March 03, 2008	Monday	Safar 24, 1429

LONDON, March 2: Liverpool won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Bolton Wanderers on Sunday to move back into fourth place in the Premier League, at least until Everton face Portsmouth later in the day.

Liverpool, who are level on 50 points with fifth-placed Everton, went ahead when Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen conceded a bizarre own goal after 12 minutes.

Diving to his right to stop a Steven Gerrard shot that appeared to be going wide, the ball took a backspin off the keeper’s body and bounced back into the net.

Liverpool increased their lead after an hour when Ryan Babel scored with a low shot after Bolton failed to clear a Dirk Kuyt effort that bounced back off a post.

Brazilian Fabio Aurelio scored his first goal for Liverpool on his 46th appearance for them with a well-controlled left-foot volley after 75 minutes.

Tamir Cohen, whose father Avi played for Liverpool from 1979-81, headed a consolation for Bolton in the closing minutes but the home side were totally outplayed as they went down to a third successive league defeat.

Bolton stay 17th, one place above the relegation zone with 25 points from 28 matches, the same as Reading, who have an inferior goal difference.

Meanwhile, Arsenal scored a late goal to force a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa although their lead at the top of the Premier League was cut to one point after Manchester United won 3-0 at Fulham on Saturday.

Substitute Nicklas Bendtner netted with seconds remaining to deny Villa victory and take Arsenal to 65 points, one more than United who stay second.

Third-placed Chelsea won 4-0 at West Ham United despite having Frank Lampard, who scored the opening goal against his former club, sent off after 33 minutes for what appeared to be an innocuous push on Luis Boa Morte.

Chelsea have 58 points and a game in hand on the top two.

Birmingham City improved their chances of avoiding the drop with a 4-1 home victory over League Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a Mikael Forssell hat-trick.

Reading ended a run of eight successive league defeats with a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough.

However, Reading stayed in the relegation zone along with Fulham and Derby County, who drew 0-0 at home to Sunderland as the visitors ended a run of 10 successive away league defeats.

But there was no joy for Newcastle United, who dominated at home against Blackburn Rovers but lost to a late breakaway goal from Matt Derbyshire that secured a 1-0 win.

Saturday’s late match ended in a goalless draw between Manchester City and Wigan Athletic which slightly eased Wigan’s relegation worries.

Results:

Played on Sunday:

Bolton Wanderers 1 Liverpool 3

Played on Saturday:

Arsenal 1 Aston Villa 1

Birmingham City 4 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Derby County 0 Sunderland 0

Fulham 0 Manchester United 3

Manchester City 0 Wigan Athletic 0

Middlesbrough 0 Reading 1

Newcastle United 0 Blackburn Rovers 1

West Ham United 0 Chelsea 4

—Reuters