Chelsea held while Man U slips

Chelsea were held to a scoreless draw at Aston Villa while Manchester United dropped more points blowing a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford.  Both sides had their star strikers on the bench Saturday as Didier Drogba missed the Chelsea match due to sickness and Wayne Rooney was again inexplicably benched by Sir Alex Ferguson.  Both sides suffered for it.

Chelsea were unable to break down Aston Villa as the match ended scoreless.  Nicolas Anelka almost won it late for the visitors only to see his shot denied by the woodwork as Aston Villa earned a valuable point in their quest to chase down a top 5 EPL finish.

At Old Trafford, it looked like Manchester United were well on their way to 3 points as Chicarito scored scored his first EPL goal in the opening minutes of play.  Nani added a second and United were cruising 2-0 at halftime.  Then the trouble started as Patrice Evra put a ball into his own net after a scramble in front.  The shocked Old Trafford crowd wailed as Somen Tchoyi tied the match after Edwin Van der Sar dropped a simple ball.  Rooney entered the match, but was unable to fix the mess as the match went 2-2.

Elsewhere, Arsenal avoided a third straight defeat after coming from behind to beat Birmingham City 2-1 at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners went behind from a Nikola Zigic header, but Samir Nasri converted from the spot after Scott Dann was deemed to have fouled Marouane Chamakh, who scored his third goal of the season to seal the three points for Arsene Wenger's men.

Tom Huddlestone scored a controversial winner as Tottenham grabbed a 2-1 away win at Fulham. Huddlestone's long range effort found its way into Mark Schwarzer's net, but although defender William Gallas failed to get a touch, the assistant referee signalled the defender had been offside position. However, referee Mike Dean overruled the linesman and awarded the goal.