Late Valero penalty frustrates Valencia
MADRID (AFP) - Valencia failed to put pressure on Barcelona and Real Madrid at the summit of the Spanish first division falling victim to a late penalty equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Spanish international striker David Villa went into double figures for the season scoring for the third successive game on 48 minutes but Borja Valero equalised five minutes from time with a penalty to prevent a fifth successive win for Valencia.
If they had won Valencia would have been a point behind Real, who face Barcelona in 'El Clasico' at Camp Nou on Sunday, but Bruno Grau's unnecessary foul gave away the penalty and Valencia stay fourth level on points with Sevilla.
Another blow for Valencia was an injury to key Spanish international midfielder David Silva, who hobbled off in the 27th minute with a problem in his right knee.
It was a good late point for Mallorca, who stay sixth despite not managing to win a single away match this season.
Later on Saturday, Sevilla have the chance to move level on points with Real if they can secure three points at home to bottom side Malaga.
Malaga have not won in their last ten league matches but hold the Indian sign over Sevilla, who have not beaten them at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan since 2005/2006.
Real lead champions Barca by a single point at the summit but lost both Clasicos last season including a 6-2 mauling at home as Barca marched to the title.
"Those players who are ambitious must always believe they are favorites to win," said Real's Cristiano Ronaldo. "We have great respect for our opponent but we shouldn't be afraid of them."
Ronaldo is back from injury after two months out to boost Real while Barca sweat on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi, who both have thigh strains and missed the 2-0 Champions League win over Inter Milan on Tuesday.
"We will see how they (Messi and Ibrahimovic) are on Sunday. I will talk with the doctors and make a decision," revealed Barca coach Pep Guardiola. "It is not a coincidence that Real Madrid are leaders but we can beat them with or without Messi."
In other matches, goalkeeper Diego Lopez was left a frustrated figure with his two penalty saves still not enough to help 10-man Villarreal end their away blues as they lost 1-0 at Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
Substitute Mate Bilic struck the winning goal on 75 minutes after Spanish international Lopez had parried Alberto Rivera's initial spot-kick and Lopez saved another penalty from Bilic on 88 minutes, but it was to no avail.
Villarreal have yet to win on their travels this season and lie in mid-table far away from their goal of Champions League football while Sporting are a respectable seventh.
"We are disappointed but we have to forget this quickly because we have a very important game against Levski Sofia (in the Europa League on Thursday) and have to go into it in the best frame of mind possible," explained Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde.
Late Valero penalty frustrates Valencia
MADRID (AFP) - Valencia failed to put pressure on Barcelona and Real Madrid at the summit of the Spanish first division falling victim to a late penalty equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Spanish international striker David Villa went into double figures for the season scoring for the third successive game on 48 minutes but Borja Valero equalised five minutes from time with a penalty to prevent a fifth successive win for Valencia.
If they had won Valencia would have been a point behind Real, who face Barcelona in 'El Clasico' at Camp Nou on Sunday, but Bruno Grau's unnecessary foul gave away the penalty and Valencia stay fourth level on points with Sevilla.
Another blow for Valencia was an injury to key Spanish international midfielder David Silva, who hobbled off in the 27th minute with a problem in his right knee.
It was a good late point for Mallorca, who stay sixth despite not managing to win a single away match this season.
Later on Saturday, Sevilla have the chance to move level on points with Real if they can secure three points at home to bottom side Malaga.
Malaga have not won in their last ten league matches but hold the Indian sign over Sevilla, who have not beaten them at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan since 2005/2006.
Real lead champions Barca by a single point at the summit but lost both Clasicos last season including a 6-2 mauling at home as Barca marched to the title.
"Those players who are ambitious must always believe they are favorites to win," said Real's Cristiano Ronaldo. "We have great respect for our opponent but we shouldn't be afraid of them."
Ronaldo is back from injury after two months out to boost Real while Barca sweat on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi, who both have thigh strains and missed the 2-0 Champions League win over Inter Milan on Tuesday.
