Dempsey's late equalizer helps Spurs hold United

LONDON — Clint Dempsey's scored in stoppage time as Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 with Premier League leader Manchester United at White Hart Lane Sunday.
On an Arctic-like afternoon in north London Robin van Persie's first-half goal appeared to have secured the points for United until Dempsey slid home an equalizer with virtually the final kick of the game.
The leader has 56 points from 23 games with Manchester City on 51 and Chelsea, which beat Arsenal 2-1 earlier in the snow-hit capital, on 45, four ahead of Tottenham.
Dutchman van Persie, often a thorn in Tottenham's side when he was at Arsenal, took his league tally for the season to 18 with a header from Tom Cleverley's cross midway through the opening period of an absorbing game.
Tottenham, whose strong recent run had seen them establish itself in the top four, was twice denied equalizers by the outstretched legs of United keeper David De Gea as it attempted a rare league double over Alex Ferguson's side.
Gareth Bale thought he had equalized shortly before halftime but De Gea performed marvels to keep out his deflected shot and after the break Dempsey wriggled through only to see the keeper again come to United's rescue.
United, which began with Wayne Rooney on the bench, showed another side to its character. With resolute defending rather than fluent attacking play, it was content to absorb pressure and the policy seemed to have earned an important victory.
As the snow poured down, Bale also went agonizingly close to a late equalizer with a shot deflected past the post.
However, the host kept plugging away and Dempsey was on hand to equalize after De Gea could only punch a clearance to Aaron Lennon and the winger threaded a pass to the American.
Earlier, Chelsea enjoyed some much-needed home comfort with goals from Juan Mata and Frank Lampard.
Arsenal staged a second-half revival with Theo Walcott halving the deficit at a snowy Stamford Bridge but Chelsea hung on for only its second win in six home league games since Rafa Benitez was hired as interim manager.
Walcott scored Arsenal's goal.
Peter Odemwingie's late strike saw West Bromwich Albion fight back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Aston Villa in an entertaining Midlands derby Saturday. — Agencies

Standings

P W D L F A Pts
1. Man United 23 18 2 3 57 30 56
2. Man City 23 15 6 2 45 19 51
3. Chelsea 23 13 6 4 47 22 45
4. Tottenham 23 12 5 6 40 28 41
5. Everton 22 9 10 3 35 26 37
6. Arsenal 22 9 7 6 41 26 34
7. Liverpool 23 9 7 7 40 28 34
8. West Brom 23 10 4 9 33 32 34
9. Swansea 23 8 9 6 34 27 33
10. Stoke 23 6 11 6 22 27 29
11. Sunderland 23 7 7 9 27 31 28
12. West Ham 22 7 6 9 25 28 27
13. Norwich 23 6 8 9 24 39 26
14. Fulham 23 6 7 10 33 40 25
15. Southampton 22 5 7 10 30 40 22
16. Newcastle 23 5 6 12 28 41 21
17. Aston Villa 23 4 8 11 19 44 20
18. Reading 23 4 7 12 28 43 19
19. Wigan 23 5 4 14 25 43 19
20. QPR 23 2 9 12 18 37 15