LONDON, Sept 12: The ghosts of 2001/02 returned to haunt Manchester United again Wednesday as Bolton pulled off a virtual carbon copy of last season’s stunning win at Old Trafford.

A 76th-minute strike by Kevin Nolan, also Bolton’s hero a year ago, was enough to give Sam Allardyce’s men three precious points and deal another blow to United’s championship ambitions.

It was also proof that money is not always a guarantee of success, Bolton’s squad having been assembled for just 4.2 million pounds (6.51 million dollars) compared to the 90 million pounds (139.5 million dollars) spent by United.

After the loss of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes to injuries, United boss Alex Ferguson could only watch helplessly as England captain David Beckham and Fabien Barthez combined to hand Bolton the points.

First Beckham failed to clear from the edge of the area, allowing the ball to break to Nolan whose fierce shot might have been saved by Barthez.

Liverpool meanwhile squandered the chance to move level with Arsenal at the top of the table after letting Birmingham City come back from two goals down to snatch a point at Anfield.

In a rerun of last week’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle, Liverpool had looked in control after first half goals from England midfielders Danny Murphy, with a swerving free-kick, and Steven Gerrard.

Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison was Birmingham’s hero with his first two goals for the club, the second coming in the last minute.

Tottenham also blew a chance to go top after allowing Fulham to fight back from two goals down to claim a 3-2 win at Loftus Road.

Spurs had looked totally in control of their match after Teddy Sheringham added to Dean Richards’ early header to put them 2-0 up at the interval.

But Fulham appeared a team transformed after the break. Japan’s World Cup hero Junichi Inamoto began the rally with his first Premiership goal.

Frenchman Steed Malbranque equalised from the spot in the 84th minute and Sylvain Legwinski snatched a deserved winner right on time.

West Ham were left three points adrift at the bottom after a 1-0 home defeat by West Brom, with Jason Roberts securing victory for the Premiership newcomers.

Goals at either end of the match from Australian Mark Viduka and Alan Smith gave Leeds an impressive 2-0 win at Newcastle and a share of third place with Liverpool and Chelsea.

Italian veteran Gianfranco Zola was Chelsea’s hero with two goals, including the winner 10 minutes from time, against Blackburn, who had twice led the Londoners.

Elsewhere, a 73rd-minute penalty from Latvian international Marian Pahars earned Southampton three points at home to Everton.

Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Charlton featured a goal from 18-year-old Stefan Moore on his Premiership debut. The exciting young prospect opened his account seven minutes from the end after Ecuadorian wingback Ulises de la Cruz had put Villa ahead.

RESULTS