"We will see how they (Messi and Ibrahimovic) are on Sunday. I will talk with the doctors and make a decision," revealed Barca coach Pep Guardiola. "It is not a coincidence that Real Madrid are leaders but we can beat them with or without Messi."
In other matches, goalkeeper Diego Lopez was left a frustrated figure with his two penalty saves still not enough to help 10-man Villarreal end their away blues as they lost 1-0 at Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
Substitute Mate Bilic struck the winning goal on 75 minutes after Spanish international Lopez had parried Alberto Rivera's initial spot-kick and Lopez saved another penalty from Bilic on 88 minutes, but it was to no avail.
Villarreal have yet to win on their travels this season and lie in mid-table far away from their goal of Champions League football while Sporting are a respectable seventh.
"We are disappointed but we have to forget this quickly because we have a very important game against Levski Sofia (in the Europa League on Thursday) and have to go into it in the best frame of mind possible," explained Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde.
Eduardo thwarts OM after Coupet blow for PSG
PARIS (AFP) - An injury-time goal by Brazilian striker Eduardo earned Lens a 1-0 victory at home to Marseille on Saturday that prevented Didier Deschamps's side from moving to within a point of top spot.
Auxerre remain top of the division despite losing 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain, in a game over-shadowed by a serious leg injury sustained by PSG goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.
Marseille dominated for long spells at the Stade Felix Bollaert but were grateful to goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for saving Yohan Demont's 62nd-minute penalty, which the Lens skipper took himself after being fouled by Garry Bocaly.
Mandanda's plunging save appeared to have rescued a point for the Mediterranean side but in the second minute of injury time Eduardo converted Sebastien Roudet's free-kick with a diving header to lift Lens nine points clear of the relegation zone.
Marseille, who had lost just twice before in the league, remain seventh.
At the Parc des Princes, PSG were leading through Jeremy Clement's fine second-half header when Coupet's left leg buckled underneath him after he caught his studs in the turf while making an 82nd-minute clearance.
The former France international was stretchered from the pitch and his coach Antoine Kombouare said he was unlikely to play again this season.
"It's definitely a fracture of the left leg," Kombouare said.
"He went straight to hospital and we'll know more about how serious it is on Sunday. He'll be unavailable for a long time and it will be very complicated (to get him back before the end of the season)."
Coupet's injury cast a dark shadow over a match that saw PSG secure only their second league win since August and end Auxerre's seven-game winning streak.
"We're disappointed that our run has come to an end," said Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez. "We weren't up to speed in the first half and Paris put us under a lot of pressure in the second."
Meanwhile, rock-bottom Grenoble were denied their first victory of the season by a dramatic late goal at Lorient.
The home side took the lead in fortuitous circumstances, when Marama Vahirua's free-kick ballooned off visiting goalkeeper Ronan Le Crom and was directed into the net for an own goal by Bostjan Cesar.
Grenoble fought back in the second period, with Japanese forward Daisuke Matsui equalising and midfielder Jimmy Juan poking the visitors into the lead after Lorient goalkeeper Lionel Cappone fumbled a high ball.
Victory was in sight for Mecha Bazdarevic's charges, only for Lorient to snatch an equaliser in the second minute of injury time when Kevin Gameiro capitalised on an error from Le Crom to slam home.
The point moves Lorient up to second place, above champions Bordeaux and Lyon on goal difference and a point behind Auxerre, while luckless Grenoble are now 10 points from safety.
Valenciennes fell to their first defeat in six matches when they went down 4-0 at Lille.
Pierre-Alain Frau headed the hosts in front three minutes before half-time, with summer signing Gervinho contributing a well-taken brace in the second half and Yohan Cabaye capping a fine win from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.
Elsewhere, Toulouse moved into the top half with a 1-0 victory over Boulogne and Nice's four-game winning run ended with a 1-0 loss at Sochaux.
Monaco's home game with Montpellier was postponed due to an outbreak of the H1N1 virus at the visiting club.
