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  • Murphy (18 pen), Gera (87)
  • Date:2009-03-21
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Craven Cottage
  • Attendance:25652
  • Referee:Dowd, P

Live Commentary

90mins

The full-time whistle goes on a fiery encounter and United slump to a second straight defeat.

90mins

The fans are cheering every Fulham pass.

90mins

There are four minutes of added time.

90mins

The crowd are on their feet ready to celebrate a famous victory.

89mins

Wayne Rooney is sent off for throwing the ball in the direction of the referee

87mins

Zoltan Gera starts and finishes a great Fulham move, acrobatically sending the ball past Edwin van der Sar.

86mins

Fulham's fans are urging them forward.

84mins

Carlos Tevez has a header which is well wide.

82mins

Zoltan Gera comes on for Clint Dempsey.

82mins

Wayne Rooney is booked for pulling back Olivier Dacourt.

81mins

Boos ring out as Cristiano Ronaldo sits on the ground following a challenge by John Paintsil.

80mins

Wayne Rooney's long diagonal pass finds Carlos Tevez whose effort is blocked.

78mins

Diomansy Kamara's shot from the edge of the area is blocked.

77mins

Bobby Zamora is replaced by Diomansy Kamara.

76mins

Fulham have started to settle into the second half now.

75mins

Fulham come forward but Olivier Dacourt's pass is easily cleared.

73mins

The free-kick hits the top of the wall and is cleared upfield.

72mins

Clint Dempsey fouls Wayne Rooney and is booked and United have a free-kick in Ronaldo territory.

70mins

Carlos Tevez comes on for John O'Shea.

70mins

Clint Dempsey moves infield and shoots but his effort loops over the bar.

69mins

Danny Murphy is replaced by Olivier Dacourt.

68mins

Rio Ferdinand shoots well wide from the edge of the area.

67mins

Fulham look tired while Manchester United are dominating, but they are still trailing.

66mins

Cristiano Ronaldo's shot is saved to his left by Mark Schwarzer, Wayne Rooney has another effort which is blocked and United have another corner.

65mins

Mark Schwarzer makes a great double save from Park and Wayne Rooney who seemed certain to score and United have another corner which is cleared.

63mins

Clint Dempsey has a shot from 25 yards out which flies wide of the target.

61mins

Sustained pressure from Ryan Giggs's corner ends with Cristiano Ronaldo's header being saved by Mark Schwarzer on the line.

60mins

Bobby Zamora crosses to the far post but John O'Shea is able to see the ball out for a goal-kick.

59mins

Darren Fletcher shoots from the edge of the box and Mark Schwarzer dives to his right to make the save.

58mins

Cristiano Ronaldo's effort is deflected straight into the arms of Mark Schwarzer but United are looking more threatening.

57mins

Bobby Zamora pulls a shot well wide from a tight angle with Andrew Johnson standing in space.

56mins

Cristiano Ronaldo is booked for a wild challenge on Danny Murphy.

55mins

Simon Davies plays a ball across the six-yard box but there's no-one there to knock it in.

53mins

Cristiano Ronaldo has United's best chance so far but heads over the bar.

52mins

Danny Murphy is limping after appearing to twist his ankle which is a worry for Fulham.

50mins

Cristiano Ronaldo plays the ball into the penalty area but Fulham are defending well today and get it clear.

49mins

Manchester United have started the second half the brighter as they look for the equaliser.

47mins

Ji-Sung Park has a shot but it sends up way up in the stand holding the United fans.

46mins

Dimitar Berbatov has been replaced at half-time by Wayne Rooney.

46mins

Manchester United get the second half underway.

45mins

The whistle goes on a breathless first half.

45mins

Patrice Evra is booked for a foul on Simon Davies.

45mins

Darren Fletcher fouls Danny Murphy and Fulham have a free-kick, which Murphy takes and Bobby Zamora shoots across the face of goal.

44mins

Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick hits Darren Fletcher to the delight of the Fulham fans.

43mins

John Paintsil goes into the book.

42mins

Manchester United win a free-kick but Ronaldo is getting a talking-to from Phil Dowd after complaining at length.

42mins

Cristiano Ronaldo runs towards the penalty area but is surrounded by white shirts and can't make progress.

41mins

There's a break in play as Dimitar Berbatov is down after taking a knock.

39mins

Manchester United's defence is uncharacteristically disorganised today and they have a lot of work to do at half-time.

37mins

Fulham are looking very impressive today in the sunshine.

35mins

Dimitar Berbatov almost gets the ball through to Darren Fletcher but Brede Hangeland is able to make the clearance.

34mins

Cristiano Ronaldo is getting frustrated with his team-mates as another pass goes astray.

33mins

Bobby Zamora turns and shoots low but Edwin van der Sar dives to his left and makes the save.

32mins

Fulham are knocking the ball around and enjoying a lot of possession.

30mins

Simon Davies has space and shoots but his effort goes just wide of Edwin van der Sar's right hand post.

28mins

Jonny Evans goes into the book.

28mins

Paul Konchesky chips the ball into the area from the corner but it's cleared by Darren Fletcher.

27mins

Simon Davies's effort is saved at the near post but the Fulham pressure is relentless and they have another corner.

24mins

Bobby Zamora's powerful shot from distance is saved by Edwin van der Sar.

22mins

Andrew Johnson has another chance after Edwin van der Sar saves Bobby Zamora's effort but it is eventually cleared.

22mins

Bobby Zamora steals the ball off Ryan Giggs and finds Andrew Johnson whose shot is blocked by Rio Ferdinand.

20mins

Clint Dempsey's shot from 25 yards flies wide and Fulham are full of confidence now.

