At times the endless goalmouth scrambles were more like a West End farce and at times the game seemed more like a training session of attack against defence as United threw nine players forward by the end. It may even come as some relief for United to face the Juventus defence in next week's Champions' League semi-final first leg at Old Trafford, such was the brilliance and sheer bloody-minded doggedness of this Dons rearguard performance.

Chris Perry and Dean Blackwell were outstanding at the heart of the defence, Robbie Earle and Jason Euell were tireless in midfield and keeper Neil Sullivan - linked with a possible summer move to United - pulled off a string of world-class saves. United did hit the net once as David Beckham scored for the second successive game on the stroke of half-time but in reality, the second-half was probably the most one-sided 45 minutes of football you could imagine.

The visitors had a total of nine shots on target and seemed to have at least 80 per cent of the possession in the second period. Wimbledon may not have beaten United in their past nine League encounters and even came into the game on the back of three successive defeats, but yet again they proved their ability to upset high-flying opponents.

United had even fielded a virtually full-strength side just four days ahead of the encounter with Juventus but it was injured centre-back Jaap Stam's commanding presence which they sorely missed early on. They were behind after just five minutes when Sullivan punted the ball downfield to catch United cold following a corner and Euell intercepted Neville's weak header back to keeper Peter Schmeichel.

After first pushing the ball out of the keeper's reach, Euell then showed great agility to steer his shot into the empty net at full stretch as Schmeichel desperately attempted to recover. The United keeper was also guilty of two miscued clearances but it was only his incredible agility which kept out Euell just seven minutes later.

Johnsen was muscled out of the way by John Hartson as the Welshman turned on the edge of the penalty area and then laid the ball sideways to the unmarked Euell, whose shot was superbly saved by the Danish keeper. Whatever their defensive deficiencies, United piled forward in increasing numbers, spurred on by their captain Roy Keane, and Henning Berg headed over and Andy Cole shot wide.

Sullivan pushed a shot from Neville around the post, blocked Keane's path as he charged into the penalty area and tipped a powerful drive from Paul Scholes out for a corner. Still the visitors proved to be their own worst enemies as Berg failed to control a hurried pass across the face of his own penalty box from Irwin and let in Marcus Gayle to shoot a couple of feet wide.

But although the slimmed-down Hartson was holding the ball up effectively, Wimbledon were gradually starved of possession and the breakthrough finally came two minutes before the break as Irwin drove in a low cross from the byline and as the ball bounced into the air off Blackwell's thigh, Beckham pounced to drill home a first-time shot.

United were immediately back on the offensive after the interval. Sullivan saved a shot from Blomqvist with his outstretched foot and Cole fired into the side-netting but the massed ranks of Dons defenders and midfielders continued to hold out.

United threw on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with 17 minutes left for Blomqvist as their desperation grew but it was actually Wimbledon who threatened next with only their second shot of the half as Earle drove straight into Schmeichel's midriff. It was only a temporary respite as United surged back, with Yorke heading inches wide and Sullivan reacting brilliantly to push an effort from Scholes around the post.

Then just as Beckham looked odds-on to score after Sullivan had palmed out a cross to the midfielder just 15 yards from goal, Blackwell produced a simply stunning block tackle to send the shot looping well over the bar. It was just not United's day. As they trudged off the pitch in sheer and utter frustration, their only consolation was that Wimbledon still have to play both Chelsea and Arsenal.

Wimbledon coach David Kemp insisted that Manchester United were still on course to win the title even after the Dons had dented their championship chances at Selhurst Park. United boss Alex Ferguson failed to show for the post-match press conference following his side's 1-1 draw, which allowed Chelsea to close the gap on the leaders with their victory at Charlton.

At least second-placed Arsenal drew at Southampton to leave United still four points clear at the top of the table but they had to endure a frustrating afternoon as the Dons produced a stirling defensive performance. Midfielder Jason Euell gave the home side the lead after just five minutes and although David Beckham equalised on the stroke of half-time, United were unable to make their overwhelming second-half possession tell.

Kemp, who is leading the side along with Mick Harford as boss Joe Kinnear continues to recuperate at home following a heart attack scare, declared: "A League and European Cup double is likely as they're a top quality team.

"It's not to put down Arsenal and Chelsea down but United are four points clear, they're an excellent team and I think they will stay at the top."

At least United, who desperately missed the commanding presence of injured centre-back Jaap Stam, did not pick up any obvious injuries ahead of next Wednesday's Champions' Cup quarter-final first leg against Juventus. But they never rose to the heights which they reached in beating the Dons 5-2 away last season and 5-1 earlier this campaign at Old Trafford as they came up against a side which had suffered three consecutive defeats.

Kemp said: "Some of the talk beforehand about us having to eat sheep heads because of one of the more unlikely terms in their contracts if we got beaten by five goals was a bit of an insult.

"A couple of poor performances and everyone's on our case but we've responded brilliantly and showed we can play - against the best. It's always difficult to play against Manchester United as they always push men forward, they gamble, they're relentless and they're confident in their ability.

"They're probably going to win the European Cup, they're one of the best teams in Europe and you're going to expect to come under a certain amount of pressure. They're going to create chances but I felt we kept them down to a reasonable minimum, scored and could have scored a second."

He added: "The manager going down ill three-quarters of the way through the season is a unique thing in football, you don't know the effect that has on a club as Joe is a major factor round here. To lose your leader in mid-battle is a difficult thing to do. Mick and I have done what we can to keep the thing steady and the players have been superb."

Manchester United: Schmeichel, Irwin, Berg, Johnsen, G Neville, Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Blomqvist, Cole, Yorke. Subs: Solskjaer for Blomqvist Scorers: Beckham (43)

Referee: G Barber

Attendance: 26,121

Ferguson's view on the match: