LONDON (AP)—Liverpool played to a 0-0 draw at struggling Stoke on Saturday, leaving the Premier League leader in front by four points as it bids for its first English title since 1990.
Captain Steven Gerrard hit the crossbar and the post in the last six minutes for the 18-time champions.
The result came after Manchester United manager Alex Benitez said Liverpool would “make mistakes … and get punished” in the second half of the season.
Liverpool leads with 46 points, followed by Chelsea with 42 and Aston Villa with 41. Man United and Arsenal are at 38. United hosts Chelsea on Sunday, and Chelsea will move within a point of the lead with a victory. The defending champions would overtake Liverpool by winning at Old Trafford, with two games in hand.
Aston Villa leapfrogged United into third place with a 2-1 win over local rival West Bromwich Albion after a mistake by goalkeeper Scott Carson. Carson, who played for Villa last season, deflected Gabriel Agbonlahor’s off-target shot into his own goal just before halftime. Curtis Davies put Villa ahead in the 19th minute.Late goals enabled fifth-place Arsenal to stay in sight of the Champions League places with a 1-0 victory over Bolton, and Sunderland to earn at 1-1 draw at local rival Middlesbrough. Everton dropped Hull 2-0 and Newastle drew 2-2 with West Ham.
Frozen fields forced the postponement of Portsmouth-Manchester City and Fulham-Blackburn while much of the lower-league program was wiped out.
MILAN, Italy (AP)—Italian league leader Inter Milan was held to a 1-1 draw by Cagliari in its first match of 2009. Robert Acquafresca put Cagliari in front in the 65th minute at the San Siro, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic tied it in the 77th off a pass from Hernan Crespo.
Inter has 43 points, followed by Juventus at 36 and AC Milan at 33.
Juventus hosts Siena and Milan is at AS Roma on Sunday in what could be David Beckham’s first game since joining Milan for three months.
Genoa shut out Torino 3-0 and joined Fiorentina in fourth place—at least temporarily. Genoa scored on headers from Giuseppe Biava, Basko Jankovic and Thiago Motta.
Genoa and Fiorentina, which hosts Lecce on Sunday, have 32 points each. Torino remained one point above the relegation zone with 15 points. Cagliari is near the middle of the standings with 22 points.
GLAGOW, Scotland (AP)—Celtic winger Aiden McGeady returned from his club ban to clinch a 2-1 victory over Dundee in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. The Ireland international had been serving a two-week suspension because of a locker-room dispute with the manager.
A blunder by Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc allowed Colin McMenamin to give Dundee of the First Division a 14th-minute lead. The Scottish Premier League champions tied it in 37th minute.
Scott Brown helped set up the winner, driving down the left side before pulling the ball back to Scott McDonald. The shot by the Australia striker ricocheted off several Dundee defenders. The ball landed in front of Brown, and he scored from close range.
Sone Aluko’s 57th-minute goal gave Aberdeen a 2-1 victory at Alloa. The home team offset Lee Miller’s early goal when Andy Scott scored on a penalty kick just before halftime.
Second Division Ayr United forced a replay against top-tier Kilmarnock by earning a 2-2 draw in stoppage time. Inverness, last in the Premier League, downed Partick Thistle 3-0. Felipe Morais scored twice in his debut and Iain Vigurs adding another goal.
ATHENS, Greece (AP)—Olympiakos defeated visiting Xanthi 2-1 on an own-goal by Stavros Stathakis and a goal by Luciano Galletti to keep its lead in the Greek league.
The defending champions have 42 points from 17 games, nine ahead of both PAOK Thessaloniki and Panathinaikos Athens, which beat host Panthrakikos 3-1. PAOK plays at AEK Athens Sunday.
Sergio Ponce gave Panthrakikos the lead in the fifth minute. Panathinaikhos tied it on Dimitris Salpingidis’ goal in the 24th before Vangelis Mantzios put the visitors ahead in the 63rd. Gilberto Silva added another in second half injury time to make it 3-1.
Panionios enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Panserraikos.
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