ALEX McLEISH denied his mentor Alex Ferguson top spot in the Premier League.
McLeish's Birmingham side stunned Manchester United after Cameron Jerome's opener at St Andrew's.
And the champions needed an own goal from Scott Dann to earn a point against in-form Brum, who made it a club record 12 top-flight games unbeaten.
United boss Fergie might have wished this game had succumbed to the freezing weather that had obliterated the weekend's sporting fixtures.
But despite an air temperture of -6 Celsius, the St Andrew's undersoil heating helped the pitch to a toe-warming 11 Celsius.
There was a high tempo about the game early on and it was all United. But for all the champions' possession, they could only muster a tame header from Jonny Evans and a Darren Fletcher drive that was blocked.
James McFadden blocked Antonio Valencia's shot after Wayne Rooney got the better of Stephen Carr down the United left.
And Rooney got his first sniff of goal as he beat the Birmingham offside trap. His first touch killed the ball instantly and was only matched by Joe Hart's instinctive save from the striker's shot on the turn.
It was one-way traffic towards the home goal and Rooney headed wide from a Fletcher centre before Valencia had a 25-yard free-kick charged down.
United appealed in vain for a penalty after claiming Carr had handled a pile-driver from Michael Carrick before Dann threw his body in the way of another shot from the England midfielder.
Rafael then made a nuisance of himself to find space in the home penalty area and the ball eventually fell for Carrick. But he mistimed his shot under pressure and Hart grabbed the ball as it looped towards the top of the goal.
Out of nowhere, though, Birmingham stunned the visitors by taking the lead.
Jerome got in a shot that was blocked by Paul Scholes for a corner. McFadden sent the ball in and after Patrice Evra failed to clear the ball, it rebounded off Evans straight to Jerome, who made no mistake from close range.
United were stunned and Birmingham squandered a great chance to double their lead.
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They found themselves in a two-on-one situation on the counter-attack but Christian Benitez lost control and allowed Carrick to make a vital tackle when Jerome would have had a clear run on goal.
Benitez could have made it two four minutes into the second half after Rooney's headed clearance was nodded straight back to the Ecuador striker. He got in a snapshot but Tomasz Kuszczak was well placed to block the effort.
United started to regain their composure and Rooney headed wide from an Evra cross but he had strayed offside.
Jerome broke down the right but he chose the wrong option as he tried to chip Kuszczak instead of finding one of two team-mates unmarked inside him.
And United drew level on 63 minutes when Dann turned Evra's low drive into his own net.
Blues players and McLeish were incensed the goal was allowed with a United player looking offside behind Dann. Referee Mark Clattenburg consulted with his linesman before confirming the goal.
Birmingham tried to retaliate and Benitez turned away from Evans and had a fierce shot beaten out by the excellent Kuszczak.
Hart held onto a low Valencia drive and Scholes fired over the bar as United searched for the winner.
Fletcher saw red on 84 minutes for a second yellow card but it appeared harsh as Jerome tumbled over his leg.
Seconds later, Roger Johnson found himself in the United box and he swivelled on a loose ball only for Kuszczak to claw the ball away.
Ferguson got six minutes of injury-time but United failed to find their usual grandstand finish.
Birmingham: Hart, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson (Fahey 83), Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Jerome, Benitez. Subs not used: Maik Taylor, Martin Taylor, Phillips, McSheffrey, Queudrue, Parnaby. Booked: Carr, Larsson. Goals: Jerome 39.
Man Utd: Kuszczak, Rafael Da Silva, Brown, Jonathan Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes (Diouf 81), Fletcher, Park (Giggs 66), Rooney. Subs not used: Amos, Neville, Owen, Anderson, Fabio Da Silva. Sent off: Fletcher (84). Booked: Fletcher. Goals: Dann 63 og.
