LONDON (AP):

Steven Gerrard converted a penalty to protect Liverpool's three-point English Premier League lead, but the north London derby provided yesterday's most dramatic moments with Tottenham salvaging a 4-4 draw at Arsenal.

Liverpool took 76 minutes to break Portsmouth's resolve with Gerrard's spot kick inflicting a 1-0 loss on Tony Adams' new side.

In his second game in charge, Harry Redknapp continued his quest to lift Spurs off the bottom of the league, with two goals in the last five minutes clinching a point at Arsenal. Substitute Aaron Lennon levelled in the fourth minute of injury time.

Silenced critics

Cristiano Ronaldo silenced his critics by scoring both goals in defending champion Manchester United's 2-0 victory over West Ham.

After four straight wins, newcomer Hull were finally humbled, 3-0 by Chelsea. Aston Villa moved into the top four at Hull's expense with a 3-2 victory over Blackburn.

Liverpool top the standings with 26 points, with Chelsea three points off the pace. Arsenal and Villa are three points further adrift on 20 points.

Manchester City again struggled to match the expectations of its wealthy Abu Dhabi investors with a 2-0 loss at Middles-brough; Marouane Fellaini scored in the 90th minute to give Everton a 1-0 victory at Bolton; Stoke overcame Sunderland 1-0; and Fulham beat Wigan 2-0.

Liverpool looked destined to squander the advantage gained by Sunday's first victory at Chelsea in four years until the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Portsmouth midfielder Bouba Diop used his hands to block Sami Hyypia's goalbound header from Fabio Aurelio's corner.

Pompey goalkeeper David James dived correctly but couldn't stop Gerrard's penalty ending up in the bottom corner.