ir Alex Ferguson criticises assistant ref after Man Utd draw

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson criticised assistant referee Darren Cann after the 3-3 draw with Chelsea.

Ferguson claimed Cann missed a foul by Chelsea debutant Gary Cahill on Danny Welbeck and is happy to award penalties against United but not for them.

"They should have had a man sent off in the first half," said Ferguson.

"That linesman [gave] a penalty against us from 40 yards away last year against Liverpool - and he can't see that?" 

erguson accepted that Cahill's challenge on Welbeck in the 10th minute was outside the penalty area, but thought the Blues centre-back should have been dismissed for denying his striker a goalscoring opportunity.

He said: "I don't blame [referee] Howard Webb. He needed help in that situation and he didn't get it.

"That assistant referee, who's all too happy to flag at Old Trafford for penalty kicks, didn't give them."

United fought back from 3-0 down with 35 minutes left to pick up a point at Stamford Bridge.

Striker Wayne Rooney twice scored from the spot before Javier Hernandez's headed equaliser, although Ferguson felt his side were unlucky not to have two more penalties.

"We had two penalties in the second half which were justified," insisted the Scot. "But I think we could have had four.

"Welbeck's clear through and he was brought down. OK, it's outside the box [but there was] nothing, no decision."

It is only the second point that United have gained from a losing position in the Premier League this season, but Ferguson believes they should have taken all three.

Fewest points gained from losing positions this season

• Manchester United: 2
• Newcastle United: 3
• Manchester City: 3
• Bolton: 3

"I see it as two points dropped," he continued. "We played so well, especially as we got off to a terrible start.

"Apart from a period of 10 minutes after half-time when we got off to a terrible start and lost two goals, I thought we were the far better team."

With Manchester City beating Fulham on Saturday,  United's failure to defeat Chelsea means they have slipped two points behind their local rivals.

However, Rooney believes Sunday's comeback sent out a message to City.

"Of course it's two points lost, but the Manchester City players at home watching the game won't enjoy the way we fought back," he said.

"They can see we've got spirit and we will be there with them until the end.

"A lot of teams might have put their heads down and accepted defeat. But we never put our heads down."