Manchester United's slim hopes of retaining the premier league title disappeared in the most painful way possible on Sunday when they were beaten 4-1 at arch rivals Manchester City.
With 10 games left, United are now 12 points behind league leaders Arsenal and three behind second-placed Chelsea. Unbeaten Arsenal were 2-0 winners at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday while Chelsea triumphed 2-0 at Bolton Wanderers.
Liverpool and Newcastle United both lost ground in the chase for Champions League places with defeats at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur respectively on Sunday while Aston Villa thrashed midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
United's defeat, their worst in the league since 1999, means they have only the FA Cup, where they face Arsenal in the semifinals, as a realistic chance of silverware this season.
The result ended a traumatic week for United boss Alex Ferguson who revealed after their Champions League exit to Porto on Tuesday that he has had a heart pacemaker fitted.
"It was a terrible result for us, you can't mask that and we obviously want to do something about it," he told Sky Sports TV.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"The important thing is to try to get our form back in terms of winning matches and eradicating these silly errors we are making at the back," added the Scot, whose side have taken just two points from their last four league games.
City took a surprise lead with a close-range goal by Robbie Fowler after three minutes and doubled the lead when Jon Macken hooked the ball in from just inside the box after 32 minutes.
United pulled one back three minutes later when superb work by Ryan Giggs set up Paul Scholes to drive home his fourth goal in three games against City this season.
PHOTO: AP
Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo could have added more but City tightened up in the second half and got their third in the 73rd minute, a blunder by Mikael Silvestre offering Trevor Sinclair a chance he took with glee.
The hosts finished in style when Shaun Wright-Phillips lashed a spectacular shot into the roof of the net from wide on the right in stoppage time.
City manager Kevin Keegan was delighted with his team's third home league win this season and their second successive home derby success following their 3-1 victory in the last-ever clash at Maine Road last season.
"Everyone played a part, and none more so than the crowd," he said. "We've found it difficult to win here but I think they would swap all those disappointing days for what they've just seen out there."
Newcastle's hopes of climbing back into the top four were foiled at White Hart Lane when an 86th-minute own goal by Andy O'Brien gave Spurs a 1-0 win.
Liverpool slipped to eighth after unluckily going down 2-0 at Southampton in the home side's first game under new manager Paul Sturrock.
James Beattie put Saints ahead in the 51st minute and, after Michael Owen had a penalty saved by man of the match goalkeeper Antti Niemi, Kevin Phillips wrapped it up with a deflected 85th-minute shot.
Villa cruised to an easy 4-0 win at midlands rivals Wolves.
They took the lead after seven minutes through German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and doubled it in the 18th minute with an Olof Mellberg header.
Another blunder by the home side six minutes later gifted Villa a third goal by Juan Pablo Angel and the Colombian got his second on the hour after Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen had saved an Ioan Ganea penalty.
After the game, Ferguson had some harsh words for his defense.
"We produced the kind of sloppy defending that has been endemic in our play over the last couple of months," he told MUTV. "It was a terrible result for us.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and