#MUNLIV | WATCH: Improvising Ibrahimovic rescues draw for United against Liverpool

Zlatan Ibrahimovic delivered his most important goal yet for Manchester United as he sent Old Trafford wild with his 19th of the season in all competitions to salvage a 1-1 draw with their fiercest rivals Liverpool on Sunday.

James Milner, so often a scourge of United, had silenced the home crowd with a 27th minute penalty as Liverpool seemed to be coasting with relative comfort to a crucial Premier League win until the irrepressible Swede struck with an 84th minute header. The draw put Liverpool into third spot, alongside second-placed Tottenham on 45 points, but left Chelsea seven points ahead of the pack after 21 games, while United, who saw the end of their nine-match winning streak, remain sixth with 40 points.

It had looked as if it might be a miserable afternoon for the world's most expensive player, Frenchman Paul Pogba, who gave away the penalty with a clumsy handball, missed a golden opportunity to score and looked lost on defensive duty.

Mourinho brought on captain Wayne Rooney as a second half substitute, hoping he would break the club's scoring record but Liverpool, for whom Simon Mignolet made key saves, held United comfortably until Ibrahimovic's decisive late intervention.