Premier League round-up: Chelsea'shabit of conceding late goals returned to haunt them again as a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villasaw them suffer the worst possible end to 2011.
The signing of Gary Cahill cannot come quickly enough on the evidence of the final 10 minutes today, which saw Villa exploit some horrible defending to snatch an unlikely victory, much as Arsenal and Liverpool had done earlier in the season.
Stiliyan Petrov and substitute Darren Bent both scored in the final seven minutes, putting another nail in the Premier League title hopes of the Blues, who have now taken just three of the last 12 points on offer and have dropped out of the top four.
Didier Drogba’s penalty, his 150th Chelsea goal, had given the home side the lead but Stephen Ireland put his off-field problems behind him to equalise before the late drama.
Scott Sinclair's scrambled late equaliser earned Swanseaa deserved point and denied Tottenhamthe chance to close within four points of the Premier League summit after a 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium.
Rafael van der Vaart had given the visitors the lead a minute before the break as he capitalised on a defensive error from Joe Allen to sweep home with the help of a deflection from Ashley Williams.
Swansea had not managed to pick up a single point this season after conceding the first goal, but they bucked the trend as a period of heavy pressure was rewarded when Brad Friedel hesitated when dealing with a deflected Angel Rangel cross for Sinclair to nip in and claim his fifth goal of the campaign.
Arsenalstriker Robin van Persie netted the decider in a 1-0 defeat of QPRat The Emirates but failed to break the record of Premier League goals in a calendar year.
The Gunners skipper came into the match knowing he had 90 minutes to net twice and equal Alan Shearer’s 36-goal haul and came close on four occasions during the first period, before netting with his first chance of the second half.
The Dutch international swept home Andrey Arshavin’s pass but a second proved elusive as Arsenal ended 2011 with a victory.
Simeon Jackson came off the bench to grab a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser as Norwichrescued a 1-1 draw against Fulhamat Carrow Road.
Orlando Sa had netted after just six minutes to put the visitors on course for a rare away win.
Norwich continued to press and just when time was running out, Jackson nodded in Elliott Bennett’s right-wing cross to earn Paul Lambert’s men a deserved share of the points.
Ben Watson came off the bench to rescue a valuable point for 10-man Wiganin a thrilling finale to their 2-2 draw with Stokeat the Britannia Stadium.
Victor Moses put the struggling Latics ahead on the stroke of half-time, but Gary Caldwell was then sent off for deliberate handball in the 76th minute and Jonathan Walters converted the resulting penalty to draw eighth-placed Stoke level.
When substitute Cameron Jerome, whose header had led to Caldwell’s dismissal, subsequently put the hosts ahead, things looked bleak for Wigan, but Watson then scored an 87th-minute penalty of his own with his first touch after Ryan Shotton had been penalised for a tug on Hugo Rodallega’s shirt.
Sam Ricketts marked his return from more than 10 months out injured with a superb goal for Boltonbut it was not enough to prevent the Trotters beginning 2012 at the bottom of the Premier League table as Wolveshit back to earn a point in a 1-1 draw at the Reebok.
The full back, making his first appearance since rupturing an Achilles in February, had never scored for the Trotters before but he showed a striker’s eye for goal in the 22nd minute with a superb curling shot into the far corner from 25 yards.
Bolton deserved their half-time lead despite Stephen Ward’s thunderbolt against the bar but Wolves levelled less than four minutes into the second half when Steven Fletcher headed home Matt Jarvis’s free-kick.
