Manchester United's title hopes suffered a dent at West Ham after the home side came back from behind to win 2-1.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side had been on course to go four points clear of Arsenal, whose game at Everton was the day's late kick-off, once Cristiano Ronaldo had given them a 14th-minute lead. But last season's player of the year then missed a penalty to allow the home side to mount a stirring fight-back that saw first substitute Anton Ferdinand and then fellow defender Matthew Upson head home from set-pieces. The identity of the scorers added extra spice to the occasion as Ferdinand is the younger brother of United's ex-Hammer Rio and Upson used to play for Arsenal. Alan Curbishley's reign as Hammers boss had begun a year previously with a 1-0 victory over United at Upton Park but it was not long before the Londoners had looked doomed to the drop.
Curbishley took that as the perfect cue to send on Ashton in place of Ljungberg for the final 20 minutes and a spell of intense pressure conjured up an equaliser in the 77th minute when Anton Ferdinand rose to head a Noble corner past Kuszczak. The home side continued to attack and Upson repeated Ferdinand's trick by heading a Noble free-kick beyond the United goalkeeper. Upton Park erupted as the race for the Premier League title took another dramatic twist.
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