Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner put Manchester United in complete
control of the Premiership title race as his side snatched a 2-1
victory at Fulham on Saturday.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side are now nine points ahead of second
placed Chelsea after Ronaldo hit his 16th goal of the season with
just two minutes remaining at Craven Cottage.
United had fallen behind when Brian McBride took advantage of a
mix-up between goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and Nemanja Vidic to
fire home after 17 minutes.
Ryan Giggs equalised in the 29th minute when he volleyed past
Jan Lastuvka from Wayne Rooney's cross.
It took until the 88th minute for a below-par United to snatch
the winner when Ronaldo's surging run and shot, which deflected off
Philippe Christanval, sparked wild celebrations among Ferguson and
his players.
"In games like this you look for one or two players to come
forward," Ferguson said.
"Ronaldo was fantastic and showed courage. I don't know how many
times he was fouled, but he kept going and he deserved man of the
match and the goal."
Chelsea, who face Arsenal in the League Cup final on Sunday,
have a game in hand on United, but they could be 12 points behind
by the time they play their next league match at Portsmouth on
Saturday as the leaders face Liverpool earlier the same day.
Charlton boss Alan Pardew got revenge over West Ham as his side
boosted their survival hopes with a 4-0 thrashing of his former
club at The Valley.
Pardew was sacked by the Hammers in December and replaced by
former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley.
But a Jerome Thomas double and goals from Darren Ambrose and
Darren Bent moved Charlton above relegation rivals West Ham and
closed the gap on fourth bottom Wigan to three points.
Charlton took the lead in the 24th minute when Marcus Bent
whipped in a cross and Ambrose found space 12 yards out to place
his shot past Robert Green.
Thomas increased the lead after 34 minutes and Darren Bent,
making his first appearance since late-December after recovering
from a knee injury, fired home four minutes before half-time.
Curbishley has won just one league game since taking over at
West Ham and his misery was complete when Thomas added a fourth
from Ambrose's pass in the 80th minute.
Robbie Fowler scored his first Premiership goals since the
opening day of the season as Liverpool consolidated third place
with a 4-0 win over Sheffield United at Anfield.
Fowler's last league goal was a penalty against the Blades back
in August and he converted two more spot-kicks to sink Neil
Warnock's side at Anfield.
The striker opened the scoring in the 20th minute after Robert
Kozluk brought down Steven Gerrard as they challenged for a
corner.
Just five minutes later Liverpool captain Gerrard was fouled
again, this time by Nick Montgomery, and Fowler's penalty sent
Paddy Kenny the wrong way to double the lead.
Sami Hyypia got the third from Jermaine Pennant's corner in the
70th minute and Gerrard equalled Liverpool's biggest win of the
season when he drove in Fowler's pass three minutes later.
Australia striker Mark Viduka scored Middlesbrough's opener and
made their second in a 2-1 home win against Reading.
Gareth Southgate's side went ahead after seven minutes when
Emanuel Pogatetz flicked on Stewart Downing's cross and Viduka
pounced to score with a smart back-heel from close range.
Viduka was involved again when Middlesbrough grabbed a second
goal in the 69th minute. He played in Yakubu and the Nigerian
turned Ivar Ingimarsson before smashing a fierce shot past Marcus
Hahnemann at his near post.
Middlesbrough gave a late debut to South Korean Lee Dong Gook
before John Oster reduced the deficit for Reading in the 87th
minute.
Watford missed a chance to climb off the bottom of the table
when they were beaten 3-0 by Everton at Vicarage Road.
Manuel Fernandes gave Everton the lead in the 23rd minute when
he scored from close range after Richard Lee had pushed Tim
Cahill's drive into his path.
Andrew Johnson increased Everton's advantage two minutes later
when referee Lee Mason ruled Adrian Mariappa and Jay DeMerit had
brought down the striker, who picked himself up to score the
penalty.
Leon Osman's superb stoppage time strike put the finishing touch
to a clinical Everton display.
On Sunday, Wigan host Newcastle, Portsmouth travel to Blackburn
and Tottenham face Bolton.
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(CRI via AFP February 25, 2007)
