LONDON, Sept 20: Manchester City’s bid to reach the top of the premier league was thwarted by Fulham on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Loftus Road.

City, needing a four-goal victory to overtake leaders Chelsea, had to settle for a point as Paulo Wanchope grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser after Fulham’s Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha had cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s opener.

Chelsea had earlier reached the summit when Hernan Crespo scored twice, his first goals for the club, in a 5-0 thrashing of woeful Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

Portsmouth’s unbeaten start came to an end as they went down 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers but south coast rivals Southampton maintained their impressive start, piling pressure on former manager Glenn Hoddle with a 3-1 victory at troubled Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool kept in touch with the leaders thanks to a 2-1 victory over Leicester City — England strikers Michael Owen and Emile Heskey both on target - but Newcastle United remain without a win after being held to a goalless home draw by Bolton Wanderers.

Results

Aston Villa 2 Charlton Athletic 1

Fulham 2 Manchester City 2

Leeds United 0 Birmingham City 2

Liverpool 2 Leicester City 1

Newcastle United 0 Bolton Wanderers 0

Portsmouth 1 Blackburn Rovers 2

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 3

Wolves 0 Chelsea 5

Playing on Sunday: Manchester United v Arsenal (1505 GMT) Middlesbrough v Everton (1300)

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