LONDON, 31 October 2004 — A superb injury-time goal by substitute Robin van Persie saved Arsenal from a second successive defeat yesterday as the young Dutchman earned the champions a 2-2 home draw with Southampton.
Arsenal led through Thierry Henry but two headers by Rory Delap in the last 10 minutes gave Southampton, who had not scored in their previous four league games, a shock lead.
Van Persie’s late effort left Arsenal top only on goal difference from Chelsea, who won 4-1 at West Bromwich Albion with goals by William Gallas, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Damien Duff and Frank Lampard.
Manchester United, who revived their title hopes with last week’s 2-0 win over Arsenal, came down to earth with a bump as they lost by the same score at Portsmouth after goals by David Unsworth, from the penalty spot, and Aiyegbeni Yakubu.
Arsenal remain top with 26 points, the same as Chelsea, while third-placed Everton lost ground on 23 after a 1-1 home draw with Aston Villa. Middlesbrough moved up to fourth on 18 with a 2-1 win at Charlton Athletic. Bolton Wanderers, also on 18, host Newcastle United on Monday while Manchester United have 17.
Liverpool are level with United after drawing 2-2 at Blackburn Rovers, bottom at start of play. Czech striker Milan Baros scored Liverpool’s second-half equalizer after the visitors’ French striker Djibril Cisse was carried off with a suspected broken leg.
Arsenal were odds-on favorites to embark on a new winning run against a Southampton team who had managed just one goal and one point in their five away games this season.
The champions, on the wrong end of a penalty decision last week when their 49-game unbeaten league run was ended by United, were awarded one after half an hour when Dennis Bergkamp was tripped but Henry sent the spot kick against a post.
The Frenchman was then denied by goalkeeper Antti Niemi and clipped a post before finally finding the net in the 67th minute after a neat through ball by Bergkamp.
Southampton leveled with a firm header by an unmarked Delap from a Neil McCann corner in the 80th minute and Highbury was stunned when the same pair combined to put them ahead five minutes later.
But Van Persie, the 21-year-old who arrived from Feyenoord in May, turned in a crowded box to fire home the equalizer seven minutes after coming on.
Shevchenko Secures AC Milan Win to Keep Pressure on Juve
In Rome, AC Milan maintained the pressure on Serie A leaders Juventus yesterday when a goal by striker Andriy Shevchenko gave them a 1-0 win against Sampdoria.
The result consolidated Milan’s second place in the division with 20 points from nine games, two behind Juve, who host Chievo Verona today. Milan had won all their away matches this season but Sampdoria’s defense comfortably soaked up the pressure in a tight first half.
After the break Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson with Shevchenko and the substitution paid off in the 76th minute, when Milan winger Serginho surged through Sampdoria’s defense. Goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli blocked his shot but could not prevent the ball falling into the path of the Ukrainian, who slotted home the rebound.
Petrov Four-Goal Spree Takes Wolfsburg Clear
In Berlin, Bulgarian striker Martin Petrov scored all four of VfL Wolfsburg’s goals as the surprise Bundesliga leaders completed a thrilling 4-3 comeback win against FSV Mainz yesterday.
The visitors had led 2-0 but Petrov scored twice in stoppage time before the break to level and added two more within the first 17 minutes of the second half to give Wolfsburg their eighth win of the season.
Schalke 04, on a five-match winning streak under new coach Ralf Rangnick, leapt into second on 21 points with a 3-2 win over Stuttgart, who slipped back to third on 20.
Bayern Munich also began the day on 20 points but also lost, upset by lowly Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0. Wolfsburg fell behind when Mathias Abel scored in the 15th minute after goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch failed to hold onto a cross, and again two minutes later when American Conor Casey struck from long range for his first Bundesliga goal.
Schalke lost three of their first four matches this season and were in 15th place in the table a month ago. Ailton and Levan Kobiashvili scored in the first and second minutes before Lincoln made it 3-0 after 25.
Celtic Sub Beattie Snatches 3-2 Win at Motherwell
In Glasgow, striker Craig Beattie came off the substitutes’ bench to score a late winner and snatch three points for champions Celtic in a 3-2 win at Motherwell yesterday.
Martin O’Neill’s side went two goals ahead at Fir Park but poor defending almost cost them victory. Winger Aiden McGeady tucked home Celtic’s opener on 41 minutes and Alan Thompson added a penalty on 65 after Stilian Petrov was felled by former Celtic midfielder Phil O’Donnell.
But Motherwell continued pressing and scored twice in four minutes against a Celtic side who have conceded 10 goals in four games. Martyn Corrigan netted with a long-range strike after 67 minutes and Richie Foran leveled four minutes later with another penalty before Beattie ended the revival when he smashed into the net on 77.
Hilal Crush Al-Darak of Djibouti 7-0
Al-Hilal advanced to the next round of the Arab League Championship after crushing Al-Darak of Djibouti 7-0 in a totally one sided away match at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, writes Mahmoud Ahmad.
Hilal had already set a record of sorts by running up a 11-0 first-leg, also played in Riyadh. Then two days later in the return leg they racked up the 7-0 verdict for a 18-0 aggregate score. Their first leg tally was the highest in the tournament.
The hapless Darak side were once again at the receiving end with the Riyadh outfit virtually running rings around them. Despite their dominance Hilal had to wait till the second half to open the floodgates.
Abdullah Al-Jamman, who scored a hat trick with goals in the 51st, 72nd and 77th minutes, breached the barrier for the goalfest. Mazen Al-Faraj scored two goals in the 69th and 82nd minutes and Fahd Al-Mubarak scored in the 75th and 87th minutes.
