Watch: Manchester United 2 - 0 Fulham

Manchester United moved 10 points ahead of Arsenal with two first half goals for Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia - with both goals created by Nani for his 17th and 18th assist of the season. 

Wayne Rooney was serving his ridiculous 2 match ban and was missing, while Sir Alex Ferguson was up in the stands watching over his United team proudly as the eight changes from the midweek Champions League game against Chelsea proved enough to overcome Mark Hughes' Fulham side.

Nani's contribution for both of the goals was outstanding, skilfully weaving around the defenders and setting up Berbatov for the first, and then using his pace to reach the ball, getting round the goalkeeper and flicking it to Valencia for the second.

Title Race Over for Chelsea

Chelsea's sixth draw this season will be seen as another two points dropped as they struggle to keep up with the top two, Manchester United and Arsenal. As they will continue to emphasise, they are still mathematically in the race, with there still being a possibility - although a slim one, of Ancelotti's side gaining twelve points on the leaders without reply. It is one hell of a tall order, especially when the leaders United seem to become a stronger force later on in the season, and seeing as they have only lost one game up until now, Chelsea would be forgiven for setting their sights on fourth spot and not the top one.

After spending a colossal amount of money in January, you would at least expect the results to improve for the Blues. Torres, who cost £50 million, has made little impact in both his debut against his former club Liverpool, and against Fulham today. Perhaps understandably, Fulham fans were heard chanting 'What a waste of money', directing it the Spaniard.

Meanwhile, David Luiz, who had a strong full debut for his new club - apparently worth around £21 million - conceded a late penalty which, if converted, could have made a draw look like a good result. Clint Dempsey missed the spot-kick and saved Chelsea's blushes away at Craven Cottage.

Chelsea ultimately escaped with a point. That is not something anyone was familiar with saying about them last season or early this season when they trampled teams scoring goals for fun. Fulham are a tough side to beat, granted, and as Chelsea's narrow 1 - 0 home victory against them earlier this season proves, Mark Hughes' side are not to be rolled over all to easily. But this is the kind of fixture that Chelsea would be expecting to win, especially when they are already so far behind United and Arsenal.

Petr Cech, who saved the penalty to secure the point admitted:

"For the title, this point is too little."

"Mathematically it is not over, but obviously we are quite far [off] now because they [Chelsea's rivals] won their games and we dropped another two points."

However, the goalkeeper assured fans that this is not the end of them this season. While it still a possibility, Chelsea will continue to fight, in the hope of big slip ups from their rivals:

"But there is still a long way to go and we are going to fight to the end."

Ancelotti said after the game:

"Now [12 points adrift] is too much"

"Obviously it's very difficult to come back to fight for the title, but we have a very important aim to reach until the end with the FA Cup."

Chelsea do however have two games to play against the Manchester United, and therefore six points to gain without reply. After snowy conditions earlier in the season, the scheduled match was postponed, and was re-scheduled for later in the season. The two fixtures will be played on the 1st March at Stamford Bridge, and the 7th May at Old Tafford.

 Have no doubts, those two games will be pivotal in which way this years title swings - whether Chelsea are up there challenging or not. 2 wins for Chelsea aginst United may not win them the title, but it would surely guarantee a top four finish, while perhaps giving way for Arsenal to sneak ahead of United and snatch their first title in however many years its been.

They face a tough, arduous uphill battle, but Chelsea could still defend their title. It is more likely however, that they will have a bigger say in who gets it instead of them - United, Arsenal... or City, while in the meantime, they will have to concentrate on securing a Champions League place for next season, or their £50 million Fernando won't be happy.

Snow Ruins the Football Week-end As Matches are Postponed

Premier League Postponements

Arsenal v Stoke

Birmingham v Newcastle

Liverpool v Fulham

Wigan v Aston Villa

AND
NOW

Chelsea v Manchester United

A week-end of football is destroyed because of masses of snow falling from the sky and settling on and around the grounds - leaving the surrounding areas to dangerous for fans to walk along.
A Liverpool spokesperson said:

"Although the Anfield pitch is playable, the conditions around the stadium and further afield for people travelling to the match are such that the decision was taken, following police advice on safety grounds, to postpone the game. All existing tickets will remain valid for the rearranged fixture and supporters will be advised of the new date as soon as possible."

It is pretty much the same story everywhere else, with the club, referee or local authorities deeming the surrounding area of the stadium too hazardous, despite the best efforts of ground staff.

The postponement of the Arsenal game against Stoke is probably a big disappointment for the Arsenal fans in particular. They would have loved to give Ryan Shawcross a right old rollicking because of the Aaron Ramsey incident, but that will have to be delayed for a little while until a new date is figured out. Arsenal could have also taken advantage ahead of the Chelsea - Manchester United game on Sunday, as a win against Stoke would have put them top of the table, and therefore put more pressure on the two teams to win at Stamford Bridge.
However, now the big game between Chelsea and United has been called off a day in advance because of the weather. It may be seen as good news for some United fans, as it means Paul Scholes, who would have been still recovering from an injury on Sunday, should now be ready to play in the renewed fixture. This snow is changing everything.

Snow, snow, snow. How big a part could it play in the title race?

Berbatov Grabs 5 in 36 Goal-Packed Premier League Saturday

A record breaking Premier League Saturday - wonder goals were scored, penalties were saved, red cards were brandished and 36 goals rippled the net. It was quite unbelievable.

