LONDON: Manchester United wasted a chance to cement their position at the top of the Premier League after being held to a 2-2 draw at home to ten-man Sunderland on Saturday.
Only a deflected, stoppage-time equalizer from Patrice Evra salvaged a point for the champions, who could now be knocked off the top of the table if Chelsea win their Sunday showdown with Liverpool.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had kicked off looking for a ninth consecutive win in all competitions.
But they twice fell behind to Steve Bruce’s side, who conceded the late equalizer after former United winger Kieran Richardson had been sent off after being booked for a second time for petulantly kicking the ball away at a free-kick.
Darren Bent stunned United in the seventh minute when he drove a low shot past Ben Foster from the edge of the penalty area for his seventh goal of the season.
United equalized in spectacular fashion in the 51st minute through Dimitar Berbatov’s overhead kick only for Kenwyne Jones to restore the lead by rising above Foster to head in Andy Reid’s cross.
The Black Cats were set for their first win at Old Trafford since 1968 but their evening ended in frustration as Evra’s shot found the net off the boot of Anton Ferdinand.
At the other end of the table, Portsmouth glimpsed some light at the end of a very dark tunnel as the crisis-hit club finally claimed their first points of the season with a 1-0 win at Wolves. At the end of a week in which the failure to pay September salaries on time raised concerns the club could be on the brink of bankruptcy, a first-half goal from Hassan Yebda was enough to draw a line under a run of seven straight defeats for Paul Hart’s side.
After the match, a relieved Hart confirmed the outstanding wages owed to certain players and staff will be paid on Monday and claimed new owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim was planning a 150-million-pound injection of cash.
It was also a day of relief for Portsmouth’s fellow strugglers Hull, who escaped from the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Wigan.
But Tottenham’s aspirations to break into the top four took a dent as they were obliged to twice come from behind to draw 2-2 at Bolton.
Burnley made it four wins from four home matches this season by beating Birmingham 2-1 at Turf Moor. The goal that ended Portsmouth’s miserable run came in the 19th minute, when Yebda, on loan from Benfica, headed in Kevin-Prince Boateng’s cross. Portsmouth defender Mark Wilson was fortunate to escape sanction for what appeared to be a blatant hand-ball inside the penalty area and only a superb late stop by David James denied Greg Halford a volleyed equalizer.
Former Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink notched his first Premier League goal for Hull with a near post header to give Phil Brown’s side the lead against Wigan. Brazilian playmaker Geovanni doubled the lead with just over 20 minutes left but on-loan Chelsea striker Scott Sinclair ensured a tense finale for the home supporters by pulling a goal back for the visitors three minutes from the end.
Bolton were twice pegged back by Tottenham in an entertaining encounter at the Reebok Stadium.
Leverkusen goes
top as Bayern draws
Bayer Leverkusen hammered troubled Nuremberg 4-0 on Saturday to go top of the Bundesliga while Bayern Munich failed to score for the third game running as they were held 0-0 at home by Cologne.
Teenager Toni Kroos, Simon Rolfes (penalty) and Eren Derdiyok gave Leverkusen a 3-0 lead inside 34 minutes before Stefan Kiessling added the fourth with his sixth league goal of the season midway through the second half.
Unbeaten Leverkusen have 20 points from eight games, three ahead of Hamburg SV who visit bottom club Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko headed a 75th-minute equalizer as champions VfL Wolfsburg drew 1-1 at VfL Bochum while promoted Mainz 05 continued their impressive start with a 2-1 win at home to Hoffenheim.
Hanover 96, beaten 4-2 by Wolfsburg last week, were on the right end of a high-scoring match when they swept past promoted Freiburg 5-2. Argentine forward Lucas Barrios scored his first league goal for Borussia Dortmund to give them a 1-0 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach, only their second of the season, in the day’s last game.
Kroos, on loan from Bayern, set Leverkusen on their way when he scored from a free kick in the second minute. The 19-year-old also won the 28th-minute penalty converted by Rolfes when he was fouled by Joahar Mnari.
Swiss striker Derdiyok added the third six minutes later after exchanging passes with Kiessling, whose headed goal in the 68th minute made him the Bundesliga’s top scorer.
Bayern, missing injured Dutch winger Arjen Robben, dropped eight points behind Leverkusen as they failed to find the target again.
Louis van Gaal’s team lost 1-0 at Hamburg a week ago and were held 0-0 at home by Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
For the third match running, Van Gaal made the Bundesliga’s most expensive signing Mario Gomez start on the bench, although he brought him on at halftime.
A frustrating afternoon for Bayern against unambitious opponents saw Bastian Schweinsteiger twice head against the crossbar in the first half.