fast and first

Blackburn shock United

Canadian international Simeon Jackson came off the bench to grab a stoppage-time equalizer as Norwich rescued a 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson's 70th birthday was ruined by Manchester United's stunning loss to struggling Blackburn and Chelsea slipped out of the Premier League's top four with a home defeat to Aston Villa.

At Norwich, Portugal forward Orlando Sa had scored after just six minutes to put the visitors on course for a rare away win. But Norwich continued to press, and Jackson, who has 23 caps for Canada, nodded in Elliott Bennett's right-wing cross five minutes into added time to record his second Premier League goal, and earn Paul Lambert's side a share of the points.

Fulham went ahead when Moussa Dembele was allowed to charge to the edge of the penalty area before feeding Sa, who drilled a low shot past John Ruddy into the bottom right corner.

The home side was almost 2-0 down before they could mount a recovery, with fullback Kyle Naughton clearing an effort from Sa off the line.

At Old Trafford, goalkeeper David de Gea's mistake allowed Grant Hanley to pounce in the 80th minute and give Blackburn a 3-2 win.

"It is a disaster," Ferguson said. "I never expected it."

The surprising setback for the defending champions means Manchester City can go three points clear at the top by winning at Sunderland on Sunday.

"We weren't at the races. Too slow, too laboured. Not quick enough," said Phil Jones, who left Blackburn for United in the off-season. "The injuries don't help. But they are no excuse. We were nowhere near good enough ... they thoroughly deserved their win."

Third-place Tottenham slipped up as well, drawing 1-1 at Swansea to sit six points behind United.

The bigger winner of the day was Arsenal, which went fourth with a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers after Chelsea slumped to its fifth loss of the season, with Villa winning 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Consecutive 5-0 routs for United before facing struggling Blackburn had pointed to another easy victory on Ferguson's landmark birthday.

Ayegbeni Yakubu, though, wasn't in a giving mood, scoring with a first-half penalty and a low shot past De Gea six minutes after the break.

Dimitar Berbatov hit back with two quick finishes inside the area, but United couldn't stage another comeback after Hanley's winner.

Blackburn manager Steve Kean hopes supporters will finally stop calling for him to be sacked by the Indian owners.

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