LONDON, 2 October 2005 — Ruud van Nistelrooy scored twice to help Manchester United end a turbulent week on a high with an exhilarating 3-2 win over Fulham yesterday.
The win lifted United up to fourth in the table, although they remain seven points adrift of runaway leaders Chelsea, who face Liverpool at Anfield today.
Second-placed Charlton blew a golden opportunity to close the gap on the leaders by allowing Spurs to come back from two goals down to snatch all three points courtesy of Robbie Keane’s late winner at The Valley.
The fans who had jeered the Manchester United players off the pitch after last weekend’s Old Trafford defeat by Blackburn got what they wanted with manager Sir Alex Ferguson reverting to the club’s traditional 4-4-2 line-up for a match they simply could not afford to lose.
The revamped line-up ultimately delivered the goods in terms of performance and result, but not before they were given an early scare with Collins John giving Fulham a shock lead inside two minutes.
The Liberian teenager fastened on to a Brian McBride flick-on, muscled past Rio Ferdinand and fired past his former teammate Edwin van der Sar.
Park Ji-Sung initiated United’s response with an exhilarating direct run that ended with the Korean midfielder being upended by Moritz Volz for a penalty that Van Nistelrooy dispatched with customary aplomb.
A minute later, Alan Smith and Ryan Giggs combined to tee up Wayne Rooney to fire the visitors into the lead.
United were running the show by now but they found themselves back on level terms when a rare error by van der Sar allowed a looping Claus Jensen free-kick to fly into the net.
Van Nistelrooy restored the advantage on the stroke of half-time, tapping in a Park cross to settle the match with what was his ninth goal of the season in all competitions.
Charlton had looked set to make it six wins out of seven when Darren Bent curled a shot beyond Paul Robinson to give them a two-goal lead three minutes after half-time.
The on-form striker had put his side ahead mid-way through the opening period after being sent clear by Danny Murphy’s through ball.
But Spurs rallied impressively. Ledley King deflected a Pedro Mendes free-kick into the net and Egyptian striker Mido cut in from the left wing to equalize just after the hour mark.
Keane then came off the bench and combined superbly with Jermain Defoe before finishing off a slick counterattack with a right-foot shot ten minutes from time.
Blackburn’s climb up the table continued with a hard-fought 2-0 win over West Brom at Ewood Park.
The home side’s pressure finally paid off when Shefki Kuqi netted with an 80th-minute header and the Finnish forward wrapped things up with his second two minutes from time.
Newcastle, who were without the injured Michael Owen, came away from struggling Portsmouth with a point after a dour goalless draw.
Sunderland were entertaining West Ham in Saturday’s late match.
Five-Goal Celtic Close Gap
on Leaders Hearts
In Glasgow, Celtic cut Hearts’s lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to two points with a 5-0 hammering of Livingston yesterday.
In another one-sided encounter, Rangers thumped Dunfermline Athletic 5-1 at Ibrox.
Stephen McManus headed Celtic in front in the first half before hosts Livingston were sunk by a deluge of goals in the second period.
Shaun Maloney hit the second and Pole Maciej Zurawski made it 3-0 with a 51st-minute header. Chris Sutton and Craig Beattie were also on target as second-placed Celtic took their points tally to 22 from nine games. Hearts, who have 24 points from eight matches, play at Falkirk today.
Kashima Draw Level With
Leaders Gamba in J-League
In Tokyo, Kashima Antlers drew level with J-League leaders Gamba Osaka after a 2-2 draw at home to JEF United yesterday.
With Gamba (48 points) playing today, both teams will view the game as two points lost.
A win for JEF would have put them within four points of the leaders but they could only move up to fourth.
Brazilian Alex Mineiro scored twice for Kashima. He gave them the lead in the 21st minute and also pulled his side level eight minutes from time after midfielder Yuta Sato had struck two goals for JEF.
Third-placed Jubilo Iwata were involved in a thrilling 4-4 draw at struggling Tokyo Verdy.
Burly Brazilian striker Washington completed a hat trick for Verdy with a last-minute goal.
Champions Yokohama F-Marinos crashed 3-0 at home to Oita Trinita while FC Tokyo won 1-0 at Omiya Ardija.
Kashiwa Reysol edged Vissel Kobe 1-0 while Kawasaki Frontale overcame Albirex Niigata 3-0 and Nagoya Grampus Eight beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1.