In Sunday's matches, Bordeaux visit Nancy, Lyon host Rennes and fourth-bottom Saint-Etienne travel to second-bottom Le Mans.
Dawson keeps Spurs in top four
BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP) - Michael Dawson smashed in a superb equaliser as Tottenham came from behind to draw 1-1 with Aston Villa and retain their place in the Premier League's top four.
Harry Redknapp chose Dawson as his stand-in captain for the day and his on-the-field leader rewarded him with a captain's contribution as Spurs maintained their three-point advantage over Martin O'Neill's side in the race for a top four finish.
If Redknapp was delighted with their nine-goal performance against Wigan last weekend, he will be equally pleased with this display in the back-yard of their chief rivals in the bid to make the most of Liverpool's malaise this season.
Dawson's 77th minute strike was no more than Spurs deserved after dominating for long periods and it came just minutes after Jermain Defoe had a goal ruled out for a Thierry Henry-style handball.
Referee Phil Dowd spotted the England striker controlling a deflection of Steve Sidwell with his hand before prodding the ball into the net after Tom Huddlestone's earlier shot had been saved by Brad Friedel.
But Villa could not hang on to the 9th minute lead given them by Gabriel Agbonlahor's eighth goal of the season.
O'Neill spent much of the build up desperately trying to play down the significance of the head-on clash between two top four wannabees.
He even suggested Spurs are favourites ahead of Villa to break the Big Four monopoly this season and that his side have some way to go to catch them and on this evidence he is right.
Both clubs look set for a titanic struggle for the remainder of the season with a host of England internationals desperate to make a point to Fabio Capello before his final squad selection for the World Cup in South Africa.
Agbonlahor made his point early here after Carlos Cuellar's near-post header, from James Milner's corner was cleared off the line by Benoit Assou-Ekotto and there was more than a hint of handball about his intervention.
But Villa hardly had time to appeal before Agbonlahor - who has spent the summer pumping iron, showed all his new strength to muscle Villa in front.
The rebound from Assou-Ekotto fell in a crowded six-yard box and Agbonlahor held off two Spurs defenders in the scramble before forcing the ball over the goalline.
Everything Defoe touched last weekend against Wigan turned to gold, but he was out of sorts here and was unable to beat Friedel from close range soon after Villa had gone ahead.
The Villa goalkeeper's block rebounded into the path of Dawson and the Spurs defender smashed the kind of shot Defoe would have been proud to claim, only to see Carlos Cuellar do the splits on the goalline and clear.
O'Neill got a close up view of the Spurs destruction of Wigan and felt Niko Kranjcar was the most dangerous player on view, despite Defoe's five goals.
And Friedel had to be on his mettle twice to prevent the Croat from hitting back for Spurs.
He tipped over one fine first time strike from the edge of the area, after Richard Dunne's poor clearance.
Then, early in the second half, Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch combined to set up Kranjcar in a similar position and again the former Portsmouth midfielder found excellent contact, but not sufficient direction to beat Friedel's dive.
Defoe thought he had equalised when Sidwell headed the ball directly into his path but his arm clearly moved towards the ball after Friedel had saved Huddlestone's powerful shot.
Defoe's misery did not last long and when the ball fell kindly to Dawson in the penalty area, the defender chested the ball down superbly before letting fly with a powerful shot that Friedel could get nowhere near and it was no more than Spurs deserved.
Dawson keeps Spurs in top four
BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP) - Michael Dawson smashed in a superb equaliser as Tottenham came from behind to draw 1-1 with Aston Villa and retain their place in the Premier League's top four.
Harry Redknapp chose Dawson as his stand-in captain for the day and his on-the-field leader rewarded him with a captain's contribution as Spurs maintained their three-point advantage over Martin O'Neill's side in the race for a top four finish.
If Redknapp was delighted with their nine-goal performance against Wigan last weekend, he will be equally pleased with this display in the back-yard of their chief rivals in the bid to make the most of Liverpool's malaise this season.
