- Fulham skipper , Danny Murphy jst scored a penalty..Thx for Paul Scholes ''Hand of God'' ~
- Fergie is so dmn moodless .
Yo ~ for those MU fanz , MU jst Lost to fulham 2 - 0 (http://www.livescore.com/ ) ...
haha... 5 champion? LOLx.. Stop dreaming pls.. hahaXD . Last nite , fulham wif 11 plp vs 9 plp ~
Rooney RED , and Paul Scholes RED ... huh~ so Pity.. Shameful .. HAHA
Fulham smashed the Barclays Premier League title race wide open with a sensational 2-0 victory against nine-man Manchester United at Craven Cottage.
• THEN , FERGIE said : we re nt good enough ~
Danny Murphy put Fulham ahead in the 17th minute when he converted from the penalty spot after Paul Scholes was sent off for handling a header from Bobby Zamora.
Substitute Zoltan Gera then completed a fabulous afternoon for the Cottagers when he hooked home a cross by Andrew Johnson three minutes from time.
United were then reduced to nine men when substitute Wayne Rooney was dismissed for a second bookable offence seconds later.
It was United's second successive defeat following their 4-1 home mauling by Liverpool last weekend and the first time the champions and league leaders had suffered back-to-back losses in the league since April 2005.
Fulham served notice of their intentions when Clint Dempsey fired just wide with an angled drive in the second minute.
Moments later though United almost stole the lead when Dimitar Berbatov headed just over from a cross by Patrice Evra.
Zamora was allowed to run on freely after collecting the ball midway in the United half. Unfortunately for the Fulham striker he could not take advantage of his freedom and sent a 20-yard drive beyond Edwin van der Sar's right-hand post.
It was all Fulham with United looking decidedly shaky. Their pressure paid off in dramatic fashion in the 17th minute when Scholes was sent off for handball.
The corner from Simon Davies was headed goalwards by Brede Hangeland and after Zamora's first flick-on was saved by Van der Sar, his second attempt was kept out by the hands of Scholes.
Captain Murphy stepped up to send Van der Sar the wrong way from the spot to give Fulham the lead.
United were clearly having a confidence crisis and the goal was just reward for Fulham's bullish opening.
The Cottagers were humbled 4-0 in the FA Cup at Craven Cottage by United earlier in the month but Sir Alex Ferguson's side now faced a struggle to get back into the game after being reduced to 10 men.
Fulham continued to dominate and only a brilliant save from Van der Sar prevented Zamora from making it two in the 21st minute.
Fulham wasted two more chances to go further ahead with Van der Sar saving brilliantly from Zamora again in the 27th minute and then two minutes later Dempsey sent a right-foot drive flashing wide from 20 yards.
In the 32nd minute a cross from Dempsey was met by the head of Dickson Etuhu but the Fulham midfielder's header was collected safely by Van der Sar.
Moments later the Dutchman had to be alert once more as he dived to his right to catch a ferocious long-range drive from Zamora.
It was an uncharacteristic performance from United with Ryan Giggs guilty of some dreadful passing.
But Fulham had stung the league leaders with an all-action display to outplay their opponents from the start.
United full-back Evra was booked in first-half stoppage time for diving as Fulham were given a standing ovation on the whistle.
Ferguson decided Rooney would provide more firepower in attack as he replaced the ineffective Berbatov for the second half.
In the 52nd minute a cross from Darren Fletcher saw Cristiano Ronaldo climb high to send a header just over the Fulham crossbar.
Ronaldo was becoming more and more frustrated at Phil Dowd's reluctance to award a free-kick every time the Portugal international was tackled.
The United winger was so incensed that he produced a lunge at Murphy which was punished by a yellow card.
Ronaldo was saved by the fact his reckless challenge did not connect with Murphy, but his antics found little favour with the home crowd who booed him at every opportunity.
But United were beginning to get back into the game and Fletcher brought a save from Mark Schwarzer in the 59th minute when he let loose with a low drive from 20 yards.
Fulham had Schwarzer to thank again in the 61st minute when he saved superbly to keep out a powerful header from Ronaldo.
In the 64th minute, the Australian produced an incredible double save at point-blank range to deny Park Ji-Sung and Rooney and then dived full length to keep out a Ronaldo drive.
Fulham were now reeling for the first time in the game and Murphy was forced off through injury to be replaced by Olivier Dacourt in the 67th minute.
United responded a minute later by removing John O'Shea and replacing him with Carlos Tevez.
But Fulham made the game safe three minutes from time when substitute Gera struck their second from Johnson's assist and Rooney saw red for a second bookable offence as the frustration of defeat proved too much to bear.
Fergie: Not good enough
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged his team were not good enough today as they 2-0 lost at Fulham.
The defeat, on the back of last week's 4-1 home reverse against Liverpool, means the Barclays Premier League leaders have suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time in 147 games.
After Danny Murphy (penalty) and Zoltan Gera had scored in each half to condemn his team to a 2-0 defeat, Ferguson said: "In the first half we never got started. They were lively and got stuck in and we respect that - they lost 4-0 to us a couple of weeks ago. But it's disappointing we didn't meet the challenge.
"If you lose games in March and April it can cost you. Fortunately we have a slender lead at the moment but not a lot and I'm hoping we come back from the internationals back to our best.''
Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were both sent off by referee Phil Dowd - Scholes in the 17th minute for handling a Bobby Zamora header on the goal line and substitute Rooney for a second bookable offence.
The latter dismissal frustrated Ferguson, who added on MUTV: "Did he (Rooney) throw the ball at the referee? The ball was thrown direct to where the free-kick was being taken - did it hit the referee? No. He threw it because he wanted to get the game going. What can you say about that?
"There wasn't a bad tackle in the game but John Pantsil was booked in the first half for nothing - it was just a tackle. Tackling isn't always perfect - I thought it was totally unfair. But there's no point talking about the referee - we didn't play well enough to win the game in the first half and that's why we lost it.
"In the second half I thought we did really well - they kept going and credit to them. But we're home to Aston Villa in our next game - and that will be crucial.''
Fulham coach Roy Hodgson insists United are favourites to retain the Premier League title despite their back-to-back defeats.
Chelsea were unable to take advantage of United's second successive slip-up but Liverpool have the chance to do so tomorrow.
However Hodgson declared: "United are such a good team with so many good players, I still think they are favourites for the championship this year - but the last two defeats have given the teams chasing them that little bit more hope.''
Fulham were rampant, especially in the first-half when they continually tore United's defence apart and Hodgson could not hide his pride in their performance.
"I thought we were very good in the first-half, I thought we really played well - probably as well I've seen us play certainly against top class opposition,'' said Hodgson.
"Obviously aided by the fact Paul Scholes handled Zamora's header and that made life much harder for United from the outset - having to play with 10 men.
"I thought in the second half United came out very well. They took the game to us even though they had a man less. They pressurised us so much better in the second half and we have got goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to thank.
"He made three good saves, one from a Cristiano Ronaldo header and a fantastic double save. We've got him to thank because had they equalised at that time then who knows what would have happened? They had us against the ropes.
"Our first half performance was quite outstanding. I didn't think we played quite as well in the second half. But we worked and fought hard.
"When you are leading 1-0 against United who have got 10 men, something of a siege mentality is always likely to creep in to your game, even though you don't want it to.
"I am really pleased with the victory. The players have deserved this. It is nice to reach that magical total of 40 points as well and I am hoping we can reproduce something like the same football in the next eight games.''
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