Premier League round-up

Fulham took apart Manchester United's makeshift defence to inflict a fifth Premier League loss of the season on the champions as Liverpool crashed to defeat at lowly Portsmouth.

Arsenal remain firmly in the title hunt, although Arsene Wenger's charges were made to work for three points against Hull City at Emirates Stadium.

Aston Villa enhanced their UEFA Champions League hopes with a battling victory over Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur did likewise with success at Blackburn Rovers.

Mark Hughes, with former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini watching in the stands, oversaw a seven-goal thriller in what proved to be his final match as Manchester City manager.

Fulham ruthlessly capitalised on Manchester United's defensive crisis after a commanding 3-0 win over the careless champions at Craven Cottage.

Danny Murphy enjoys scoring against United and he broke the deadlock on 22 minutes with an expertly placed shot beyond Tomasz Kuszczak from 25 yards after he robbed the dithering Paul Scholes of possession.

Fulham increased the lead barely 20 seconds after half-time when Clint Dempsey nodded down a cross for the in-form Bobby Zamora to prod home in predatory fashion.

Zamora was involved in Fulham's third goal on 75 minutes as he superbly controlled a deep free-kick before laying the ball off on the edge of the box for Damien Duff to rifle a volley beyond Kuszczak.

Liverpool's season slumped to a new low as Rafa Benitez's out-of-sorts side crashed to a 2-0 defeat away to the division's bottom club Portsmouth.

Pompey were good value for the points and took the lead on 33 minutes when Nadir Belhadj thumped home a stunning volley from an acute angle after former Portsmouth full-back Glen Johnson failed to clear the ball properly.

Just before half-time, Liverpool had Javier Mascherano sent off for a reckless challenge on Tal Ben Haim and Pompey wrapped up the win eight minutes from time when Frederic Piquionne flicked the ball in the air before lashing a crisp volley past Jose Reina.

Arsenal maintained their grip on third place in the table with an ultimately convincing 3-0 home win over Hull City.

Samir Nasri and Nick Barmby were both fortunate to escape red cards after a scuffle before Arsenal took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Denilson's dubiously-awarded free-kick.

The Tigers wasted a golden chance to equalise on 56 minutes when Geovanni's tame penalty was saved by Manuel Almunia after Mikael Silvestre had tugged Craig Fagan's shirt.

Arsenal made the visitors pay three minutes later when Eduardo tapped in from two yards out and Abou Diaby thumped home the third 10 minutes from time after exchanging passes with Andrey Arshavin.

Roque Santa Cruz scored a goal in each half, but it was not enough to save his manager's job as City enjoyed a roller-coaster 4-3 home triumph over Sunderland.

City enjoyed a dream start when Roque Santa Cruz side-footed home on four minutes after a low cross from Craig Bellamy, who was then brought down in the box for Carlos Tevez to score from the spot on 12 minutes.

Yet City's defensive frailties came back to haunt them on 16 minutes when John Mensah headed home Andy Reid's cross after the hosts failed to deal with a corner.

Sunderland levelled on 24 minutes through Jordan Henderson only for City to regain the lead before half-time through Bellamy's precise finish.

Poor defending from City again allowed the Black Cats to equalise on 62 minutes as Henderson was afforded time and space to pick out Kenwyne Jones to glance home.

The hosts were back in front on 69 minutes when Pablo Zabaleta picked out the unmarked Gareth Barry in the box and he steered the ball across goal for Santa Cruz to nudge over the line.

The Black Cats finished the match with 10 men when Michael Turner was sent off for a challenge on Barry much to the ire of visiting boss Steve Bruce.

Aston Villa continued their good run of form as John Carew's second-half header kept the hosts in the top-four positions after a 1-0 win over Stoke.

Stoke thought they had taken the lead just past the half-hour mark only for Mamady Sidibe's effort to be ruled out for a push on Villa full-back Stephen Warnock.

And Villa capitalised on that reprieve on 61 minutes as Ashley Young played in a dangerous cross from the right which Carew nodded past Thomas Sorensen.

Peter Crouch scored a goal in each half as Tottenham put their Christmas party shenanigans behind them with a 2-0 win away to Blackburn.

Spurs edged ahead just before the interval when Niko Kranjcar retrieved a wayward shot from Tom Huddlestone and crossed for Peter Crouch to head home at the far post.

Blackburn came close to an equaliser five minutes into the second half when Benni McCarthy's shot clipped Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes before coming back off the post.

Spurs made certain of the points on 83 minutes when Jermaine Jenas rolled the ball through to Crouch, who showed good composure before placing his attempt into the back of the net.