Manchester United's last hopes of retaining the English premier league title ended when Danny Murphy converted a second-half 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 bodyblow 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) after a rash challenge by defender Gary Neville brought down Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard in the area and Murphy converted the spot kick.