LONDON (AP):

Gareth Barry salvaged a 3-3 draw for Aston Villa against Everton yesterday, equalising from the penalty spot to keep the team fifth in the English Premier League.

Referee Howard Webb awarded the 66th-minute penalty after Joleon Lescott's boot inadvertently caught Stilian Petrov's face while acrobatically trying to clear the ball.

"It was a harsh decision," Everton manager David Moyes said. "I thought it might have been an indirect free kick because all Joleon has done is put his foot up to try and get the ball."

Scoring twice

Also, Clint Dempsey scored twice as Fulham rallied to beat Manchester City 3-1, keeping the London club in contention for European qualification.

Everton, who are nine points ahead of Fulham in sixth place, twice threw away two-goal leads at Villa Park, squandering a chance to move ahead of the home side into fifth.

Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill had put the visitors in control with goals in the first 23 minutes. Leighton Baines slipped the ball across from the left for Fellaini to tap into the net in the 20th. Cahill scored his ninth goal of the season, reacting to the rebound to nod past Brad Friedel after his header from Stephen Pienaar's corner came off the crossbar.

John Carew pulled one back for Villa in the 33rd from close range after confusion in the Everton defence.

Pienaar restored Everton's two-goal cushion in the 53rd, turning past Luke Young and curling a 20-yard shot past Friedel into the corner of the net.

Two minutes later, James Milner bent a free kick inside Tim Howard's post to make it 3-2.

Winless since February 7

Despite rescuing a point, Villa remain winless since February 7 and the fourth Champions League spot they once had is now occupied by a resurgent Arsenal, who are eight points ahead.

"Are we out of the Champions League? I would not disagree. I think either of us had to win (Sunday) to keep in touch. It is a result that suits Arsenal," Villa manager Martin O'Neill said. "With Arsenal winning yesterday it will now be very hard, but we shouldn't just give up the fight like that. Arsenal have some very tough games ahead."

Manchester City put British record signing Robinho on the bench against Fulham after a string of lacklustre performances from the Brazil striker, despite Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips being injured.

City's goal

City scored in the 28th with their first shot on goal when a dipping, deflected strike from Stephen Ireland beat Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Fulham levelled five minutes into the second half after Pablo Zabaleta gifted possession to Dempsey, who quickly fed Bobby Zamora. When Micah Richards jumped in to make the tackle, the City defender could only direct the ball for Dempsey to shoot past Shay Given.

Fulham pressed forward with more enthusiasm, with Zamora shooting wide before Nedum Onuoha's feeble clearance allowed Dickson Etuhu to volley from 20 yards into his former club's net in the 59th.

Robinho came on in the 64th, but the €42.5 million ($56 million) signing added little to the attack and Dempsey slotted in Fulham's third in the 83rd after being fed by Zamora.

'Kept fighting'

"We kept fighting and we got the result we needed and now we are on 43 points," Dempsey said. "It's great to get back-to-back away wins because it's something we haven't been doing. Hopefully, we can continue that form and have a strong end to the season and see where we get in the table."

City's loss replicated the one at Hamburg in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, when the team lost the first leg of the quarter-finals despite Ireland's early goal.

"You need energy in the Premier League and Fulham had the advantage of having a clear week," Hughes said. "Towards the end of the game we felt the effects of the game in midweek and sometimes tired minds make mistakes in key areas of the field."

On Saturday, defending champions Manchester United stayed a point clear of Liverpool, with a game in hand, by beating Sunderland 2-1, while Liverpool defeated Blackburn 4-0. Third-place Chelsea beat Bolton 4-3 to stay within four points of the leaders.

Stoke City's Ricardo Fuller (left) battles for the ball with Newcastle United's Steve Harper (right) Sebastien Bassong (second left) and Danny Guthrie during their English Premier League soccer match at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke, England, on Saturday. - AP

Standings

LONDON (AP): Standings in English Premier League football after yesterday's games: