MANCHESTER UTD - 1, LIVERPOOL - 1 By David Lacey

Liverpool yesterday defended Arsenal's right to remain serious championship con tenders. By holding Manchester United at Old Trafford they made it possible for Arsene Wenger's team to narrow the gap at the top of the Premiership to one point over Easter.

While the draw extended United's lead to seven points, Arsenal now have four matches in hand and will play two of them - at home to Newcastle today and away to Blackburn on Monday evening - before Alex Ferguson's side are again in action. The contest, in short, is still very much alive, and as the United manager admitted afterwards: "The balance of power is now in Arsenal's hands."

Against all the odds, and contradicting their own suicidal tendencies, Liverpool held United despite being reduced to 10 men for almost an hour following the dismissal of Michael Owen nine minutes before half-time. Graham Poll, who a little earlier had booked the 18-year-old England striker for a reckless follow-through on Peter Schmeichel, sent him off for catching Ronny Johnsen's left ankle with a challenge both late and high.

Johnsen went to hospital for Xrays which revealed damaged ligaments - he might be out for three weeks - and it seemed only a matter of time before a Liverpool defence which had already conceded yet another soft goal would crack further.

In the event the opposite happened. Dominic Matteo and Phil Babb defended with growing authority and only at the last did United come close to winning it.

Ryan Giggs, starting his first home game since February 21st, gave pace and balance to the attack, but was forced off before half-time by a recurrence of his hamstring injury. Teddy Sheringham came on to co-ordinate United's movements for the final 25 minutes, but for once Paul Scholes, to whom most of the best chances fell, was off target.

The way the game was going Liverpool might have won had Owen stayed on. So well did Danny Murphy, the 21-year-old brought into the side because of Karlheinz Riedle's back injury, resume his England youth partnership with Owen that this, added to the pace and penetration of Steve McManaman, not only helped Liverpool draw level but was on the point of taking the game over.

Not that it began that way. United all but went ahead before the match was a minute old. Giggs exploited some hesitant control by Murphy to gain possession and sprint through a yawning gap. Brad Friedel, staying on his feet, blocked the Welshman's shot and as Scholes aimed to place the rebound inside the near post, Babb just managed to get back to stop what had appeared a certain goal.

Yet, if Liverpool took some encouragement from this they were quickly disillusioned. One corner from David Beckham was nodded back by Nicky Butt and went behind for another. This time Beckham's kick found Johnsen unmarked and the Norwegian put United in front with the simplest of headers.

United and their followers relaxed; a familiar script was being repeated. But soon Liverpool's precise passing began to gnaw at Old Trafford's nerves.

Shortly before the quarter-hour Owen cleverly worked his way in from the right and although Schmeichel rushed out, the ball broke to

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