game as long as we can.

'That point could be important, absolutely. Our goal difference is good obviously, but we cannot take anything for granted.

'I said some weeks ago consistency will win us it and I think the most consistent team will do that and I hope that it's us.'

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate said the result had thrown open the title race again.

Southgate said: 'I'm not bothered who wins but the pleasing thing is that we have shown we can compete with the three best football teams.

'United and Arsenal are better to watch but Chelsea have a resilience. We have thrown it open a bit today which is good for the league.'

Alves' goals were his first for the club and Southgate was thankful that 'lift-off' had finally been achieved.

He added: 'From his point of view, and the team and the fans we have been working for lift-off.

'Last week he was bright and that was the first time we have created chances for him. We have seen on the training ground that he's an excellent finisher.

'His finishes today were outstanding, and he has given everyone a glimpse of what he can do.'

Southgate said Middlesbrough had come close to inflicting a defeat on the league leaders.

'We had them rattled, we had them on the back foot,' he said.

'We responded very well to going a goal behind and right to the end had chances.

'We have played simple but effective football and have asked questions. That is the thing I'm always saying to the players about the top teams - can they defend? A lot of teams don't ask those questions.'

Southgate and Ferguson clashed on the touchline briefly but the Boro boss said there was no problem between the two managers.

'I was complaining about one of the decisions and he was saying it was justified.

'I think it's important I don't back down in those situations but I have complete respect for him.'