Champions Manchester United's [ Images ] grip on top spot in the Premier League was loosened further on Saturday when they lost 2-0 at Fulham [ Images ] and ended the match with nine men.

United, hammered 4-1 at home by title rivals Liverpool last week, went behind early to Danny Murphy's penalty after midfielder Paul Scholes had been sent off for handling a Bobby Zamora [ Images ] header on the line.

Zoltan Gera killed off a strong United backlash with a late second goal before Wayne Rooney [ Images ] was shown a red card after 88 minutes for hurling the ball towards referee Phil Dowd.

Second-placed Chelsea [ Images ], who could close United's gap to one point with eight games to play compared with the leaders' nine, were in action at Tottenham Hotspur [ Images ] where the kickoff was delayed by 30 minutes because of a security scare.

Third-placed Liverpool, level on 61 points with Chelsea, are at home to Aston Villa [ Images ] on Sunday.

Portsmouth eased their relegation worries with a 2-1 win over Everton thanks to two Peter Crouch headers and Stoke City [ Images ] eased out of the bottom three with a 1-0 defeat of Middlesbrough. Bolton Wanders drew 1-1 at bottom club West Bromwich Albion [ Images ] and Blackburn Rovers drew 1-1 with West Ham United.