Chelsea held to draw, Arsenal win

Premiership round-up:Barclays Premiership Champions Chelsea could only draw 1-1 with in-form Aston Villa after being pegged back in the first half.

In-form striker Didier Drogba reacted quickly to bundle the ball home in the second minute when John Terry challenged goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

But Villa equalised in fine style before half-time. Steven Davis' deep cross found Liam Ridgewell in space at the back post and when the defender headed precisely to Gabriel Agbonlahor, the young striker produced an assured finish.

Substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips hit the bar before missing an easy chance as Chelsea searched for a winner in the second period while at the other end, Juan Pablo Angel hit the side-netting with an impressive effort.

A delightful cushioned volley by Robin van Persie capped an excellent performance as Arsenal came from behind to beat Charlton 2-1 at The Valley as Arsene Wenger celebrated 10 years at the club.

After an Arsenal foray broke down the Addicks surged forward and when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink squared expertly from the right, Darren Bent was in space to comfortably sidefoot home.

Before the half was out Van Persie levelled after intricate footwork from Alexander Hleb.

Van Persie completed the turnaround with a stunning volley after 49 minutes. The young forward acrobatically connected with Emmanuel Eboue's speculative cross to fire home left-footed from the edge of the area.

The Holland international Persie wasted the chance to earn his hat-trick when he missed a glaring opportunity from close range while Charlton had claims for a penalty when the ball struck William Gallas' arm, but their appeals were waved away.

Hasselbaink rose to meet Bryan Hughes' cross 12 minutes from time but headed just wide.

Manchester City youngster Micah Richards slammed home a last-gasp equaliser to earn a point against Everton and deny the Toffees the chance to go second.

Andrew Johnson had given Everton a 1-0 lead at half-time and City looked to be heading for defeat despite throwing everything forward.

But deep into injury time Sun Jihai's knockdown fell to Richards who volleyed home emphatically.

Liverpool limped to a 2-0 defeat by Bolton as Sam Allardyce's side out-fought and out-thought them at the Reebok Stadium.

The Reds were rightly angry about Bolton's first goal, a drive from Gary Speed from a tapped free-kick after Jose Reina had been wrongly penalised for handling outside his box. But an Ivan Campo header soon after the break wrapped up the win for the Trotters.