The early kick off saw Arsenal defeat Aston Villa and the golden oldie and returning Arsenal legend Robert Pires by four goals to two. Arshavin and Nasri lifted Arsenal to a two goal lead in the first half, while Ciaran Clark scored to revive some hope before Marouane Chamakh scored 4 minutes later. Clark then scored again to raise Villa hopes again, but Jack Wilshere finished the game in the 90th minute to temporarily put Arsenal top.
They were probably hoping Blackburn would give United a good fight. If they were, they would havebeen bitterly disappointed. http://bit.ly/hxBxSi (Goals)

Manchester United grabbed 7 goals in a 7 - 1 win against Blackburn in which Dimitar Berbatov - the guy who hadn't scored since his hat-trick against Liverpool, and was said to be preparing to be sold by United in the summer - scored 5 goals. Luis Nani and Ji Sung Park scored the others, but Berbatov grabbed the match ball in delight (or his composed version of it) at the end of the game in a match that shoots his goal tally up to 11 for the season and fires Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League with a dramatically increased goal difference. (Goals) http://bit.ly/hxBxSi

Carlos Tevez announced once again that he was unhappy playing football, but Manchester City hoped to put this aside and roll over Stoke City at the Brittania. They almost won too, as Micah Richards scored from 12 yards out inthe 81st minute. But Matthew Etherington slotted home after a nice move in the ninetirth minute to crush City's hopes and squeeze a point from the game.

The other results today included a win from West Ham against relegation rivals Wigan for a precious three points, a Bolton comeback from two goals down against Blackpool, a Wolves - Sunderland thriller where Ebanks-Blake scored in the 89th minute to take the three points, and a Fulham - Birmingham draw. 2 red cards and 5 goals in the match between Everton and West Brom saw the Toffees lose their cool, and lose Arteta in a 58 minute stamp on Jara.

The full list of results are as follows:

Aston Villa 2 - 4 Arsenal

Bolton 2 - 2 Blackpool

Manchester United 7 - 1 Blackburn

Everton 1 - 4 West Brom

Fulham 1 - 1 Birmingham

Stoke 1 - 1 Manchester City

West Ham 3 - 1 Wigan

Wolves 3 - 2 Sunderland

Fulham Tracking a Keeper - so Schwarzer to Arsenal is on.

The Swedish club, Trelleborgs FF have confirmed that Premier League London club Fulham have been keeping tabs on their promising young Swedish goalkeeper, Viktor Noring.

The Italian club Palermo as well as Dutch team Ajax have expressed an interest to Trelleborgs FF about the 19 year old goalkeeper, and the clubs chairman has had this to say:

"Yes, Fulham have watched Viktor, sooner or later he will leave us"

Fulhams current number one had been very close to joining Arsenal in the summer transfer market, but Fulham did not want to let the Australian shot stopper go, as they had no one to fill in when he was gone. Arsenals goalkeeping situation isn't getting any better, and with Wenger definitely still interested, Fulham could be preparing to say goodbye t Schwarzer by looking for other options.

Antonio Valencia and Bobby Zamora's Injury Updates

As a footballer writhes in pain on the fresh green grass that they had been standing on only minutes earlier, it is terrible to think what the next few months of rehabilitation for both mental and physical issues will be like for them. A broken, fractured or dislocated bone is extremely painful for anyone, but for those who rely on their legs to earn them a living (granted, a very good one), such as footballers, it must be even more distressing.

Both Bobby Zamora and Antonio Valencia know the feeling, as both have recently suffered awful injuries that will rule them out, very unfortunately, for a while.

It has been confirmed that Bobby Zamora will be out for about five months after he had an operation on his broken fibula that he sustained in Fulhams 2 - 1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers last Saturday.

Zamora's manager Mark Hughes said:

"Bobby will now be in bed with his leg elevated for two weeks. The operation showed ligament damage so we're probably now looking at five months. We want to help Bobby get back quickly and there are no concerns over his ability to get back to the level he was before he got injured."

The injury is even more cruel to the striker as he had just recently made his debut for England after years of trying. His progress and recent good form will now be interrupted by this unfortunate incident.

Antonio Valencia suffered significant ligament damage as well as a fractured ankle in an injury similar to that of Alan Smith when the now Newcastle man played for United against Liverpool. The winger underwent surgery yesterday after the injury was suffered against Rangers in the Champions League.

The good news for Manchester United fans is that, according the a United spokesperson, the operation went well, however he will still be out for a good portion of the season with a plate inserted to stabilise the fracture.

Sir Alex Ferguson had initially said that Valencia would probably miss the rest of the season with his injury, however, this might not be the case with the operation being such a success.

Both tackles that led to the broken fibula's of Zamora and Valencia seemed routine and not at all dangerous, but rather the studs were caught in the grass which led to the leg being dragged in an awkward direction - the momentum taking it further forward and doing the damage.

Brave Fulham Lose out in Final

A heart thumping final.

Fulham have achieved a massive feat to reach the final. But their hearts were broken by a Diego Forlan goal late in extra time. A cruel blow to a brave, passionate team punching well above their weight.

I don't think Fulham will be able to achieve a final again for a while. Nor do I think Roy Hodgson will stay on as manager. He can do no more. He has taken them as far as a small club can go.

Their excellent performances this season especially in Europe has made teams think very hard about how to win and their amazing fight has feared teams into defeat. But to win a final was too much.

It could have gone either way in the match, and it was very close, reflected in the tight scoreline. But the lucky Madrid took the trophy, and the Fulham fans, players and team were distraught.