Champions Manchester United imploded at Fulham on Saturday when Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were sent off in a 2-0 defeat which blew the title race wide open.
Scholes was dismissed for handball on the line in the 18th minute which gave Danny Murphy the chance to put Fulham in front from the penalty spot and Rooney was red-carded for throwing the ball towards the referee after Zolan Gera had made it 2-0.
The shock of their first back-to-back defeats in the Premier League since 2005 was softened as second-placed Chelsea wasted the chance the gap to one-point when they lost 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in a match delayed by a security scare.
Luka Modric’s second-half goal ended Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten start since taking over in February and made it a great day for third-placed Liverpool who host Aston Villa on Sunday.
United lead the table with 65 points from 29 games while Chelsea have 61, having played a match more. Liverpool also have 61 points from 29 games played.
Relegation worries
Portsmouth eased their relegation worries with a 2-1 win over Everton thanks to two Peter Crouch headers and Stoke City eased out of the bottom three with a 1-0 defeat of fellow strugglers Middlesbrough.
Bottom club West Bromwich Albion look doomed after a 1-1 home draw with Bolton Wanders. Blackburn Rovers also drew 1-1 with West Ham United.
United had not lost at Fulham since 1964 and recently won there 4-0 in the FA Cup to go with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford in the league.
However, the match swung Fulham’s way after 18 minutes when Bobby Zamora headed goalwards after Edwin Van der Sar had saved an effort by Brede Hangeland and Scholes used his hands to stop the ball going over the line.
Scholes was sent off before Murphy, a former Liverpool midfielder, placed his penalty beyond Van der Sar.
United manager Alex Ferguson replaced the sluggish Dimitar Berbatov at halftime and sent on Wayne Rooney to revive the visitors.
United duly pinned Fulham back but Mark Schwarzer made several fine stops before Gera finished off a flowing move to clinch a victory that should make them safe from relegation.
A frustrated Rooney then compounded United’s day of misery when he appeared to throw the ball angrily towards referee Phil Dowd and was sent off. United have now had three players dismissed in their last two games.
Newcastle United host Arsenal later on Saturday. – Reuters