Silvestre saves the day for United

Unsung hero Mikael Silvestre salvaged Manchester United’s title dream at Old Trafford tonight.

Twenty four hours after Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his belief that Arsenal were guilty of over-confidence in their charge towards a second successive Barclaycard Premiership championship, his team almost gift-wrapped the trophy and sent it on to Highbury.

Having lost their interval lead to Mark Viduka's 63rd minute header, United were left banging their heads against Leeds' defensive brick wall before Silvestre, with only two goals from 179 previous appearances for the Red Devils, rose to meet David Beckham’s inswinging free-kick to seal a dramatic late victory.

The win came at a cost, with Juan Sebastian Veron limping off and skipper Roy Keane completing the game as a makeshift centre-forward after picking up an injury as all three home substitutes had been used.

But, in the aftermath of victory, that will be of secondary concern as Leeds could not break an Old Trafford winless streak which stretches back to 1981.

Ferguson has never been a man to back down from a big decision and his brutal axe fell on Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville who were both dumped from the side beaten by Liverpool in Cardiff at the weekend.

The introduction of Nicky Butt and Quinton Fortune to the starting line-up after long absences on the domestic scene meant another central defensive appearance for Keane.

The talismanic Irishman is known to dislike the role but, despite his protestations, he is as assured a performer in the position as Ferguson has at his disposal, and that includes favourable comparison with Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand, who was again paired with Keane as he was against Juventus eight days ago.

And just as in the Stadio delle Alpi, Keane barely put a foot wrong.

His extraordinary reading of impending disaster ensured Leeds were hardly able to create a chance worthy of note during an opening period in which they enjoyed plenty of possession while barely entering the home box.

It was virtually the same story after the interval but, on the one occasion Keane did lose out, it proved fatal as Alan Smith charged past him before being upended by Nicky Butt.

The free-kick gave Ian Harte the chance to swing in one of his dangerous left-footers and Viduka took full advantage, nodding past Fabien Barthez in the same confident manner Silvestre was to emulate 11 minutes from time.

Viduka's strike cancelled out the first-half lead given to United by visiting skipper Lucas Radebe who could not get out of the way when Paul Robinson parried Butt's close range header into his path.

Apart from bringing a sense of assurance to the United rearguard, Keane's defensive role also allows Veron more freedom to display his undoubted talent.

Midfield pairings with Fortune and Phil Neville have already seen the Argentinian operate at a higher level than he does alongside Keane and, with Butt by his side tonight, he revelled in the responsibility until injury brought his evening to an end 10 minutes after the re-start.

Ferguson will hope the damage sustained in a meaty clash with Viduka is not too great given his impressive impact on this game but, a Champions League quarter-final berth already assured, it will be March 15 before he is required for meaningful combat.

Robinson was certainly relieved to see Veron’s wicked long-range drive flash into the side-netting but an injury-ravaged Leeds outfit had looked relatively secure until Beckham delivered one of his trademark crosses, launching the move which eventually saw Radebe credited with an own goal.

Given they had not completed a league double over their fierce cross-Pennine rivals for over three decades, the chances of a comeback were slim but, urged on by their vociferous support, they gave it a go.

What the visitors lacked in finesse, they made up for in muscle and they charged into every tackle as though their lives depended on it.

Given their sorry season, it was an admirable effort and gained just reward when Smith evaded Keane for the first time and was hacked down by Butt for the free-kick from which Leeds were to equalise.

Silvestre and Keane went agonisingly close to restoring the home side's advantage but Leeds looked just as likely to break the stalemate at the other end before their hopes were punctured by such an unexpected source.