Mr guus,welcome to the barclays epl. Manutd are seeing the title just slip away,poleni sana. Wait till liverpool thrash aston villa 4-0

Fulham 2-0 Manchester United


Shane Evans
Mar 21,2009 11:55:10 AM




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EPL: Danny Murphy,Fulham - Newcastle United (PA)

Fulham had not won against United here since 1964,and against a frustrated rival,executed their gameplan to perfection to stop the rot. Home form,a boon earlier in the season,had begun to wobble of late but this result will augment the Cottagers' European hopes.

Fulham triumphed thanks to a Danny Murphy penalty and a goal on the break by Zoltan Gera with two minutes to play. Each goal brought a United dismissal; Paul Scholes was sent off prior to the Murphy penalty for handling,while Wayne Rooney blew his top in the wake of Gera's clincher.

There were off-days for Ronaldo,Berbatov and company,and despite battering Fulham for large swathes of the second half,Manchester United fell.

Not a good day at the office for Sir Alex. It may be,for him at least,squeaky bum time.

First Half

Sir Alex Ferguson shuffled his deck,making some alterations to the side that lost to Liverpool last weekend; Dimitar Berbatov replaced Wayne Rooney in an attacking capacity for the visitors in one of their more noteworthy changes,but it was Ferguson stalwart who was to be the chief protagonist in the first period.

Fulham,for their part,named the same XI that won at Bolton Wanderers last week and started on the front foot. Clint Dempsey went close early on with a drive,before United had a decent chance of their own. Patrice Evra,booked for diving at the end of the half,crossed from the left but Berbatov couldn't direct his header on the target.

The hosts maintained control of the game,dictated the pace in the opening stages and made United uncomfortable on a ground on which they triumphed 4-0 only a fortnight ago.

Bobby Zamora had a clutch of first half chances,but couldn't convert. He sent the first of a few speculative drives wide on the quarter hour.

Fulham's early dominance was rewarded as soon as the 17th minute,when the Cottagers were given a penalty and Ferguson's side reduced to ten men.

Simon Davies fired in a corner,which was flicked on by Zamora. His effort prompted a hand ball on the line by Paul Scholes,who was shown the red card. Danny Murphy,not for the first time in his career,netted a penalty against the Red Devils.

The northern side failed to ruse themselves and were lucky not to be two-down on 20 minutes when van der Sar saved from Zamora.

Zamora was again repelled by the occupied Dutchman before Dempsey stuck narrowly wide on the half-hour,as United continued to be sub-par.

Dickson Etuhu,from a Dempsey cross,made van der Sar work again; Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans could not get to grips with their adversaries. Zamora,one of the more prominent first half performers,then unleashed a vicious strike,which was well-fielded by van der Sar.

The champions went in at half-time a shadow of their selves; their game was blighted by a lack of responsibility and a palpable crisis in confidence in possession.

Second Half

No doubt on the end of the hairdryer treatment at half-time,it was a vastly improved Manchester United that appeared after the break. Park Ji Sung fired narrowly over immediately,as the world champions attempted to gain parity.

United dictated the second half tempo,but with their new-found attacking instincts now functioning,there remained the danger of a counter attack.

Nonetheless,a Ronaldo header,from Darren Fletcher's cross served to remind the Londoners who they were dealing with. Just wide on that occasion.

A Zamora shot,from an unlikely angle alleviated the Fulham pressure and gave United a jitter before Rooney fed Ronaldo to shoot straight at Schwarzer on the hour.

Fletcher was next to try his luck,before a combination of Rooney and Ronaldo almost prized Hodgson's side open. The Scouser crossed from the right and Ronaldo,frustrated to the point of a booking,could only direct his header at Australia's number 1.

The custodian had to be on full alert moments later,pulling off an incredible pair of saves to protect Fulham's clean sheet. Park fired from close range and was denied; Rooney's follow up was shut out by Schwarzer in stunning fashion.

The wave of pressure never let up; Ferdinand,as well as Ronaldo and Rooney had another chance apiece as the game ebbed towards the last 15 minutes.

However,that threat of a counter-attack ultimately outdid the Champions League holders. Pouring forward,Ferguson's side were caught by Andy Johnson running down the right. The Red Devils had scant cover when Johnson sent the cross over. Subsitute Zoltan Gera was well placed in the box to control and fire an overhead shot into the corner to sink United.

Wayne Rooney's temper then further agonised Sir Alex; throwing the ball away,the England forward was handed a second yellow card to reduce his side to nine men.

stocksmaster! am back!

Usione simba ka nyeshewa ukadhani ni paka.

The Title condenses @ Old trafford,though i'm not oblivious of last season when arsenal lost the title courtesy of back to back losses at this stage


mara iyo hiyo,pale pale

What is the noise about.???........2-0 loss is an improvement of close to 50% compared to the previous week thrashing of 4-1........Give the devils their dues...hehe...!!

Guka wa bijuti...

Ati astö vila to manage a win at anfield! A pipe dream man,not in the current situation

A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing posibility.

I try to be sober,but it is very hard especially when dealing with emotional aspects like soccer

A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing posibility.

oohh... poor villains. it was not just their day (5-0)

they will never walk alone
Torres is making guys be chucked,men!u have to love the guy.

n i stand to be corrected,they last won the league in 1990.
gerrard says he could trade any other trophy for the league....wako moto!

be happy!

Man u still have the destiny in their own hands,with the 1 pt lead and a game in hand. But they seem not to have recovered from the Liverpool humiliation. Liverpool seem to have been bouyed by the Trafford win and should not be ruled out.......Chelsea failed to take advantage of Man u loss.....otherwise it'd have been very interesting at the top.......

..wise as a serpent,humble as a dove

We've slipped but are yet to fall. The Premier is still ours to lose. How I wish we clear the game in hand to know the real gap for the chasers. Anyway give due credit to Rafa's men,but juz wondering whether they've inhaled some stereoids 4 the extra energy

It's not where yu are,but where yu want to be.