Late equaliser keeps Arsenal top of Premier League

LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal scored a late goal to force a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa but saw their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to one point after Manchester United won 3-0 at Fulham on Saturday.

Substitute Nicklas Bendtner netted with seconds remaining to deny Villa victory and take Arsenal to 65 points, one more than United who stay second.

Third-placed Chelsea won 4-0 at West Ham United despite having Frank Lampard, who scored the opening goal against his former side, sent off after 33 minutes. Chelsea have 58 points and a game in hand on the top two.

Birmingham City improved their chances of avoiding the drop with a 4-1 home win over League Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a Mikael Forssell hat-trick.

Reading ended a run of eight successive league defeats with a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough but stayed in the relegation zone along with Fulham and Derby County, who drew 0-0 at home to Sunderland, who ended a run of 10 successive away league defeats.