Christian Eriksen insists Man Utd are ‘on the right path’ under Ten Hag despite Ronaldo furore

Christian Eriksen celebrated another Fergie-time special and claimed Manchester United are “on the right path to something that’s going to be a lot more fun.”

But as Raphael Varane became the latest crock to fear for his World Cup place, United’s late show at Stamford Bridge was tempered by growing fears of a depleted cast in Qatar next month. Eriksen was in buoyant mood after Casemiro’s 93rd-minute header earned a fifth consecutive draw with Chelsea.

And United left SW6 making all the right noises about resilience, character and their enduring, invincible taste for late drama. In truth, Cristiano Ronaldo – banished to the naughty step for his unauthorised strop in the 2-0 win against Tottenham last Wednesday – didn’t miss much.

Chelsea were laboured up front, where Pierre-Emerick Abameyang made little headway and Raheem Sterling, who has yet to score in 24 meetings with United, never looked like breaking his duck.

The Blues thought they had burgled the points with Jorginho’s 86th-minute penalty – their only shot on target – until Casemiro flexed his neck muscles and became the first player to beat Chelsea ‘keeper Kepa Arrizbalaga in 623 minutes of football.

Eriksen said: “Wednesday was a big performance and to top it up today would have been perfect, but we are on the right path to something that’s going to be a lot more fun than where we are. We always aim to be better than what we have, but overall it’s been a good week and we can be proud of what we achieved.

“It does feel like a big relief compared to the six minutes before with the penalty against us – it was a big blow. But, obviously, it shows the character and what a nice header – a very strong neck! You need a very strong neck to get the ball over (the goalkeeper from) there.”

Varane’s tearful exit, serenaded by classless taunts from home fans, potentially strips holders France of another star as they defend their holy grail on the Arabian peninsula.

Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta – whose team-mates N’Golo Kante and Reece James also look doomed to miss the tournament – admitted: “It’s difficult and it’s sad. As a player, you want to go to the World Cup but we have to play for our clubs and do the best we can.

“We cannot have any second thoughts about the World Cup – there’s no point. Injuries can happen whether it’s at the end of the season, if it’s in November or the final training session before the tournament. It can happen at any time.

“The truth is that we are fighting a lot for player welfare because the schedule is crazy. We have to consider everything and I think we are in conversations with FIFA. The number of games is the same because we were always involved in the cups, the Champions League and the Premier League.

“It’s true that the competition now is higher. Every year it’s harder and harder – better coaches, better players, the physical levels have gone up. Even the youngsters, when they come through at 17 or 18, they have physical levels that maybe in the past they didn’t have. It’s an evolution of football and we have to go with it.”

Chelsea boss Graham Potter accepts players are sub-consciously fearful of missing their date with the big stage. He said: “I don’t think it affects their performances and they are fully focused, but they are also human beings and there’s something in there (the back of their minds) because it’s the World Cup.

“But I guess this year it comes round so quickly. Normally you have a build-up and a bit more time (to recover from injuries), but we’re going from the Premier League to the competition phase of a World Cup in a week, which is incredible, and we can’t do anything about it.

“We just have to help the players as best we can and make sure they are not in dangerous situations for their health (going into the red zone), but I don’t think you can play at this level and be tentative. I don’t they are, but somewhere, sub-consciously, they know there’s a World Cup in three weeks and if you think they don’t think about that at some level, you are being a bit naïve.”