The home team handed Chelsea its third league loss of the season when striker Luis Boa Morte scored in the 17th minute of the match after capitalizing on teammate Steed Malbranque's deflected shot.

Four Chelsea players received yellow cards during the game, not to mention, William Gallas, who was sent off the field in the 90th minute after fouling Fulham forward Heidar Helguson on the sideline.

The match got ugly when Chelsea substitute Didier Drogba's goal in the 59th minute was rejected after referee Mike Dean ruled a handball.

"I have seen it on TV and I know it was a handball, no doubts about that," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Chelsea's website.

"But the referee did not see it and gave no goal and the linesman didn't see and he gave no goal. They couldn't resist the pressure of the Fulham players and that is a problem."

Despite its loss, Chelsea still leads second-place Manchester United by 12 points, while Fulham moved to 14th, trying to avoid relegation.

Also on Sunday: Liverpool trails second place Manchester United by only 2 points after its 3-1 victory over Newcastle.

Peter Crouch, Steven Gerrard and Djibril Cisse each scored for Liverpool to command the club's offense.

On Saturday, Tottenham reclaimed the fourth place spot with its 2-0 victory over Birmingham; Arsenal scored three goals inside of 50 minutes for a 3-0 win over Charlton; Manchester United moved closer to league leader Chelsea with a 2-1 win over West Brom; Portsmouth made it two in a row with a 4-2 win over West Ham, its sixth win of the season; Blackburn made it past Middlesbrough, 3-2 to stay in contention with Arsenal; Bolton handed last place Sunderland its league-high 24th loss with a 2-0 defeat; Everton scored four against Aston Villa for the 4-1 win; and Wigan squeaked by Manchester City, 1-0.