Ferguson rues failure to cut gap

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson was left ruing Manchester United's failure to close the gap on Chelsea, Everton and Arsenal after his side's 1-1 draw with Fulham.

Premiership leaders Chelsea and the Gunners endured a 2-2 stalemate on Sunday, giving United the chance to make up some ground in the league. But Ferguson said: "I think what makes it so bad is that both our rivals dropped points at the weekend. "It was a great opportunity - and we haven't delivered." United went ahead through Alan Smith in the 33rd minute before Bouba Diop's superb 25-yard strike cancelled out the visitors' lead in the 87th minute. Ferguson described the result as an "absolute giveaway" after United had earlier missed a host of opportunities to finish off the encounter. He said: "It was a good performance - some of the football was fantastic - but we just didn't finish them off. "In fairness, it's a fantastic strike from the Fulham player." The result leaves Ferguson's side fourth in the league on 31 points - four points behind Arsenal and a further five back from Chelsea.