Three days after settling for a 0-0 tie in its opener against Reading at Old Trafford and losing Wayne Rooney with a broken foot, United had to settle for a 1-1 tie at Portsmouth and possibly lost Cristiano Ronaldo for up to three games after he was sent off for a head butt late in the game.
(Click here for video of the incident.)
Argentine Carlos Tevez marked his Manchester United debut by setting up Paul Scholes for the first goal after 15 minutes, but Benjani Mwaruwari scored on a header eight minutes into the second half to the delight of the Pompey faithful.
Portsmouth's Sulley Muntari was sent off in the 83rd minute for a second booking, and Ronaldo followed him off the field two minutes later for a headbutt with barely any contact made.
"I've looked at the replays and there's nothing conclusive. My take was that he was provoked," United manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports. "He's fallen into the trap and he's paid the penalty ... it's his own fault really. It was a disappointing result but not a disappointing performance. There was a great contribution from Carlos Tevez, even though he had to endure a lot of tackles from behind, a lot of abuse, and he came through that."
Chelsea and Manchester City both won their second games to join Tuesday's winner, Everton, at the top of the EPL with six points.
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