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Setback for Man U with Fulham tie
London, Feb 29: Manchester United draw 1-1 with Fulham in English premier league.
London, Feb 29: Manchester United draw 1-1 with Fulham in English premier league.
Manchester United slipped further back in the premier league when they drew 1-1 away at Fulham on Saturday (February 28). Arsenal went nine points clear by beating Charlton 2-1 at home. Big-spending Chelsea snatched a barely deserved 1-0 win at Manchester City to go second, edging ahead of champions United on goal difference. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson took the surprising decision to leave top scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy, winger Ryan Giggs and goalkeeper Tim Howard on the bench for Saturday's premier league game at Fulham.
But former Fulham number 8 Louis Saha led the United attack from the start -- to jeers from the home crowd -- when he almost scored within 10 seconds of the kick-off.
Saha got his goal 14 minutes later when United goalkeeper Roy Carroll caught a Fulham cross and immediately threw to Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, who set Saha up for a run through the centre.
The Fulham fans made their displeasure clear. Before half-time Fulham got a corner and Sylvain Legwinski's header glanced off United captain Roy Keane -- and then the bar -- in what was the Irishman's 400th league game.
In the second half Fulham's Brian McBride passed to Luis Boa Morte who ran around United defender Wes Brown and scored with a low shot under Carroll.
United's Diego Forlan then sent a long ball for Saha to chase and he went down in the penalty area after coming into contact with goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, but no penalty was given.
United complained and Van Nistelrooy was given a yellow card for coming onto the field of play when he should have been on the bench -- to the delight of Fulham fans.
The Dutch striker came on later as a substitute but could not get a winner. Saturday's results could prove to be the turning point in the premier league season as they left Arsenal on 67 points and Chelsea and United on 58 with just 11 games left to play.
Fulham and Manchester United meet again next Saturday(March 6) in an FA Cup quarter final.
English league soccer standings after matches played on Saturday: Premier league P W D L F A Pts 1. Arsenal 27 20 7 0 53 18 67 2. Chelsea 27 18 4 5 48 21 58 3. Manchester United 27 18 4 5 51 25 58 4. Newcastle United 26 10 11 5 37 27 41 5. Charlton Athletic 27 11 7 9 38 34 40 6. Liverpool 25 10 8 7 36 27 38 7. Aston Villa 27 10 7 10 32 32 37 8. Fulham 27 10 6 11 39 38 36 9. Birmingham City 25 9 9 7 25 28 36 10. Tottenham Hotspur 26 10 4 12 39 42 34 11. Bolton Wanderers 26 8 10 8 32 40 34 12. Southampton 27 8 9 10 27 27 33 13. Middlesbrough 25 8 7 10 27 31 31 14. Everton 27 7 8 12 33 39 29 15. Blackburn Rovers 27 7 7 13 39 44 28 16. Manchester City 27 6 9 12 36 39 27 17. Wolverhampton Wanderers 27 5 9 13 24 52 24 18. Portsmouth 25 6 5 14 28 39 23 19. Leicester City 27 4 11 12 37 51 23 20. Leeds United 26 5 6 15 24 51 21
Bureau Report
Manchester United slipped further back in the premier league when they drew 1-1 away at Fulham on Saturday (February 28). Arsenal went nine points clear by beating Charlton 2-1 at home. Big-spending Chelsea snatched a barely deserved 1-0 win at Manchester City to go second, edging ahead of champions United on goal difference. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson took the surprising decision to leave top scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy, winger Ryan Giggs and goalkeeper Tim Howard on the bench for Saturday's premier league game at Fulham.
But former Fulham number 8 Louis Saha led the United attack from the start -- to jeers from the home crowd -- when he almost scored within 10 seconds of the kick-off.
Saha got his goal 14 minutes later when United goalkeeper Roy Carroll caught a Fulham cross and immediately threw to Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, who set Saha up for a run through the centre.
The Fulham fans made their displeasure clear. Before half-time Fulham got a corner and Sylvain Legwinski's header glanced off United captain Roy Keane -- and then the bar -- in what was the Irishman's 400th league game.
In the second half Fulham's Brian McBride passed to Luis Boa Morte who ran around United defender Wes Brown and scored with a low shot under Carroll.
United's Diego Forlan then sent a long ball for Saha to chase and he went down in the penalty area after coming into contact with goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, but no penalty was given.
United complained and Van Nistelrooy was given a yellow card for coming onto the field of play when he should have been on the bench -- to the delight of Fulham fans.
The Dutch striker came on later as a substitute but could not get a winner. Saturday's results could prove to be the turning point in the premier league season as they left Arsenal on 67 points and Chelsea and United on 58 with just 11 games left to play.
Fulham and Manchester United meet again next Saturday(March 6) in an FA Cup quarter final.
English league soccer standings after matches played on Saturday: Premier league P W D L F A Pts 1. Arsenal 27 20 7 0 53 18 67 2. Chelsea 27 18 4 5 48 21 58 3. Manchester United 27 18 4 5 51 25 58 4. Newcastle United 26 10 11 5 37 27 41 5. Charlton Athletic 27 11 7 9 38 34 40 6. Liverpool 25 10 8 7 36 27 38 7. Aston Villa 27 10 7 10 32 32 37 8. Fulham 27 10 6 11 39 38 36 9. Birmingham City 25 9 9 7 25 28 36 10. Tottenham Hotspur 26 10 4 12 39 42 34 11. Bolton Wanderers 26 8 10 8 32 40 34 12. Southampton 27 8 9 10 27 27 33 13. Middlesbrough 25 8 7 10 27 31 31 14. Everton 27 7 8 12 33 39 29 15. Blackburn Rovers 27 7 7 13 39 44 28 16. Manchester City 27 6 9 12 36 39 27 17. Wolverhampton Wanderers 27 5 9 13 24 52 24 18. Portsmouth 25 6 5 14 28 39 23 19. Leicester City 27 4 11 12 37 51 23 20. Leeds United 26 5 6 15 24 51 21
Bureau Report