Craven Cottage, Fulham:
Fulham swept to a stunning 3-0 victory over Manchester United and lastplace Portsmouth beat Liverpool 2-0 on a day of shocks in the PremierLeague on Saturday.
Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and Damien Duffpunished United's makeshift defense at Craven Cottage and denied thedefending champion any chance of drawing level on points with leaderChelsea, which goes to relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday.
United's fifth loss of the season could now leave the team six points off the pace if Chelsea wins at Upton Park.
Murphydispossessed United's Paul Scholes and shot Fulham into a 22nd leadfrom 30 meters and the second half was only seconds old when Zamorafired home after Clint Dempsey's headed pass.
Duff added thethird with a left foot volley in the 75th minute against a Uniteddefense which was missing four central defenders through injury.
NadirBelhadj and Frederic Piquionne fired home angled shots as Portsmouthstunned 10-man Liverpool to put more pressure on manager Rafa Benitez.
Makinghis first league start for three months, Algerian international Belhadjstruck the first in the 33rd minute before Liverpool's JavierMascherano was sent off for an ugly foul on Tal Ben Haim.
Piquionneadded the second in the 82nd to improve Portsmouth's chances ofavoiding relegation. It was Liverpool's seventh league loss from 18games and the defeat pushed the Reds further out of title contention.
"Ifyou analyze the first half I think we were doing well," Benitez said."We conceded a goal and then the sending off of Mascherano changedeverything."
Asked if he thought the red card was justified, theLiverpool manager, who appeared furious about the decision at the time,replied: "The referee was perfect, in everything. He never mademistakes."
Asked if he was worried about losing his job, Benitez replied: "I'm worried about winning the next game."
Withspeculation mounting about the future of manager Mark Hughes after a3-0 loss at Tottenham on Wednesday, Manchester City beat Sunderland 4-3with Roque Santa Cruz scoring twice.
Rumors swept Manchesterthat Hughes would be fired even with a victory and replaced by formerInter Milan coach Roberto Mancini and the Welshman, who has been incharge of the team since June 2008, appeared emotional as he waved tothe fans after the game. City announced it would make a statement laterSaturday.
Two goals by Peter Crouch steered Tottenham to a 2-0victory at Blackburn and substitute John Carew gave Aston Villa a 1-0victory over Stoke, a fifth straight win for Martin O'Neill's team.
Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and Damien Duffpunished United's makeshift defense at Craven Cottage and denied thedefending champion any chance of drawing level on points with leaderChelsea, which goes to relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday.
United's fifth loss of the season could now leave the team six points off the pace if Chelsea wins at Upton Park.
Murphydispossessed United's Paul Scholes and shot Fulham into a 22nd leadfrom 30 meters and the second half was only seconds old when Zamorafired home after Clint Dempsey's headed pass.
Duff added thethird with a left foot volley in the 75th minute against a Uniteddefense which was missing four central defenders through injury.
NadirBelhadj and Frederic Piquionne fired home angled shots as Portsmouthstunned 10-man Liverpool to put more pressure on manager Rafa Benitez.
Makinghis first league start for three months, Algerian international Belhadjstruck the first in the 33rd minute before Liverpool's JavierMascherano was sent off for an ugly foul on Tal Ben Haim.
Piquionneadded the second in the 82nd to improve Portsmouth's chances ofavoiding relegation. It was Liverpool's seventh league loss from 18games and the defeat pushed the Reds further out of title contention.
"Ifyou analyze the first half I think we were doing well," Benitez said."We conceded a goal and then the sending off of Mascherano changedeverything."
Asked if he thought the red card was justified, theLiverpool manager, who appeared furious about the decision at the time,replied: "The referee was perfect, in everything. He never mademistakes."
Asked if he was worried about losing his job, Benitez replied: "I'm worried about winning the next game."
Withspeculation mounting about the future of manager Mark Hughes after a3-0 loss at Tottenham on Wednesday, Manchester City beat Sunderland 4-3with Roque Santa Cruz scoring twice.
Rumors swept Manchesterthat Hughes would be fired even with a victory and replaced by formerInter Milan coach Roberto Mancini and the Welshman, who has been incharge of the team since June 2008, appeared emotional as he waved tothe fans after the game. City announced it would make a statement laterSaturday.
Two goals by Peter Crouch steered Tottenham to a 2-0victory at Blackburn and substitute John Carew gave Aston Villa a 1-0victory over Stoke, a fifth straight win for Martin O'Neill's team.
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