18mins

Danny Murphy converts the penalty to the delight of the home fans.

17mins

Paul Scholes handles Bobby Zamora's header on the line and is sent off, and Fulham have a penalty.

16mins

Simon Davies's cross takes a deflection and Fulham have another corner.

15mins

Fulham look well organised and are dealing well with United's attacking threat in the opening stages.

14mins

It's a beautiful day at Craven Cottage and the crowd are enjoying the game.

12mins

Bobby Zamora tries a shot from 25 yards and it fizzes just wide of the post.

11mins

Paul Konchesky tries to find Bobby Zamora but Paul Scholes intercepts and Manchester United can break.

9mins

Paul Konchesky's corner is eventually cleared and Ronaldo wins a free-kick to relieve some of the pressure on the visitors.

8mins

Fulham have their first corner courtesy of Rio Ferdinand.

7mins

John O'Shea tries to find Ryan Giggs but his flick is straight at Mark Schwarzer.

6mins

Dimitar Berbatov loops a header over the bar from Cristiano Ronaldo's cross.

4mins

Simon Davies volleys from the right of the area but it flies across goal.

2mins

Fulham have started brightly, Clint Dempsey shooting wide from a tight angle.

2mins

Paul Scholes fouls Clint Dempsey and Fulham have a free-kick.

1mins

Phil Dowd gets the game underway.

0mins

Sir Alex Ferguson makes five changes, Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs and Jonny Evans replacing Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Anderson, Carlos Tevez and Nemanja Vidic.

0mins

There are no changes from the Fulham team that beat Bolton last week.

0mins

Kick-off is rapidly approaching - will Fulham bear the brunt of a United backlash after their defeat to Liverpool last week?

Match Preview

Manchester United have the opportunity to regain some confidence after their 4-1 battering by rivals Liverpool last Saturday.

They travel south to face Fulham, the team that they hammered 4-0 in the FA Cup earlier in the month, in a game they will expect to win.

The London club haven't even drawn with United since 2004 and have shipped 26 goals over the last eight games played between the two sides.

United's defeat to Liverpool is unlikely to assist Fulham, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson keen to bounce back as soon as possible.

"The thing is to respond. It always is at this club - you lose a game and you respond. We always do," he warned.

The Scotsman also claimed that the performance against Liverpool was credible and that United are not far away from their devastating best.

"It's a hard one to take because I thought, really, we were the better team and the score doesn't reflect that," Ferguson said after the match.

The surprise heavy defeat saw United's lead over Liverpool and Chelsea cut to just four points at the top of the table.

However, victory on Saturday could restore their previous seven-point advantage as the Reds are not in action until 24 hours later.

Defender Nemanja Vidic was sent off last weekend and will serve the first of a two-match ban against Fulham, leaving Jonny Evans as a likely partner for Rio Ferdinand.

Elsewhere, only full-backs Gary Neville and Wes Brown, plus midfielder Owen Hargreaves, continue to be absent through injury.

With a full squad to chose from, Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is prepared for an upset that midfielder Danny Murphy thinks the club needs.

"We're only one win away from 40 (points) and probably need two wins to be 100 per cent (sure of safety)," said Murphy.

"It's a very positive feeling to be that close and we have to concentrate on carrying on our good performances and moving on and up in the league."


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Match Report

Fulham blew the title race wide open by beating nine-man Manchester United 2-0 at Craven Cottage.

A second successive defeat for Sir Alex Ferguson's side was on the cards as early as the 17th minute when Paul Scholes was dismissed for handling Bobby Zamora's goal-bound effort on the line, with Danny Murphy stepping up to slam home the penalty.

And despite the visitors piling on the pressure in the second half, their fate was sealed when Zoltan Gera fired home from close range with just three minutes left, before Wayne Rooney was sensationally red carded with a minute remaining for hurling the ball at referee Phil Dowd.

Fulham hadn't beaten United at Craven Cottage since 1964, but on the basis of the first half you would have thought they were the title-chasing side. The hosts utterly dominated the opening 45 minutes as they tore into the visitors from the opening whistle.

The reigning Premier League and European champions were rattled and became careless in possession as Fulham put their midfielders under pressure at the earliest possible opportunity.

And Fulham got their reward for such an enterprising start when they took the lead - and saw United suffer the double-whammy of having a player dismissed.

Scholes - who had started terribly - was the man to go, and he could have little complaint as he clearly blocked Zamora's goal-bound header on the line with both hands as the striker attempted to force home the rebound after his initial header had been saved.

And it was Murphy - a former Liverpool player who had scored the winner against United on three previous occasions while at Anfield - who stepped up to confidently slam the penalty into the roof of the net.

The visitors were in disarray and only a combination of last-ditch blocks and wayward shooting stopped Zamora, Andy Johnson and Clint Dempsey from making it 2-0.

United were reduced to arguing with each other but, having made it to half-time without any further damage, they reorganised, with Rooney replacing the hopelessly ineffective Dimitar Berbatov.

The balance of the game was immediately altered, although the visitors' momentum was stunted when Cristiano Ronaldo lost his temper and launched into an ugly challenge on Murphy for which he was lucky just to get a yellow card.

There was no doubting who was on top now, with Mark Schwarzer making a miraculous close-range double save from Park Ji-Sung and Rooney when it seemed both were certain to score.

But the game was put to bed when Gera swivelled and acrobatically volleyed home Johnson's cross, before a terrible day for United - now just four points ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool - was sealed when Rooney received his second yellow card for hurling the ball at Dowd in a fit of pique.

Fulham

Manchester United

Corners

34

Fouls

1410

Goal attempts

1613

Shots off target

95

Offsides

32

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