Lee Bowyer scored an 89th minute goal after the ball came loose to him following a goalmouth scramble. The only hitch – it seemed to come off a handball by Birmingham City’s towering striker Nikola Zigic after he had fouled Rio Ferdinand. Both infractions were either not spotted or chosen to be ignored by referee Lee Mason. Whatever the reasons, it left Sir Alex Fergson foaming at the mouth.
Dimitar Berbatov continued where he left off against Newcastle as he opened the scoring with his characteristically fluid style and could have easily added another but his shot hit the upright. That structure also denied Ryan Giggs’s looping drive which beat Ben Foster’s outstretched fingertips.
Birmingham have never been easy to beat at home and added United to the clubs who’ve failed to conquer them in their last 28 matches. On New Years Day, Arsenal come calling to try and change that statistic.