LONDON (AFP) Manchester United were left two points behind English Premier League leaders Chelsea after being held to a goalless draw away at Sunderland on Saturday. Victory for Sir Alex Fergusons men, in a match delayed by 20 minutes after a burst pipe caused the ceiling above the visitors dressing room to collapse, would have seen them draw level on points with Chelsea ahead of the champions London derby against Arsenal on Sunday. But they couldnt find a way past the defence of a Sunderland side whove lost just once at the Stadium of Light in 2010, to United. I think youve got to give credit to Sunderland, Ferguson told Sky Sports, praising the performance of a team managed by former United captain Steve Bruce. Their home record this season has been fantastic and we had to defend really well, added Ferguson, after Uniteds fourth successive draw in as many away league matches this season. My back four were fantastic. A proud Bruce said: Thats as close as we are going to get (to beating United). We needed to take one of our chances and maybe thats our Achilles heel. At the other end of the table, Everton moved off the bottom and out of the relegation zone as they won 2-0 away to Birmingham City for their first league victory of the season, ending Citys 18-game unbeaten run at St Andrews. The Toffees long-awaited success, allied to Wigans 2-0 win over Wolves, saw Merseyside rivals Liverpool drop into the bottom three ahead of their match against top-flight new boys Blackpool at Anfield on Sunday. Im very pleased, the performance was really good as it has been for most of the games this season but the one thing weve not been able to get is that victory and we got it today, said Everton coach David Moyes. Tottenham ended Aston Villas winning run under Gerard Houllier with a Rafael van der Vaart double inspiring a 2-1 come-from-behind victory, while West Ham and Fulham shared the points in a 1-1 draw. Villa, whod won both their two previous league matches under French boss Houllier, took a 16th-minute lead at White Hart Lane after Marc Albrighton tapped in Emile Heskeys cross at the far post. But Spurs were back on level terms shortly before half-time when van der Vaart headed home at the far post after Roman Pavlyuchenkos cross was nodded back across goal by Peter Crouch. And the Netherlands midfielder, who scored and was sent off in Tottenhams mid-week Champions League win over Dutch club FC Twente, fired Spurs into the lead 15 minutes from time. At the other end of the table, Everton scored their first away goal of the season when Leon Osmans cross was turned into his own net by Birmingham defender Roger Johnson in the 54th minute. Australias Tim Cahill sealed Evertons victory when he headed home in the 90th minute. Clint Dempsey, who embarrassed Englands Robert Green at the World Cup with a shot that squirmed under the goalkeeper in a 1-1 draw in South Africa, put Fulham in front at West Ham with a 12-yard strike that gave the Hammers shot-stopper no chance in the 33rd minute. But West Ham equalised in the 51st minute when Frederic Piquionne headed in Victor Obinnas cross. However, the Hammers went bottom after Evertons win. Jon Walters gave Stoke a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers when he curled home his first Potters league goal in the 48th minute at the Britannia Stadium. Victory saw the Potters climb from 15th to seventh in the table. Johan Elmander put Bolton into a 64th-minute lead away to West Brom when he shot past Scott Carson at the Hawthorns before James Morrison headed the Baggies level with 12 minutes left in a 1-1 draw. Earlier, Wigan rose out of the bottom three with a 2-0 victory over Wolves that plunged Mick McCarthys men into the relegation zone following second-half goals from Jordi Gomez and Hugo Rodallega. Fourth-placed Manchester City, who beat Chelsea last week, play Newcastle on Sunday.