Manchester United’s last hopes of retaining the Premier League title ended when Danny Murphy converted a penalty to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.With Arsenal hoping to clinch the title on Sunday when they play Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday’s focus was the battle for European football and Premier League survival.Fourth-placed Liverpool edged closer to a place in the Champions League qualifiers, while Leicester City’s hopes of staying up suffered a body blow when Paul Dickov had a late penalty saved by England keeper David James in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City.United remained third on 71 points with three games left as they chase Chelsea (72) and Arsenal (81).Their faint hopes of a ninth title in 12 seasons ended midway through the second half when a rash challenge by defender Gary Neville brought down Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and Murphy converted the spot kick.Arsenal can secure their 13th championship on Sunday if they beat Spurs and Chelsea fail to win at Newcastle United in an earlier kick-off.Defeat means United have also handed the initiative to Chelsea in the race for second place and a guaranteed place in next season’s Champions League group stage.The hosts badly missed Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been struggling with injury, and were unlucky when a Ryan Giggs effort hit the woodwork. (Reuters)
