Chelsea 0 Manchester United 0: Chelsea and champions serve up stalemate before the final course

The crowds had long since left Stamford Bridge last night when Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the turf going through his stretching exercises as Peter Kenyon made his way around the pitch. For a split second there was a moment to make every Manchester United fan's blood run cold: a cheery wave from the chief executive of Chelsea which was returned by the Portuguese winger.

It was a small reminder to the Stamford Bridge hierarchy that however much money you throw at a title race it will not always buy you the man who can decide it. Ronaldo was one of the last players Kenyon signed during his time at Old Trafford and he could hardly have left them with a better legacy in that respect. Because by the time these two sides met last night it was Ronaldo who had done most to render this game of games completely meaningless.

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Ronaldo himself was not even on the bench for this bizarre post-title race encounter: a tale of sound and fury signifying nothing. Sir Alex Ferguson did not field a single player in his first XI who would be first choice if his entire squad is fit by the time he plays Chelsea again in the FA Cup final. Yet on one occasion the Manchester United manager was so incensed by events on the pitch that he ran on to remonstrate with referee Graham Poll.

For his part, Jose Mourinho rested the likes of Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba and still got so angry at one point that he thought Poll had sent him off. The Chelsea manager banished himself to the back of the dugout only to be told by his assistant Steve Clarke and the fourth official that he was allowed to come back to the bench if he wanted. Someone needed to remind these two teams that the title had already been decided on Sunday.

What did we learn? That the FA Cup final will at least be a pulsating game and also that Poll is Mourinho's least favourite referee. It is a good job then that there will be another official at Wembley as well as two very different teams. Enmities were building up so quickly last night that Mourinho substituted John Obi Mikel for his own good and Chris Eagles almost dispatched Shaun Wright-Phillips into the East Stand.

It was absent of meaning but full of bad feeling although there was one milestone for Chelsea. With this draw they have equalled Liverpool's record run of 62 consecutive unbeaten home league games between February 1978 and January 1981. It is a remarkable achievement that they can surpass on Sunday against Everton, although it will be little compensation for having to applaud United on to the pitch last night as the new champions.

That too was a surreal experience, with the likes of Ryan Giggs and Ronaldo in the stands, and the best five-a-side team ever on the bench (Edwin Van der Sar, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes). Instead the United players clapped out on to the pitch by John Terry and his team-mates included Chinese debutant Dong Fangzhuo, Kieran Lee and Chris Eagles. You could have forgiven Chelsea for not bothering.

At 22, Dong has waited a long time for his Home Office work permit, never mind his first chance at United, and on this performance he is not yet the Rooney of the Far East. For Chelsea, Scott Sinclair, 18, made his first start for the senior team and was the most impressive of the new boys but faces a summer in plaster after cracking a metatarsal bone in a challenge with Wes Brown.

On the pitch, it heated up quickly, Mikel was twice brought crashing down by Alan Smith, who was lucky not to be booked, and the Nigerian's retribution was not particularly discreet. He launched a scything challenge on Eagles that had Ferguson up out of his seat and over the touchline in disgust. Had this game meant something, it could so easily have been a red card, but the booking was appropriate.

Before the hour was up, Poll had seven names in the book and his name was being taken in vain by both sets of supporters. Brown clattered Sinclair, Michael Essien went into the book for throwing the ball away and then, to top it all, Eagles took his revenge for the Mikel tackle with a studs-up lunge on Wright-Phillips as it threatened to get nasty.

Poll is one of the few men who cops it from Chelsea and United fans - although Kenyon goes close - but he made the right call when Eagles tumbled in the penalty area as Essien challenged him. Ferguson claimed a penalty but the replays showed the Chelsea man had made no contact.

There were 12 minutes left when Mourinho exchanged angry words with Poll over his decision to penalise Claude Makelele for a foul on substitute Rooney. In the closing stages, Chelsea should have won the game as Tomasz Kuszczak did his long-term prospects no favours by flapping at a couple of corners. Darren Fletcher made an excellent saving tackle on Salomon Kalou when he was through on goal and then Kuszczak saved from Lassana Diarra. Lee cleared off the line from Ben Sahar.

When they play West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday, United will surely have more about them than this. Another run-out for the maybes and the last-chance-saloon players in Ferguson's squad could play havoc with the relegation battle. Although after 20 years and nine titles - and an FA Cup final to play - the United manager might just argue he has the right to do whatever he wants.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cudicini; Ferreira, Terry, Essien, Bridge; Diarra (Morais, 88), Makelele, Mikel (J Cole, h-t); Wright-Phillips, Kalou, Sinclair (Sahar, 55). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Geremi.

Manchester United (4-3-3): Kuszczak; Lee, Brown, O'Shea, Heinze (Carrick, 66); Smith, Fletcher, Richardson; Eagles, Dong (Rooney, 73), Solskjaer. Substitutes not used: Van der Sar (gk), Ferdinand, Scholes.

Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).

Booked: Chelsea Mikel, Diarra, Essien; Manchester United Heinze, Lee, Brown, Eagles.

Man of the match: Essien.

Attendance: 41,794.