Manchester United 1 Fulham 0
Manchester United survived a heart-stopping late scare to clinch victory over
Fulham at Old Trafford, only to find they are almost certainly battling for
nothing more than second place.
Cristiano Ronaldo's thunderous first-half effort proved enough to give United
one of those single-goal victories on which Chelsea's charge to the championship
has been built.
But, in a worrying repeat of the previous meeting between the sides at Craven
Cottage in December, Fulham emerged from an almost constant bombardment to come
within inches of preserving Chris Coleman's unbeaten record against United as
Lee Clark struck a post and former Red Devils favourite Andy Cole saw his shot
flick wide off Tim Howard's heel.
In the end, Sir Alex Ferguson and his team were able to celebrate a 19th
Premiership game without defeat, a run made all the more remarkable given they
still trail Chelsea by 11 points with only eight matches of the campaign
remaining.
Few who filled the stands at kick-off were seriously contemplating a tilt at
the title, with even Ferguson accepting a miracle is now required to overturn
Chelsea's mammoth lead.
Yet even without a championship charge, the demand for entertainment remains
and Ronaldo for one is rising to the challenge.
The Portugal winger attracts as much criticism as praise for his skills, with
even some of his team-mates driven to distraction by his refusal to play a
simple ball.
And judging by their initial reactions when Ronaldo strode on to Roy Keane's
astute pass midway through the opening period, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne
Rooney would have been lining up a verbal rocket if the attack had not ended in
a goal.
The strike pair were totally unmarked - and totally ignored - as Ronaldo cut
inside Liam Rosenior.
But, just as they were ready to turn in red-faced fury, Van Nistelrooy and
Rooney had their mouths well and truly shut as they watched the youngster's
20-yard shot flash past them, and Edwin van der Sar, and fly straight into the
top corner.
It was Ronaldo's eighth goal of the campaign, leaving him just two away from
winning a private, pre-season bet with his manager over his goal tally for the
campaign.
On this evidence, even a born winner such as Ferguson will not be tempted to
leave Ronaldo out of his side just to ensure he ends up victorious in that
specific duel.
His close control was certainly too much for the overworked Fulham defence and
one moment of sublime skill stood out as he brought down Gabriel Heinze's long
ball inside the penalty area with one perfect touch despite the close attentions
of Zat Knight, only for the former Sporting Lisbon flyer to take the edge off
his good work with a weak finish.
The incident more or less summed up United's entire performance.
In total control throughout, the Red Devils served up some slick approach
play, with Ruud van Nistelrooy linking up well in his most productive display
since returning from an Achilles injury five matches ago but, when Fulham
defenders did not get in the way, the hosts were let down by a failure to hit
the target.
Unusually, Paul Scholes was one of the worst culprits, although little blame
could be attached to Gabriel Heinze, whose stinging 25-yard volley dipped just
over with Van der Sar beaten after the Fulham defence had failed to adequately
clear a United corner.
Though Fulham were slightly more ambitious after the break, they never
remotely threatened a repeat of their win in the corresponding fixture last
season.
What the Londoners were capable of though, as Ferguson was acutely aware, was
the kind of last-gasp leveller that snatched three points off the Red Devils at
Craven Cottage.
Ronaldo only increased the anxiety when he showed his more profligate side,
drilling an excellent chance wide of the far post after being set up by Scholes'
square ball.
Ferguson must have known Fulham would get a chance, and it duly arrived six
minutes from the end when Lee Clark smashed a shot against the post.
In the ensuing melee, Carlos Bocanegra was twice presented with opportunities
to level. Tim Howard blocked the first, the second blasted into Steed Malbranque
inside the United six-yard box.
It proved just to be the start of the dramatic latter stages which saw Cole's
fierce drive flick wide off Howard's heel, Van der Sar save brilliantly from
John O'Shea, then Alan Smith force the giant Dutchman into a hasty retreat to
keep out an audacious shot from inside his own half which brought back memories
of David Beckham's more successful effort at Wimbledon all those years ago.
If only the title race was so exciting.
Teams
Man Utd Howard, Brown, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze, Ronaldo,
Scholes (Phil Neville 90), Keane, Fortune,
van Nistelrooy (Smith 77), Rooney (O'Shea 83).
Subs Not Used: Carroll, Gary Neville.
Goals: Ronaldo 21.
Fulham Van der Sar, Rosenior, Knight, Goma, Bocanegra,
Jensen (Radzinski 89), Malbranque, Clark, Diop (Legwinski 64),
Boa Morte, Cole.
Subs Not Used: Volz, Crossley, John.
Booked: Diop.
Att: 67,959
Ref: A D'Urso (Essex).
