Fulham forward Zamora could find England manager Fabio Capello knocking on his door soon after having scored his 10th goal of the season, as he was instrumental in many of the Fulham attacks.
Danny Murphy put the home side ahead in the 22nd minute with a low shot but United did not step up to the challenge, as Michael Owen was largely anonymous in the game.
Soon after the break, Zamora was on the score sheet when made the most of a headed pass by American Clint Dempsey. Irishman Damien Duff’s powerful shot made it three and a memorable win for Fulham manager Roy Hodgson.
Zamora ran the makeshift United defense ragged with Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick playing in unaccustomed roles at the back.
Zamora was credited with much of the honors when he, at last, won over the Fulham fans. They showed their appreciation by giving him a standing ovation as he was substituted in injury time.
“It gives us an awful lot of pleasure. We were fortunate in that we played against a very wounded United but we couldn’t do more than try to take advantage of that,” Hodgson told the BBC.
“Before Bobby gets seriously considered for an England call-up, he has a lot of work to do. But if Fabio Capello wants to look at him, he knows where he is.”
The bad loss means United falls four points back of Premiership leader Chelsea.
Manchester City 4, Sunderland 3
A seven-goal thriller saw Man City overcome Sunderland at Eastlands on Saturday but it wasn’t good enough to save the manager’s job. Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz scored twice for the home side, getting the first and the last goals of the match.
Carlos Tevez doubled City’s lead from the penalty spot before John Mensah and Jordan Henderson pulled Sunderland back on level terms. Welshman Craig Bellamy scored ten minutes before the break to put the home side up 3–2.
Sunderland substitute Kenwyne Jones banged in the equalizer—a close range header after some slick passing near the touchline. But Santa Cruz grabbed the winner in the 69th minute when he toe-poked a nice pass from Gareth Barry into the open net.
Pre-match media speculation stated it would be Mark Hughes’s last game as manager for City and after the match it was confirmed that he was fired. Former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini, who was in attendance at the match, was named as the replacement.
Hughes issued a statement through the League Mangers Association (MLA) mentioning: “I am extremely disappointed not to have been given the opportunity to see through my plans at the club.
“At the beginning of the season, I sat down with the owners and it was agreed that a realistic target for the season would be sixth place in the Premier League, or in the region of 70 points.
“All of this was communicated to the players and we all knew where we stood. While everyone at the club would obviously have wanted to see more wins, we were absolutely on target at the time of my dismissal.”
Arsenal 3, Hull 0
Arsenal closed the gap on the league leaders in a fierce encounter at the Emirates on Saturday.
Arsenal’s Samir Nasri sparked a mass confrontation when he stomped on Richard Garcia’s foot before Denilson curled in a superb 25-yard free-kick for a 1–0 Gunners lead.
Gunners’ goalkeeper Manuel Almunia saved Geovanni’s penalty just after the break, and the Gunners hit back three minutes later with an Eduardo goal after a well worked passing play.
Tall French midfielder Abou Diaby blasted in the third after playing a give-and-go with Andrei Arshavin.
The score line flattered Arsenal who lacked the leadership and creativity of Cesc Fabregas who was out injured. Nevertheless, Arsenal climbed back in the title race with a game in hand on Chelsea and Manchester United. Arsenal is six points back of Chelsea and two back of United.
West Ham 1, Chelsea 1
Chelsea was held to a draw at Upton Park on Sunday as they failed to capitalize on Manchester United’s loss to Fulham.
The Hammers took the lead just before the break when Chelsea’s Ashley Cole brought down Jack Collison in the box and Alessandro Diamanti dispatched the penalty.
Chelsea’s equalizer came from the penalty spot as well when Matthew Upson was harshly penalized when tackling Daniel Sturridge. Frank Lampard scored the penalty against his old club after having to take the penalty kick three times because players kept encroaching the 18-yard box.
Elsewhere in the Premiership, Aston Villa kept up their form with a win against Stoke as John Carew scored the only goal. The win sees them hold onto fourth position in the table.
