Everton's season is in turmoil after a 2-1 defeat by Standard Liege in Belgium ended their hopes of a morale-boosting UEFA Cup run.Manager David Moyes' future is in doubt in the wake of a 4-3 aggregate exit that follows Everton's Carling Cup defeat at Blackburn and Saturday's loss to Liverpool in the Mersey derby.
But the pressure eased on Juande Ramos, the other Premier League manager under the cosh, as Spurs reached the group stages after a 1-1 draw with Wisla Krakow in Poland. Manchester City and Aston Villa also went through.
Moyes has been linked to Newcastle, Tottenham and his former club Celtic as his frustration has grown over the lack of progress at Goodison Park.
But while he is yet to sign a new contract, Moyes insisted: 'I will see it out. I've had some tough situations - all managers face difficult times. There's no divine right to win football games, you have to earn the right to do so. There's no easy ride and this is part of it.'
Everton had pinned their hopes on lifting Moyes' mood with a European adventure but even without Milan Jovanovic's penalty winner, Phil Jagielka's 67th-minute equaliser would not have been enough to see Everton into the group stages after their 2-2 draw in the first leg.
Moyes believed Standard captain Steven Defour was lucky not to have been shown a red card for putting his hands on German referee Peter Sippel. Moyes said: 'In England I think he would've been sent off. Then there was a professional foul that was let go. The crowd did a very good job for Standard tonight.'
Jagielka believes Moyes will not walk away, saying: 'The gaffer will sort his own contract out in his own time. I'm sure he's going to stay.'
Two goals in four second-half minutes earned Hull City a famous victory at Arsenal as Phil Brown got the tactical better of Arsene Wenger.
Hull's manager gambled on a three-pronged attack and was rewarded when two of that trio - Geovanni and Daniel Cousin - cancelled out a Paul McShane own goal to send the Premier League newcomers to the dizzy heights of sixth in the table.
We threw them a little bit of a curve ball with that one and Arsenal couldn't handle it,' said Brown, after the shock of the season so far. Hull became only the second team to win at the Emirates Stadium and the first to win there in 17 months, leaving Wenger to admit: 'Technically we were better than them, but in terms of commitment they were the better team.'
Hull have now picked up as many points in six matches as Derby mustered over the whole of last season - despite having been tipped for the same fate as Paul Jewell's men.
It was not until early in the second half that Hull were beaten by McShane's own goal. That merely inspired the underdogs, with Geovanni thrashing a wonderful 20-yard shot past Manuel Almunia and Cousin heading the winner from a corner on only his second start.
A delighted Brown said: 'We were brave. Everybody was expecting us to play 4-4-2 but we chose to play Geovanni behind the front two and it threw Arsenal.
'Of course, there was a 15-minute period after they scored when they played us off the park but you need the type of strike that Geovanni scored with to go in at a place like this, and it did. The character of these lads is beyond question and I've got so much belief in that dressing room.'
Cousin's winner from a corner is yet another goal Arsenal have conceded from set-pieces this season - and Hull skipper Ian Ashbee reckons it is a weakness that they always thought they could exploit.
'They've let in a few goals that way and it's something that we worked on at training all week,' he said.
As the full extent of Ljungberg's incredible salary details emerged - he is paid £85,000 a week and had an option for another year if he made just 15 appearances this season - West Ham are still suffering from the aftershock of one of the most expensive mistakes in British football history.
In total, he cost them approximately £13m, taking into account transfer fee, wages and his pay-off - working out at over £500,000 per game, following 25 appearances for the club last season in which he made little impact.
West Ham have yet to announce Ljungberg's departure, but the deal has been agreed and he has been told he is now effectively a free agent. Ljungberg, 31, believes he can still play at the top in England, Italy or Spain and has asked his agent to find him a new club.
The Sweden midfielder was due to earn £8.84m over the next two years at West Ham and initially informed Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury that he had no intention of reaching a settlement.
Despite being told by manager Alan Curbishley that he would not be playing for the first team this season, the injury-prone midfielder told the club he would sit tight and see out the remaining two years on his mega-bucks deal. He has not been part of the pre-season programme and is understood to be back home in Sweden 'weighing up a number of options'.