Dawson's 77th minute strike was no more than Spurs deserved after dominating for long periods and it came just minutes after Jermain Defoe had a goal ruled out for a Thierry Henry-style handball.
Referee Phil Dowd spotted the England striker controlling a deflection of Steve Sidwell with his hand before prodding the ball into the net after Tom Huddlestone's earlier shot had been saved by Brad Friedel.
But Villa could not hang on to the 9th minute lead given them by Gabriel Agbonlahor's eighth goal of the season.
O'Neill spent much of the build up desperately trying to play down the significance of the head-on clash between two top four wannabees.
He even suggested Spurs are favourites ahead of Villa to break the Big Four monopoly this season and that his side have some way to go to catch them and on this evidence he is right.
Both clubs look set for a titanic struggle for the remainder of the season with a host of England internationals desperate to make a point to Fabio Capello before his final squad selection for the World Cup in South Africa.
Agbonlahor made his point early here after Carlos Cuellar's near-post header, from James Milner's corner was cleared off the line by Benoit Assou-Ekotto and there was more than a hint of handball about his intervention.
But Villa hardly had time to appeal before Agbonlahor - who has spent the summer pumping iron, showed all his new strength to muscle Villa in front.
The rebound from Assou-Ekotto fell in a crowded six-yard box and Agbonlahor held off two Spurs defenders in the scramble before forcing the ball over the goalline.
Everything Defoe touched last weekend against Wigan turned to gold, but he was out of sorts here and was unable to beat Friedel from close range soon after Villa had gone ahead.
The Villa goalkeeper's block rebounded into the path of Dawson and the Spurs defender smashed the kind of shot Defoe would have been proud to claim, only to see Carlos Cuellar do the splits on the goalline and clear.
O'Neill got a close up view of the Spurs destruction of Wigan and felt Niko Kranjcar was the most dangerous player on view, despite Defoe's five goals.
And Friedel had to be on his mettle twice to prevent the Croat from hitting back for Spurs.
He tipped over one fine first time strike from the edge of the area, after Richard Dunne's poor clearance.
Then, early in the second half, Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch combined to set up Kranjcar in a similar position and again the former Portsmouth midfielder found excellent contact, but not sufficient direction to beat Friedel's dive.
Defoe thought he had equalised when Sidwell headed the ball directly into his path but his arm clearly moved towards the ball after Friedel had saved Huddlestone's powerful shot.
Defoe's misery did not last long and when the ball fell kindly to Dawson in the penalty area, the defender chested the ball down superbly before letting fly with a powerful shot that Friedel could get nowhere near and it was no more than Spurs deserved.
Eduardo thwarts OM after Coupet blow for PSG
PARIS (AFP) - An injury-time goal by Brazilian striker Eduardo earned Lens a 1-0 victory at home to Marseille on Saturday that prevented Didier Deschamps's side from moving to within a point of top spot.
Auxerre remain top of the division despite losing 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain, in a game over-shadowed by a serious leg injury sustained by PSG goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.
Marseille dominated for long spells at the Stade Felix Bollaert but were grateful to goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for saving Yohan Demont's 62nd-minute penalty, which the Lens skipper took himself after being fouled by Garry Bocaly.
Mandanda's plunging save appeared to have rescued a point for the Mediterranean side but in the second minute of injury time Eduardo converted Sebastien Roudet's free-kick with a diving header to lift Lens nine points clear of the relegation zone.
Marseille, who had lost just twice before in the league, remain seventh.
At the Parc des Princes, PSG were leading through Jeremy Clement's fine second-half header when Coupet's left leg buckled underneath him after he caught his studs in the turf while making an 82nd-minute clearance.
The former France international was stretchered from the pitch and his coach Antoine Kombouare said he was unlikely to play again this season.
"It's definitely a fracture of the left leg," Kombouare said.
"He went straight to hospital and we'll know more about how serious it is on Sunday. He'll be unavailable for a long time and it will be very complicated (to get him back before the end of the season)."
