Mixed emotions for Beckham

Beckham and Keane celebrate United's late equaliser

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Blackburn 2-2 Manchester United

David Beckham scored at both ends as Blackburn and Manchester United produced a spectacular game at Ewood Park.

The England captain gifted Rovers a way back into a game that was running away from them when he flicked a header into his own net from fully 18 yards three minutes into the second half.

  Key moments

19 mins: Grabbi misses the target from five yards

20 mins: Giggs fires United ahead with a spectacular finish

48 mins: Mahon's free-kick is headed into his own net by Beckham

68 mins: Gillespie turns and fires home for a superb solo strike

78 mins: Short is sent off for a second booking and Beckham chips home from the free kick

But Beckham soon made up for the slip with an opportunist equaliser to cancel out a spectacular strike from former United winger Keith Gillespie.

Gillespie had blazed Graeme Souness's side in front midway through the second half, spinning away from Mikael Silvestre and firing a blistering left-foot shot beyond Fabien Barthez and into the top right-hand corner of the net.

But a game of many twists shifted dramatically once more 12 minutes from the end.

Craig Short, already booked in the first half, picked up another yellow card after clattering substitute Dwight Yorke.

With Short still sidling off the pitch and Blackburn organising themselves for the free-kick, Beckham spotted Brad Friedel 10 yards off his line and cheekily chipped the keeper from 20 yards.

Friedel furiously claimed he had not heard a whistle, just as David Seaman had done after being beaten by Ian Harte's free kick against Leeds 24 hours earlier.

Alan Mahon takes on Ryan Giggs

The goal brought an end to a remarkable game.

Remarkable for its misses, as much as its goals.

Blackburn striker Corrado Grabbi wasted two golden opportunites to open his account for Graeme Souness's side.

The Italian sliced a shot wide from five yards midway through the first half with the goal at his mercy.

Then, on the hour, Grabbi blazed wide again after goalkeeper Fabien Barthez had been caught in possession on the edge of his own penalty area.

Blackburn also struck the woodwork twice, Grabbi testing the frame of Barthez's goal just 50 seconds into his debut and Henning Berg repeating the trick against his old club in the second half.

But United had their chances too and had looked to be in control of the game after Ryan Giggs had opened the scoring on 20 minutes.

With Grabbi still holding his head in disbelief following his first horror miss, United broke swiftly.

And when Juan Sebastian Veron carved the Blackburn defence open with a superb pass, Giggs showed Grabbi how to finish, a clinical left-foot shot giving Friedel no chance.

Paul Scholes struck a post with a long-range drive and United were coasting before their much-criticised defence wobbled again.

Ferguson left out Jaap Stam and Gary Neville and brought Ronny Johnsen and Wes Brown into the heart of his defence.

But it was Barthez who caused most United hearts to flutter.

A minute into the second half, he was lucky to be awarded a free kick when he lost possession to Grabbi, who turned and fired into an empty net only to be pulled back for fouling the keeper.

Barthez was lucky and so, ultimately, were United.