It is an incredible fall from grace for Ljungberg. He was a member of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' who won the Premier League in 2004 without losing a game and was recently voted the Gunners' 11th best player of all time.
The Hammers signed him from their London rivals for £3m last summer, but he showed no signs of his Arsenal form and his season ended early when he broke a rib in a collision with Newcastle defender Steven Taylor.
Although Ljungberg recovered to play for Sweden at Euro 2008, he announced his retirement from international football after the tournament in order to prolong his career in the Premier League.
Another of West Ham's injury-prone strikers, Craig Bellamy, faces being out for up to two months after tearing a hamstring in the first half hour of Monday night's 5-3 friendly win at Ipswich.
This setback follows news that Kieron Dyer's long-awaited return has been put back until November because of a stress fracture in the right leg he broke early last season.
However, Bellamy will not face any action following an alleged verbal spat with a female fan at Portman Road.
But Kanu and Pompey's joy was despair for the Welsh club's Finnish goalkeeper Peter Enckelman, who palmed a low cross by John Utaka straight to the long-limbed striker, who half-volleyed it into the net from about three yards.
Kanu scored only his seventh goal of the season, and the first since his semi-final winner against West Brom last month, which was a similar close-range effort from a keeper's parry.
And although he squandered two other marvellous opportunities in a match that failed to produce any great exciting football, he was granted a standing ovation by the delirious Pompey fans when replaced by Milan Baros for the final few minutes.
It was Pompey's who 11th 1-0 win of the season, earning them a place in next season's UEFA Cup - their first European adventure to go with their first FA Cup triumph for 69 years.
Cardiff, the fifth team from football's second tier to meet Pompey in the FA Cup this season, rarely threatened after an opening burst and Portsmouth saw out the game with solid defending in front of largely under-employed goalkeeper David James.
James, back from a calf injury, had to be alert to deny the dangerous Paul Parry twice in the opening 12 minutes as Cardiff settled the quicker despite Enckelman having to deal with a nasty deflection off Muntari's driven 40-yard free kick in Pompey's first attack.
The England keeper had to come off his line after Peter Whittingham's ball in from the right caught Sol Campbell out of position and sailed over his head just too far in front of the striker.
And when Parry, who missed the semi-final through injury, got himself on the end of Joe Ledley's neat flick which again left Campbell gasping, James had to put his 6ft 3in frame in the way once more and the shot appeared to spin away off his right thigh.
But with Sulley Muntari and Lassana Diarra finally starting to buzz in midfield and Pedro Mendes - a surprise choice in front of big Papa Bouba Diop - spraying smart passes, Pompey began to impose themselves.
After 21 minutes, Herman Hreidarsson made a muscular run down the left to feed Muntari, who turned the ball cleverly inside to Kanu.
The striker had the fans on the edge of their seats with a delightful shimmy that left Enckelman in a helpless heap, but with the goal gaping, he somehow managed to roll his shot against the outside of a post.
Pompey's 4-5-1 formation was a puzzle. Diarra was often further forward than designated lone-striker Kanu and shot wide with a snap effort from 20 yards.
But they had had problems to sort out at the back against Tony Capaldi's monster throw-ins and the crisp delivery of Stephen McPhail and Ledley.
When Glen Johnson briefly went missing at right back, McPhail's pass gave Parry acres of room just outside the area on left but instead of shooting as he entered the box, he tried to cut it back for Kevin McNaughton, who arrived too late on the far post.
Then Cardiff's Roger Johnson came up from the back to outjump Sylvain Distin and Campbell and nod Whittingham's free kick from the left just over.
But after 37 minutes, Pompey were handed their gift when John Utaka, who had struggled to get into the game out on the right, took on Capaldi and found just enough space to cross low into the six yard box.
Enckelman made a hash of collecting the ball, palming it straight to Kanu, who joyfully tucked the rebound home.
It was hard to see Cardiff coming back after that, even though they had the ball in the net just before half-time when, in the manic scramble that followed a half-cleared corner, Dutch centre-half Glenn Loovens charged the ball down with his upper arm before lobbing precisely over James.
