TheCable

Marouane Fellaini headed in from close range to give Manchester United three points against Crystal Palace in the Barclays Premier League.  

Juan Mata took over penalty duties for the visitors after recent misses from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie when Scott Dann handled in the first half. The Spaniard made no mistake from the spot.

Jason Puncheon came off the bench to equalise with a free-kick in the second half, but the Red Devils were in the lead 20 minutes later through Fellaini.

A vital three points for United means fierce rivals Liverpool must beat Premier League champions Chelsea on Sunday to have any chance of a top four place.

Burnley have been relegated from the BPL despite beating Hull City 1-0 at the KC Stadium thanks to Danny Ings’ second-half strike.

They moved above QPR into 19th on the log but the win was not enough to keep their survival hopes alive. Results elsewhere leave them seven points adrift of safety with two games to play.

Defeat for Hull – their second successive home loss – leave them in serious danger of joining Burnley in the Championship.

The Tigers are now 18th in the table, two points away from safety, with Tottenham and Manchester United left to play.

Their closest rivals are Newcastle, who are now below Sunderland in 17th after they drew 1-1 with West Brom at St James’ Park.

The Magpies were heading for a ninth straight defeat when Victor Anichebe fired the visitors ahead, but Ayoze Perez rescued a point and halted their losing streak.

Leicester City moved three points clear of danger by beating Southampton 2-0 at the King Power Stadium. Riyad Mahrez’s first-half double saw off the Saints and earned a fifth victory in six games for the Foxes.

At the Britannia Stadium, Stoke beat Tottenham 3-0 to move up to ninth in the table.

Steven Nzonzi, Mame Biram Diouf and Charlie Adam all scored for the Potters, who had a 2-0 lead before Spurs defender Vlad Chiriches was given a red card.

Tottenham failed in their quest to put pressure on fifth-place Liverpool but remain in sixth thanks to Southampton’s loss to Leicester.

Aston Villa also took a major step towards securing their top-flight status after a 1-0 win over West Ham at Villa Park.

Tom Cleverley was the match-winner for Tim Sherwood’s side, who are now four points clear of danger.

In Saturday’s early kick-off at Goodison Park, Sunderland boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 victory over Everton.

Goals from Danny Graham and Jermain Defoe send Blues tumbling to unlikely defeat