adminand looked set to hold on for a narrow victory until Dempsey scrambled the ball home from close range in injury time at a snow-sprinkled White Hart Lane.
The result means that second-place Manchester City are now five points behind United, while Spurs finish the weekend trailing third-place Chelsea by four points and leading Everton by the same distance.
It was only the fifth time this season that Alex Ferguson’s side have failed to take maximum points from a league game and they have taken just a point from Spurs, who prevailed 3-2 at Old Trafford in September.
Persistent snowfall in north London had put the fixture in jeopardy, but the game survived a pitch inspection 70 minutes prior to kick-off and as the game got under way, the snow had started to ease.
Spurs looked to take the initiative, Dempsey seeing a volley blocked by Nemanja Vidic and the recalled Scott Parker shooting over from 22 yards, but United threatened first when van Persie headed straight at Hugo Lloris.
Meanwhile Chelsea won at home for only the second time in the Premier League under interim manager Rafael Benitez as they held off London rivals Arsenal 2-1 at a snowy Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Juan Mata gave Chelsea a sixth minute lead before Frank Lampard, whose Chelsea future remains uncertain, made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 10 minutes later after Ramires was brought down by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
But Theo Walcott, fresh from signing a new contract in midweek, brought Arsenal back into the match in the 58th minute when he outpaced Branislav Ivanovic and then shot powerfully past Petr Cech.
Arsenal pressed for an equaliser but European champions Chelsea clung on to all three points.
Benitez, repeatedly jeered by Chelsea supporters since replacing sacked fans’ favourite Roberto di Matteo, said victory had been coming.
“We have been doing well, creating chances in all our games,” Benitez told Sky Sports. “In the games we didn’t win we deserved to win. It was just a matter of time until we had a performance like this.” — AFP.
Online Reporter