And they should have been two down six minutes into the second half when Kanu spurned another golden chance, scuffing his shot from a central position inside the area after Kranjcar's spectacular backheeled pass put Diarra clear down the left to provide the cross.
Kanu claimed his effort struck the arm of defender Johnson but referee Mike Dean, who had sound game, ruled it accidental and gave a corner.
Cardiff gave it a real go right to the end, sending on Aaron Ramsay, 17, to become the second youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final but they could not break through Pompey's redoubled defence.
Midfielder Murphy was left virtually unchallenged to nod in a Jimmy Bullard free-kick of a largely dismal game at Fratton Park which left FA Cup Finalists Portsmouth nursing their fourth consecutive defeat before next week's Wembley final against Cardiff.
But Fulham did not care a jot for Pompey's plight. And boss Roy Hodgson was able to celebrate a remarkable escape having almost given up the ghost a month ago when they lost at home to fellow strugglers Sunderland.
Since then they have beaten Manchester City, Birmingham and now Portsmouth. Yet Harry Redknapp's side, even without the injured David James and Sol Campbell, had ample possession and opportunity to sink their visitors.
Jermain Defoe, Niko Kranjcar and Pedro Mendes all went close but they really did not threaten Fulham's brave defence too much.
Those Fulham fans who packed the Milton End of Fratton Park were down in the dumps long before half-time after hearing relegation rivals Reading and Birmingham had both gone ahead.
They knew they should have done the same but for a brilliant save by goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown, who was standing in for the injured David James for the third match in a row.
Fulham fans had to cheer former Reading man Ashdown, though, when Paul Stalteri's cross found Davies whose shot from eight yards was going just inside a post until Ashdown flung himself across goal to push it away.
Kranjcar then cut for a one-two exchange with Kanu before blazing over and then drilled a free kick through Fulham's wall to make Kasey Keller hang on tight.
Brede Hangeland's interception stopped Kanu's goal-bound shot and John Utaka and Pedro Mendes both shot wide.
Fulham leaned heavily on the creativity of Bullard and Davies' non-stop running while Brian McBride struggled to find a way past the Pompey defence even though Noe Pamarot deputised for the injured Sol Campbell.
Fulham's Clint Dempsey looked hopefully at referee Mark Clattenburg when he went down in Pompey box but Hermann Hreidarsson's challenge did not even appear to make contact and the official waved protests away.
Dempsey, to his credit, responded superbly when needed at the other end - stopping Defoe on the edge of the Fulham area with a marvellous tackle but the Pompey striker should have put his side in front before the interval he blasted over.
Defoe and Kranjcar both tested veteran Fulham keeper Keller with snap shots after the break and the American was lucky to be in the right place to keep out the latter's 30-yards piledriver in the 55th minute.
Stand-in skipper Sylvain Distin almost headed into his own goal during a wild melee and then Kamara's cross came off Pamarot and flashed just wide as Ashdown flung himself across goal more in hope than expectation.
And when Bullard's latest free kick sailed into the area in the 74th minute Pompey generously left Murphy with all the room and time he needed to steer a simple header home and send the fans behind the goal wild with delight.
An extra three minutes stoppage time at the end must have shredded a few nerves but Fulham but with Hangeland a rock at centre back alongside Irishman Aaron Hughes, never looked vulnerable.
Only Old Trafford legend Denis Law and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy have claimed 40 goals in a season for United — and Ronaldo's feat in joining them leaves Sir Alex Ferguson tantalisingly close to claiming his 10th Premier League crown in 16 years.
Ferguson also raved about double Footballer of the Year Ronaldo. "His goal record is phenomenal, and 90 per cent of the time he has been playing as a wide player," said the manager.
"The boy is developing all the time. He also showed his courage when he took a terrible tackle and came back. That's a great signal to anyone who wants to kick him out of the game."
Ronaldo struck twice inside 24 minutes — the second bouncing off his thigh — to take his Premier League tally to 30, a milestone which saw a local bookmaker make a £50,000 donation to Manchester Children's Hospital.
Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick sealed the points and because of their vastly superior goal difference, United will effectively be champions if Chelsea lose at Newcastle on Monday.
