Zlatan Ibrahimovic delivered his most important goal yet for Manchester United as he sent Old Trafford wild with his 19th of the season in all competitions to salvage a 1-1 draw with their fiercest rivals Liverpool today.

James Milner, so often a scourge of United, had silenced the home crowd with a 27th27th-minutealty as Liverpool seemed to be coasting with relative comfort to a crucial Premier League win until the irrepressible Swede struck with an 84th minute header.

The draw put Liverpool into third spot, alongside second-placed Tottenham on 45 points, but left Chelsea seven points ahead of the pack after 21 games, while United, who saw the end of their nine-match winning streak, remain sixth with 40 points.

It had looked as if it might be a miserable afternoon for the world's most expensive player, Frenchman Paul Pogba, who gave away the penalty with a clumsy handball, missed a golden opportunity to score and looked lost on defensive duty.

Mourinho brought on captain Wayne Rooney as a second half substitute, hoping he would break the club's scoring record but Liverpool, for whom Simon Mignolet made key saves, held United comfortably until Ibrahimovic's decisive late intervention.