LONDON: Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson paid tribute to his defence led by in-form captain Nemanja Vidic following the scoreless draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane this morning.

Spurs are considered as one of the most dangerous attacking sides in the Premier League but created few clear-cut chances.

The Red Devils continued to look comfortable at the back even after rightback Rafael was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 74th minute and Ferguson was delighted with the rearguard effort.

With the absorbing draw, United reclaimed their spot on top of the standings with 45 points.

Second-placed Manchester City also have the same number of points but the Red Devils have two games in hand.

"I think they were particularly good," Ferguson told Sky Sports when asked about his defenders.

"It could be a really thrilling end to the season. And Spurs are not out of it. It's about winning games and keeping your nerve and today, defensively, we kept our nerve."

The best chance of the match was in the 10th minute when Spurs striker Peter Crouch's attempt whizzed the post.

In the 82nd minute, Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart saw his curling shot just over the crossbar to the disappointment of the Spurs fans.

Ferguson refused to be drawn on Rafael's dismissal, with the Brazilian's second yellow card coming after referee Mike Dean ruled he had fouled Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

"I don't need to discuss that, you can see for yourself. I don't need to discuss the referee," he said.

The game was Ryan Giggs' 600th league appearance for United and Ferguson said of the veteran Welshman: "He's an incredible human being and an example to anyone that wants to use him as a role model."

Spurs captain and centreback Michael Dawson insisted the draw was not "a dirty one".

The clash saw seven yellow cards.

"Not at all," he said, when asked if the game had been played in the wrong spirit.

"There were two sets of players that gave everything, I wouldn't say it was a dirty game. When they went down to 10, we thought we could go on and win the game, but it wasn't to be. We got the clean sheet. When you're a defender, you always like to get a clean sheet and credit to them, and to our lads."

Spurs star midfielder Luka Modric was disappointed they could not take all three points.

"The game was very tight and there wasn't much space, but we played a good game. We are disappointed, especially when they went to 10 men, that we didn't score. It's a fair result.

"It's a sign of the times that we're disappointed with a draw against such a big team."

MADRID: A stubborn bottom-placed Almeria held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at Juegos MediterraAineos this morning.

In fact, Los Blancos were staring at defeat if not for substitute Esteban Granero's equaliser in the 77th minute.

The visitors had missed a host of chances throughout the game until Granero, or El Pirata (The Pirate), saved them the blushes.

Almeria stunned Real by taking the lead in the 59th minute with a goal by Jose Ulloa.

Deep into stoppage time, Real had a series of freekicks just outside the Almeria penalty box, one of which Cristiano Ronaldo struck thunderously against the crossbar, leaving the Portuguese ace mesmerised as to how his side had not won the game.

And rivals Barcelona took advantage of Real's misery by beating Malaga 4-1 to stretch their lead at the top to four points midway through the season.

Real's search for another striker may have distracted them and contributed to the shocking result, says director general Jorge Valdano.

"We are still working on it but we don't want to talk about the same thing every day," he said when asked about the possibility of bringing in another striker in the January transfer window.

"Maybe we have been very distracted with this issue.

"The papers were talking only about that today on their front pages and not about the match and that probably contributed to the distraction. It would be better to focus on what is going on the pitch because what this team lack is goals."

Real are looking for another central striker because of Gonzalo Higuain's back injury which will sideline him for most of the rest of the season.

Manager Mourinho said on Saturday he would be pleased if former Real striker Ruud van Nistelrooy returned to the club from Bundesliga side Hamburg SV.

However, Hamburg appear unwilling to sanction the move and sporting director Bastian Reinhardt was quoted as saying in German media that van Nistelrooy had to see out his contract, which runs until the end of this season.

Meanwhile, Mourinho accused referee Perez Laza of being unfair to his team this morning.

Real felt aggrieved to not have been awarded at least one penalty after Karim Benzema and Ronaldo were brought down in the area, and Modeste M'Bami was judged to have handled the ball in the box.

He was also quick to play down the significance of the draw — insisting that there is still much time left in the season to catch up to Barca.