CSKA were first to open the scoring through Russian international Alan Dzagoev. Micheal Owen’s shot equaled the proceedings just a few minutes later. But Serb Milos Krasiс restored the lead even faster.

In the second, Vasily Berezutsky brought the Red devils to the verge of catastrophe, but Paul Scholes’s and Valencia’s late goals tied things up.

Both coaches felt mixed emotions after the match.

"We were absolutely fantastic in terms of our desire to win the match and were unlucky at times in the game. Their goalkeeper made some fantastic saves, we hit the post and missed a lot of other chances. And we also had a stonewall penalty turned down,” Alex Ferguson, Man United’s boss, told MUTV.

"But we didn't make it easy for ourselves and it became an uphill fight. That's maybe not a bad thing though, because it's a reminder that when you leave yourself open in European football it can be very dangerous,” he added.

“Everything went well for us during the game. We played some good football. When you have a 3-1 lead shortly before the final whistle, even playing Manchester, even at Old Trafford, a draw always comes as a disappointment. And only after some time you realize that the result is really very decent,” Leonid Slutsky, CSKA coach, explained on Sportbox.ru.

This is still a great result for CSKA, but all three points would have gone a long way in ensuring the Muscovites make the last 16 of the event.

CSKA stay third in group B, moving to four points from four games.

Also in the group, Wolsburg increased their advantage over the Muscovites up to three points following victory over Besiktas.

Elsewhere, the fixture of the night looked set to be at San Siro, where after a tight 90 minutes it turned out to be all square between Milan and Real Madrid.

Also, wins on the night for Marseille, Bordeaux, Juventus and Porto, with Chelsea and Atletico drawing things at 2-2.

The results mean that, with two match days ahead, Manchester United, Bordeaux, Chelsea and Porto have already qualified to the next round.