Wanderers had to settle for a point against Manchester United after twice throwing away the lead at the Reebok.
Bolton were on course for only their second home win against their neighbours in 32 years when Martin Petrov put them in front for the second time on 67 minutes.
But sub Michael Owen grabbed a 74th-minute equaliser when he headed home with his first touch after coming off the bench.
Zat Knight handed Owen Coyle’s side a dream start when he flicked in Petrov’s corner after just six minutes, but United were level thanks to stunning solo effort from Nani on 23 minutes.
Petrov’s shot deflected off Darren Fletcher to put Wanderers back in front before Johan Elmander missed a wonderful opportunity to wrap up the victory when he blazed over from 12 yards.
And less than 60 seconds later United were level when Owen’s glancing header from Nani’s free kick flew in to break Wanderers’ hearts.
Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Robinson, Ricketts, Muamba (M Davies 64), Holden, Elmander, Petrov (Taylor 90), Knight, K Davies, Lee (Blake 90). Subs not used: Bogdan, Klasnic, Alonso, Moreno.
Booked: M Davies.
Manchester United: Van der Sar, Evra, Berbatov, Rooney (Macheda 61), Giggs (Park 53), Vidic, Nani, Scholes, O’Shea, Evans, Fletcher (Owen 71). Subs not used: Anderson, Smalling, Rafael, Kuszczak.
Booked: Scholes, Vidic.
Referee: Phil Dowd. Attendance: 23,926.
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