Football: Powers that be make a TV meal of United's run-in

Leicester City 2 Manchester United

Manchester United enter the last week of the season in the kind of position which even Jimmy White or Greg Norman would struggle to squander. On the evidence of Filbert Street, weary limbs and confused body clocks represent a greater threat to their prospects of a fourth championship in five years than either Liverpool or Newcastle.

Not only did the Premier League oblige United to fit their final four games into nine days, but Sky, who seemingly dictate the fixture list, have got them playing at all hours. On the heels of this hard-won point against Leicester, in a sort of elevenses fixture, comes today's lunch- time visit by Middlesbrough.

In the unlikely event of United failing to secure three of the four points they require for the title, Thursday night brings an opportunity for supper- time succour at home to Newcastle. Another match at Old Trafford, against West Ham, concludes the campaign at tea-time on Sunday.

Since the footballer's routine is traditionally geared towards three o'clock on Saturday, United's disorientation must have been acute as they trailed Leicester by two goals at a time when they would normally have been digesting breakfast.

But instead of getting mad, they got even, due largely to Peter Schmeichel's brilliance and the introduction of David Beckham. One famously fretful Scot was moved to claim afterwards that he was actively enjoying the run- in.

Alex Ferguson's reasons to be cheerful went beyond the time-honoured satisfaction at snatching a "result" from the jaws of defeat. Ten of his team had endured an arduous week's travelling to and playing in World Cup qualifiers. So to recover to parity in sapping heat - against a side whose spirit and work ethic the United manager admires - was tantamount to a moral victory.

United's resilience could not, however, disguise signs of a fatigue that will keep the flame of faint hope flickering among their rivals, not to mention on Teesside. It was significant that Leicester, with only a sprinkling of internationals, finished the stronger. Roy Keane, in particular, looked as if he was mentally still lining up his fateful penalty in Romania during the opening 45 minutes.

Tiredness leads to lack of concentration, which was certainly evident when United defended Garry Parker's corner like a local ale-house XI. Steve Walsh was able to sweep in a goal that would not have been out of place in his testimonial match last week (it finished 7-4).

Both Ferguson's central defenders were sluggish in the build-up to Ian Marshall's second, David May in the air and Gary Pallister on the ground. Had it not been for one of several world-class saves by Schmeichel, from Marshall's free header, United would have been facing a repeat of a grey day at Southampton last spring.

That, according to the fatalistic Martin O'Neill, was the defining moment. After four passes swept United to the opposite end in what Leicester's manager estimated at 10 seconds, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer halved the deficit. And as Messrs Hansen, Hill and Brooking are forever telling us, the stroke of half-time is a psychologically critical point at which to strike.

Solskjaer duly equalised early in the second half after Andy Cole caught the home centre-backs sleepwalking. The Norwegian has now scored 16 times in 28 League games, and if Ferguson can build up his body strength without diminishing his mobility, he could be a 25-goal striker next season.

Perverse as it may sound, though, Cole posed the more serious problems for Leicester. Yet he will probably pay for United's barren nights against Dortmund with a move this summer if Ferguson faces up to the fact that United were not sharp enough in front of goal to win the European Cup.

O'Neill, who remarked that he would not have been confident even if his team had gone 4-0 up, is sometimes too honest for his own good. He considered a draw with the champions "a great result" for his Coca-Cola Cup winners, though the news from Sunderland, Southampton and West Ham would make it look like two points lost rather than one gained.

Leicester's fate, like United's, is at least in their own hands. A midweek home win against Sheffield Wednesday, which a certain satellite channel is probably trying to reschedule for midnight at this very moment, would guarantee the richly deserved survival of which few believed them capable last August.

Goals: Walsh (16) 1-0; Marshall (20) 2-0; Solskjaer (45) 2-1; Solskjaer (51) 2-2.

Leicester City (4-4-2): Keller; Grayson, Elliott, Walsh, Kamark; Izzet (Campbell, 32), Lennon, Parker (Whitlow, 71), Heskey; Claridge (Guppy, 83), Marshall. Substitutes not used: Prior, Poole (gk).

Manchester United (4-3-1-2): Schmeichel; G Neville, May, Pallister, P Neville; Keane, Butt (Beckham, h-t), Scholes; Cantona; Solskjaer (Johnsen, 85), Cole. Substitutes not used: Irwin, Poborsky, Van der Gouw (gk).

Referee: A Wilkie (Chester-le-Street).

Bookings: Leicester Grayson; United Keane, Cole.

Man of the match: Schmeichel. Attendance: 21,068.