Villa keep UEFA Cup pot boiling with Everton draw

LONDON, April 27: Aston Villa twice came from behind to earn a pulsating 2-2 draw at Everton on Sunday and prolong the battle for fifth place and its UEFA Cup slot.

Defender Phil Neville’s deflected shot after 55 minutes put Everton on course for a win that would have left them six clear of their rivals and virtually assured of a return to Europe.

However, they were pegged back by Gabriel Agbonlahor’s equaliser after 80 minutes.

Everton, who play Arsenal and Newcastle United in their last two games, restored their lead with a Joseph Yobo volley in the 84th minute only for John Carew to head a second equaliser two minutes later.

The result leaves Everton on 62 points, three clear of Villa, with two games remaining. Portsmouth remain seventh on 57 after they lost 1-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers earlier on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to draw level at the top of the Premier League and keep alive their hopes of snatching the title from the grasp of the leaders.

Germany captain Michael Ballack scored twice in a match Chelsea had to win to maintain their championship ambitions, with a pinpoint header on the stroke of halftime and a penalty four minutes from the end after Michael Carrick handled.

Wayne Rooney replied for United when his 56th-minute shot went in off the post after he was sent clean through by a careless pass from Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho.

Both teams have 81 points and United remain top because of a vastly superior goal difference.

As long as United match the points Chelsea take from their last two games they will be champions but the pressure is now on Alex Ferguson’s men.

Chelsea’s west London neighbours Fulham staged a remarkable recovery to win 3-2 at Manchester City after trailing 2-0, keeping alive their chances of avoiding relegation.

Stephen Ireland and Benjani Mwaruwari put City in command before Fulham, who had not won away for 16 months before their victory at Reading two weeks ago, fought back with three goals in the last 20 minutes.

Substitute Diomansy Kamara scored twice and Danny Murphy the other after goalkeeper Joe Hart had saved his penalty.

Fulham would have been relegated if they had lost and if any two of Reading, Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City had won.

Birmingham were 2-0 up against Liverpool before being held to a 2-2 draw while Bolton were leading at Tottenham Hotspur before drawing 1-1. Reading drew 0-0 at Wigan Athletic.

That meant there were no changes in the positions at the bottom with Bolton staying 16th on 33 points followed by Reading (33), Birmingham (32), Fulham (30) and relegated Derby County, who play Arsenal on Monday, bottom on 11.

Sunderland ensured their safety by moving on to 39 points after winning a thrilling north-east derby 3-2 at home to Middlesbrough, who remained on 36 points.

Birmingham squandered a 2-0 lead against a Liverpool side showing nine changes from the team that played Chelsea in the Champions League in midweek.

Mikael Forssell and Sebastian Larsson, who scored from a free kick, put Birmingham in control but Liverpool fought back with goals from Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun.

West Ham United also let slip a 2-0 lead at home to Newcastle United who rallied for a 2-2 draw.

Mark Noble and Dean Ashton put West Ham on top before Obafemi Martins and Geremi replied for the visitors.

Results:

Played on Sunday:

Everton 2 Aston Villa 2

Portsmouth 0 Blackburn Rovers 1

Played on Saturday:

Birmingham City 2 Liverpool 2

Chelsea 2 Manchester United 1

Manchester City 2 Fulham 3

Sunderland 3 Middlesbrough 2

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Bolton Wanderers 1