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Results Based News

Another bad day for United

Author: Sir David Smith
Date: 22/03/2009

Manchester United's previously unshakable grip on the Premier League title has been loosed further after they lost 2-0 at Fulham on Saturday.

Sir Alex Ferguson was looking for a response from his players after last weekend's 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool but it was an afternoon to forget for the league leaders, wih betting odds slipping.

They lost Paul Scholes to a first-half red card for deliberate handball before goals from Andrew Johnson - from the ensuing penalty - and Zoltan Gera secured three surprise points for the Cottagers.

The afternoon went from bad to worse for United when they were reduced to nine man in the 89th minute after Wayne Rooney was shown a second yellow card for an angry reaction to the decision of referee Phil Dowd to call for a free-kick to be retaken.

The damage to United's title challenge was slightly limited after Chelsea failed to close the gap to one point after losing 1-0 at Tottenham.

However, Liverpool could close in on the Old Trafford club should they overcome Aston Villa on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Arsenal were 3-1 winners over Newcastle, Portsmouth and Stoke eased their relegation fears with victories over Everton and Middlesbrough, while the games between Blackburn and West Ham and Bolton and West Brom ended in 1-1 draws.

Ireland are Grand Slam winners for the first time since 1948 after a pulsating 17-15 victory against Wales in Cardiff.

In a dramatic last five minutes of this year's Six Nations action, Ronan O'Gara snatched the win away from Wales with a drop goal.

England regained the Calcutta Cup by beating Scotland 26-12 at Twickenham but once again Martin Johnson's side flattered to deceive for long periods.

Meanwhile, under-pressure France produced a superb performance as they hit winless Italy for a half-century in Rome as they rounded off their campaign with an easy 50-8 victory.

Andy Murray reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament after a 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory over Roger Federer.

The British number one produced a devastating final set to overcome the world number two and set up a final meeting with Rafael Nadal.

Meanwhile in cricket, England's women are champions of the world after outclassing New Zealand to win the World Cup following a four-wicket victory in Sydney.

Late replacement Nicky Shaw was the star of the show as she took 4-34 to restrict the Kiwis to a 166 total which England reached with relative ease.

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