MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Ryan Giggs rescued a 1-1 draw for Manchester United at Celtic on Wednesday which should almost certainly be enough to guarantee the defending champions passage into the next round of the Champions League.

United took until the 84th minute to cancel out Scott McDonald’s delicate lob for the opener in the 13th minute.

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“With so little time to go I suppose we’ll settle for a draw but with the way we played and our tempo in the second half, we probably deserved to win.” Giggs said. “It was a disappointing first half for us but the performance in the second half was much better. We came out and worked really hard and kept them pinned down.

“We knew chances would come. We knew we just had to keep the crosses and the one-twos going, keep the tempo up and it (the goal) would come.”

The 34-year old Giggs headed home after Cristiano Ronaldo’s dipping strike from distance was parried by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc into the veteran striker’s path.

“I just gambled and it fell right onto my head,” Giggs said.

Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov came close to snatching a late winner for the English visitors, who now have eight points from four games and top Group E.

The point will boost Celtic’s chances of finishing third and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Gordon Strachan’s side, which is level on two points with Aalborg, was a tougher opponent for United than when it capitulated 3-0 at Old Trafford two weeks ago.

“Last time, I said that it was men against boys. But we’re not boys - we are men. That’s what we have shown tonight,” Strachan said. “They are far better than us. Technically, they are a million miles away from us, but what we did show tonight was that we are men.

“We can be hard to beat because we have a great team spirit here. We may not be the best group of players in the world but we have a great spirit.”

As a player for Celtic’s fierce Glasgow rival Rangers, Ferguson had endured taunting and gloating from his Scottish friends since a 1-0 defeat here at the same stage two years ago.

Given that, it seemed surprising that he rested key players, with one eye on Saturday’s Premier League match at title rival Arsenal.

Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was left at home - Ben Foster filled in between the posts - while the forwards who supplied the victory over Celtic at Old Trafford two weeks ago - Dimitar Berbatov (2) and Wayne Rooney - started on the bench. Carlos Tevez spearheaded United’s attack.

“It’s never easy picking teams with the squad we’ve got and a big lunchtime game on Saturday,” Ferguson said of the Premier League match against Arsenal. “Resting (defender Patrice) Evra was one thing I thought I could do, Rooney and Berbatov was more difficult.

“The performance in the second half was the most encouraging thing.”

But not the first 45 minutes.

Rafael Da Silva came in at right back for the injured Gary Neville and Wes Brown, and the 18-year-old Brazilian brought down Shaun Maloney on the right flank to provide Celtic’s opening.

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Maloney’s resulting free kick was initially cleared, but Gary Caldwell completed a trio of headers that returned the ball to McDonald.

Celtic Park erupted as the Australia midfielder brought the ball down with his chest and, from a tight angle, produced an exquisite lob to beat Foster.

“I thought it was going to be one of those glorious nights,” Strachan said.

Ferguson had to change his game plan.

“Losing an early goal does set you back, it happens in football,” Ferguson said. “The plan was to make sure we kept possession of the ball and work our way into the game, but Celtic got the early goal, it gave them a boost, it gave the crowd a boost.

“Halftime came at a good time for us.”

That’s when Berbatov replaced Nani after the break and the three-time European champions immediately looked more potent in attack.

“Bringing Berbatov on gave them another problem,” Ferguson said. “The positions he picks up are very difficult to pinpoint. Also, the urgency of the team, knowing they were behind, showed the character of the team.”

Ronaldo was menacing with the Bulgaria striker in support and both were denied by goal-line clearances early in the half.

Rooney replaced Tevez for the last 20 minutes, and United applied continuous pressure as Celtic defended desperately until Giggs’s goal gave the defending champion the very least it deserved.

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