Sport - Football

Aston Villa draws with Arsenal

BIRMINGHAM: Defender Zat Knight scored in injury time on Friday to earn Aston Villa a 2-2 draw in the Premier League with Arsenal, its nearest challenger for a Champions League place.

Denilson and Abou Diaby looked to have sealed victory for the Gunners as they led 2-0 by the 49th minute in a pulsating match at a bitterly cold Villa Park. But Gareth Barry converted a penalty in the 65th before the locally born Knight stunned Arsenal.

Villa, which stays three points ahead of Arsenal in fourth place, dominated the first half and was unlucky to be trailing 1-0 at the break after Arsenal scored in the 40th minute with its first attempt on goal. Villa’s early superiority began with a header against the crossbar in the sixth minute from Steve Sidwell. It was the first of three occasions that Villa hit the Arsenal woodwork before half-time.

James Milner had a shot for Villa that was cleared, but teammate Luke Young then unleashed a powerful strike that was deflected against Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre and tipped over by goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Milner and Curtis Davies also hit the Arsenal posts before the first half was over but Villa was soon punished for failing to make its pressure count.

Arsenal took the lead when Denilson won the ball off Villa defender Nigel Reo-Coker before placing his shot past goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Two minutes later, Villa was denied an equaliser when Agbonlahor’s looping header was cleared off the goal line by Bacary Sagna with an overhead kick. Villa’s players left the field in shock and wondering how they were losing a game they had dominated. Arsenal started the brightest in the second period and doubled its lead in the 49th when Diaby began and finished an attack.

The Frenchman won the ball deep in his own half, passed to Emmanuel Eboue, who broke with pace down the right flank before slipping the ball back to Diaby to finish a neat move.

The results: Aston Villa 2 (Barry (65-pen), Zat Knight (90) drew with Arsenal 2 (Denilson (40), Diaby (49); Liverpool 3 (Riera 26, Keane 53, 58) bt Bolton 0; Man City 5 (Caicedo 15, 27, Robinho 28, 36, Ireland 82) bt Hull 1 (Fagan 80); Middlesbrough 0 lost to Everton 1 (Cahill 51); Sunderland 0 drew with Blackburn 0; Wigan 2 (Taylor 29, Zaki 73-pen) bt Newcastle 1 (Guthrie 88-pen). — AP

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