Mark Hughes left his manager job at English Premier League football club Fulham on Thursday after a little bit more than a year in charge. He denied that he had another post waiting.

The London Premier League club said in a statement on their website they had accepted Welshman Hughes’s decision to leave after 43 games in charge.

“Fulham Football Club can confirm that Mark Hughes has provided notice, under the terms of his contract, to leave the club at the end of June,” Fulham said on their website.

“After discussions with Mark the club has agreed to accept this notice.”

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Maxi Rodriguez scored his seventh goal and second hat-trick in three games to help Liverpool crush Fulham 5 – 2 at Craven Cottage to keep their hopes of reaching the Europa League alive.

Rodriguez put Liverpool ahead after 32 seconds, and volleyed a second before Dirk Kuyt made it 3-0 on 16 minutes.

Moussa Dembele gave Fulham hope with a crisp finish from Bobby Zamora’s pass.

Rodriguez smashed a spectacular third from 25 yards and Luis Suarez rounded Mark Schwarzer to make it 5-1 before Steve Sidwell fired a late consolation.

It was a sensational display from Liverpool, who have now scored 13 goals in their last three games and have climbed from 12th to fifth in the table since Kenny Dalglish took over from Roy Hodgson in January.

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Kenny Dalglish got his first win at home last night in his second spell as manager when Liverpool beat Fulham 1 – 0 at Anfield.

It took a scrappy 52nd minute own goal from John Pantsil, who sliced the ball into his own net after Fernando Torres shot deflected off the post, to secure the three points and Liverpool’s second consecutive Premier League win after the weekend victory over lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The win lifted Liverpool to seventh in the standings with 32 points.

“We will take anything as any club will do,” manager Dalglish told Sky Sports. “At times we played good football and deserved the bounce of the ball.

“I have seen three games and that is one of the few games we have had a little bit of good fortune.”

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Manchester United and Manchester City drew their derby match 0 – 0 last night and Michael Essien scored for the Blues to beat Fulham 1 – 0.

Derided by United manager Alex Ferguson as “noisy neighbours”, mega-rich City failed to rattle the 18-times champions but were spared the agony of last season when they lost both league meetings to last-gasp goals.

While City and United huffed and puffed to little effect, champions Chelsea stole a march in the title race as Essien’s first-half goal proved enough to beat Fulham, although the Ghanaian blotted his copybook when he was sent off late on for a two-footed lunge at Clint Dempsey.

Essien was unmarked on the half hour to head in Salomon Kalou’s cross but Chelsea, beaten 2-0 at Liverpool on Sunday, were slapdash in front of goal and failed to kill off their west London rivals who have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1964.

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said his team ‘dropped silly points’ in their 2 – 2 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage over the weekend.

Ferguson’s men were missing Wayne Rooney because of a virus and they lost ground on Premier League leaders Chelsea when Nani missed an 87th-minute penalty that would have secured a 3-1 lead – a spot kick the United boss thought Ryan Giggs should have taken.

Nani’s effort was well saved by David Stockdale and in the final minute Brede Hangeland, whose own goal had nudged United ahead, nodded home the equaliser to earnMark Hughes’ side a share of ther spoils.

“When you get the opportunity to seal the game with that penalty you should be taking it,” Ferguson told MUTV. “It was a missed opportunity and it galvanised them, got the crowd up and they scored the equaliser in the end.

“I thought Ryan should have taken it. In the last game we played against Tottenham at home Ryan scored two penalty kicks and Nani was on the pitch the same day. Maybe Ryan should have taken it.

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Atletico Madrid won the inaugural final of the Europa League 2 – 1 over Fulham as Diego Forlan struck an extra-time goal.

Having already scored the crucial goal at Anfield that knocked Liverpool out at the semi-final stage, Forlan was on target in the first half and then slipped his marker to score in the 116th minute to send the title to Madrid.

“I am very happy that my goals helped the team, it is good to have the golden shoe, but it is better to win titles with the team,” said the 30-year-old, who won the European Golden Boot for the second time last season.

“I just hope the volcano allows us to get home safely now and that Madrid will dress in red and white when we get back.”

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Wayne Rooney ruled Old Trafford again on Sunday as Manchester United went back top of the Premier League but Dimitar Berbatov’s form in the 3-0 win over Fulham was equally satisfying for manager Alex Ferguson.

While the livewire Rooney notched his 31st and 32nd goals of a remarkable season, languid Bulgarian Berbatov provided the perfect foil with a display that oozed class.

Berbatov, who has never completely won over the Old Trafford faithful, produced a brilliant piece of play to set up Rooney’s second goal and got on the scoresheet himself to take his tally for the season to 10.

While that is hardly prolific for a player of Berbatov’s pedigree who has enjoyed being top dog at most of his previous clubs, Ferguson was more concerned with his silky contribution in other areas.

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