Last gasp penalty saves Red Devils

Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time as Manchester United salvaged a 1-1 draw against Everton to extend its unbeaten run in the Premier League to 20 matches yesterday.

In a dramatic finish, Everton defender Ashley Williams blocked a shot by United substitute Luke Shaw with his hand — earning him a straight red card — and Ibrahimovic slotted home the resulting spot kick on his return from a three-match domestic ban.

Phil Jagielka put Everton ahead in the 22nd minute, and the visitors came agonizingly close to only a second win at United in their last 24 trips to Old Trafford.

Despite the point earned, it was another blow to United's ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League through a top-four finish in the league. Jose Mourinho's side is four points behind fourth-place Manchester City with nine games left and has a busy schedule, especially in April, as it is involved in the Europa League.

United struck the crossbar twice, through Ander Herrera and substitute Paul Pogba, in another frustrating home game. This was the team's fourth draw in its last five league games at Old Trafford.

Sunderland manager David Moyes' tough week got worse as his team lost 2-0 at resurgent champion Leicester to remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League yesterday.

Strikers Islam Slimani and Jamie Vardy scored second-half goals for Leicester, which has won six straight games in all competitions under Craig Shakespeare since he replaced title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri.

While Leicester has pulled clear of the bottom three and moved into the safety of midtable, Sunderland looks destined for relegation after a fifth loss in its last six games — a run of matches when the team hasn't scored. Moyes' team is eight points adrift of safety with eight games left.

Footage was published by a British newspaper website this week, showing Moyes telling a female reporter that she might "get a "slap, even though you're a woman" following an interview with the BBC after a game. There has been widespread condemnation of his remarks, although Sunderland said yesterday that the club "continues to fully support David in his role as manager."

Marc Albrighton played a key role in Leicester's win after coming off the bench, with the winger crossing from the left for fellow substitute Slimani to head home in the 69th minute.

Sunderland struck the post through substitute Victor Anichebe and Leicester doubled its lead inside two minutes.

Albrighton was again the provider for the 78th-minute goal, finding Vardy before the England striker took a touch and fired in his seventh goal in his last nine games for club and country.

Troy Deeney's 100th league goal for Watford helped his side move to mid-table safety in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, despite being down to 10 men for nearly half an hour.

The Watford captain set up the home side's opener after 13 minutes, knocking the ball down for M'Baye Niang, who cut inside before firing into the top-right corner.

Niang returned the favour shortly after the re-start, curling a pass over the top of the West Brom defense for Deeney to tuck a shot beneath goalkeeper Ben Foster. Though now in the topflight, Deeney has also played for the club at Championship level.

West Brom was thrown a lifeline by the 65th minute dismissal of Watford defender Miguel Britos, after he brought down substitute Salomon Rondon for his second yellow card, but the home side managed to hold on for a valuable win.

P W D L F A Pts Chelsea 29 22 3 4 60 23 69 Tottenham 29 18 8 3 57 21 62 Liverpool 30 17 8 5 64 37 59 Man City 29 17 7 5 56 32 58 Man United 29 14 12 3 43 24 54 Arsenal 28 15 6 7 58 36 51 Everton 31 14 9 8 53 34 51 West Brom 31 12 8 11 39 40 44 Watford 30 10 7 13 36 48 37 Leicester 30 10 6 14 37 47 36 Stoke City 31 9 9 13 33 45 36 Burnley 31 10 5 16 32 44 35 Southampton 28 9 7 12 33 36 34 Bournemouth 30 9 7 14 42 54 34 West Ham 30 9 6 15 41 54 33 Crystal Palace 29 9 4 16 38 47 31 Swansea 30 8 4 18 36 63 28 Hull City 30 7 6 17 28 59 27 M’brough 29 4 11 14 20 33 23 Sunderland 30 5 5 20 24 53 20

Championship

Yesterday Aston Villa-QPR ............................... 1-0 Barnsley-Cardiff City ........................ 0-0 Brentford-Leeds Utd ........................ 2-0 Brighton-Birmingham City ............... 3-1 Derby County-Fulham ..................... 4-2 Ipswich Town-Wigan Ath ................. 3-0 Preston-Bristol C ............................. 5-0 Rotherham-Sheffield Wed ............... 0-2 Wolves-Nott.Forest ......................... 1-0 Reading-Blackburn R ....................... 3-1 Today Huddersfield-Norwich .......................... Newcastle-Burton Albion .....................

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Brighton 40 25 8 7 67 34 83 Newcastle U 39 25 6 8 72 33 81 Reading 40 22 7 11 55 50 73 Huddersfield 38 22 5 11 47 44 71 Leeds 40 21 6 13 52 39 69 Sheffield Wed 40 19 9 12 51 40 66 Fulham 40 17 13 10 69 51 64 Preston 40 16 13 11 59 48 61 Derby 40 16 11 13 46 40 59 Norwich 39 16 9 14 65 58 57 Aston Villa 40 15 12 13 42 39 57 Brentford 40 16 8 16 64 57 56 Barnsley 40 14 11 15 56 56 53 Cardiff 40 14 10 16 54 57 52 Wolves 39 14 9 16 50 49 51 QPR 40 14 8 18 46 53 50 Ipswich 40 11 16 13 42 48 49 Birmingham 40 11 13 16 40 58 46 Burton 39 11 11 17 40 53 44 Nottingham 40 11 9 20 54 66 42 Bristol City 40 11 8 21 50 60 41 Blackburn 40 9 13 18 47 61 40 Wigan 40 8 10 22 32 49 34 Rotherham 40 4 5 31 33 90 17

League 1 Yesterday Charlton-MK Dons ........................... 0-2 Rochdale-Port Vale .......................... 3-0 Shrewsbury-Millwall ........................ 1-2 Southend Utd-Bolton W .................. 0-1 Today Oxford Utd-Fleetwood Town ................ Sheffield Utd-Coventry City ..................

SCOTLAND

Premiership

Yesterday Aberdeen-Inverness ........................ 1-0 Ross Co-Dundee .............................. 2-1