LONDON: Manchester United extended its unbeaten Premier League run to 18 games and regained top spot Tuesday but there were no celebrations after it gave away another late goal in a 1-1 draw at Birmingham City. Earlier Mario Balotelli hit a hat trick, including two penalties, to help Manchester City beat Aston Villa 4-0 and briefly reach the pinnacle. United looked on course to leapfrog them with a two-point cushion after Dimitar Berbatov scored in the 58th minute but Lee Bowyer leveled a minute from time to leave the visitors with seven draws and one win from their eight away games. The draw took it to 38 points from 18 games, ahead on goal difference of Manchester City, which has played 20. Arsenal, in action at Wigan Athletic Wednesday, has 35 from 18 with Tottenham Hotspur fourth on 33 after beating Newcastle United 2-0. Champion Chelsea, which has taken just six points from the last 24 having lost to Arsenal Monday, slip to fifth on 31. It is also in action Wednesday against Wigan Athletic. United had the chance to pull nine points clear of Chelsea but was cautious in their approach at Birmingham, which started the game in the bottom three. Alex McLeish's team, beaten at home only once and victorious over Chelsea last month, also seemed content to play it safe until Berbatov opened it up with a neat backheel then finished the move with a low, drilled shot for his 15th goal of the season. Having conceded late goals in draws at Fulham and Everton earlier in the campaign, the visitors looked nervous as Birmingham finally pushed bodies forward and leveled with a goal that United claimed had been set up with a foul and a handball by giant substitute Nikola Zigic. “I think it's terribly harsh, we outplayed them second half and we didn't deserve that,” Ferguson told Sky Sports. “Handball and foul for their goal and if the referee can't see that what chance have you got?” Malaysia clinches ASEAN Suzuki Cup Malaysia won its first ASEAN Suzuki Cup Wednesday by beating Indonesia with an aggregate score of 4-2 for the first and second legs of the Southeast Asian championship final. In the final's second leg, held in Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia beat Malaysia 2-1 in a match attended by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. However, the score was not enough to overcome Indonesia's 3-0 defeat to Malaysia in the first leg at the national stadium in Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday. Malaysia's Mohammad Safee Bin Mohammad Sali, the top scorer during the 2010 championships ASEAN Suzuki Cup, scored the first goal in the 53rd minute. Indonesia leveled the score in the 71st minute with a goal by Mohammad Nasuha and Mohammad Ridwan took the home country into the lead with a second goal in the 87th minute. Losing the ASEAN Suzuki Cup tournament was a bitter pill for Indonesia to swallow after beating Malaysia 5-1 in a qualification match earlier this month. Last week's first leg was marred by incidents in which fans aimed laser beams at Indonesian players during the game.
