SOCCER ROUNDUP Saturday's games

England
LONDON -- Defending champion Arsenal stretched its unbeaten streak in the Premier League to 49 games, beating Aston Villa 3-1 behind two goals by Robert Pires. Second-place Chelsea lost 1-0 at Manchester City, leaving Arsenal in first by five points with eight victories in nine league games and Manchester United the next opponent.
Lee Hendrie opened the scoring with an early goal for visiting Aston Villa. But Pires evened the score with a penalty kick before Thierry Henry put Arsenal ahead and then set up the third goal for his French countryman.
Chelsea lost its unbeaten record thanks to an 11th-minute penalty kick by former Arsenal star Nicolas Anelka at Manchester. It was only the second league goal conceded by Chelsea this season.
Third-place Everton edged struggling Southampton 1-0 on a last-minute goal by Leon Osman. Liverpool rallied from two goals down to win 4-2 at Fulham. Arsenal (8-0-1) has 25 points, followed by Chelsea (20), Everton (19) and Bolton (15). Manchester United played to a 0-0 tie with Birmingham City and has 14 points. Although United made it eight league games without a loss, five of those results have been ties.
Associated Press
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