Coupet's injury cast a dark shadow over a match that saw PSG secure only their second league win since August and end Auxerre's seven-game winning streak.
"We're disappointed that our run has come to an end," said Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez. "We weren't up to speed in the first half and Paris put us under a lot of pressure in the second."
Meanwhile, rock-bottom Grenoble were denied their first victory of the season by a dramatic late goal at Lorient.
The home side took the lead in fortuitous circumstances, when Marama Vahirua's free-kick ballooned off visiting goalkeeper Ronan Le Crom and was directed into the net for an own goal by Bostjan Cesar.
Grenoble fought back in the second period, with Japanese forward Daisuke Matsui equalising and midfielder Jimmy Juan poking the visitors into the lead after Lorient goalkeeper Lionel Cappone fumbled a high ball.
Victory was in sight for Mecha Bazdarevic's charges, only for Lorient to snatch an equaliser in the second minute of injury time when Kevin Gameiro capitalised on an error from Le Crom to slam home.
The point moves Lorient up to second place, above champions Bordeaux and Lyon on goal difference and a point behind Auxerre, while luckless Grenoble are now 10 points from safety.
Valenciennes fell to their first defeat in six matches when they went down 4-0 at Lille.
Pierre-Alain Frau headed the hosts in front three minutes before half-time, with summer signing Gervinho contributing a well-taken brace in the second half and Yohan Cabaye capping a fine win from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.
Elsewhere, Toulouse moved into the top half with a 1-0 victory over Boulogne and Nice's four-game winning run ended with a 1-0 loss at Sochaux.
Monaco's home game with Montpellier was postponed due to an outbreak of the H1N1 virus at the visiting club.
In Sunday's matches, Bordeaux visit Nancy, Lyon host Rennes and fourth-bottom Saint-Etienne travel to second-bottom Le Mans.
Genoa claim derby honours with Samp romp
ROME (AFP) - Genoa moved up to fifth in Serie A after thumping Sampdoria 3-0 in the Genoa derby on Saturday in an ill-tempered match in which three players were sent off.
Samp stay a point above their city rivals but it is Genoa who will have bragging rights in the city for the next few months.
Two penalties from Omar Milanetto and Raffaele Palladino and a third goal from Marco Rossi secured three points for Genoa.
Giuseppe Biava was sent-off in the first half for Genoa while Sampdoria's Marco Rossi and Fabrizio Cacciatore were both dismissed after the break.
Genoa went in front on 10 minutes when Milanetto sent Samp goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi the wrong way from the spot after Swiss international Reto Ziegler had bundled over Rodrigo Palacio in the box.
On 22 minutes Ziegler's bad start almost got worse as he turned a left-wing cross meant for Palacio onto his own post.
Castellazzi then tipped a Domenico Criscito header onto the bar 10 minutes before the break as Genoa dominated.
Two minutes later Giuseppe Sculli should have done better when one-on-one with Castellazzi, but with Palladino free and with an open goal, he chose to shoot himself and put the ball well wide.
On the stroke of half-time Biava was dismissed for a second booking after a stupid handball in the middle of the park.
Rossi then doubled Genoa's lead on 53 minutes before his namesake on the Samp team was dismissed for a second booking on 67 minutes.
Ziegler gave away his second penalty of the evening after bringing down Sokratis Papastrathopoulos, with Palladino stroking home the spot-kick with 15 minutes left.
The game descended almost into farce in the dying moments as Cacciatore was given a straight red.
Earlier in the day mid-table Udinese beat lowly Livorno 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Antonio Di Natale and Antonio Floro Flores, leaving Livorno stuck in the bottom three.
Genoa claim derby honours with Samp romp
ROME (AFP) - Genoa moved up to fifth in Serie A after thumping Sampdoria 3-0 in the Genoa derby on Saturday in an ill-tempered match in which three players were sent off.
Samp stay a point above their city rivals but it is Genoa who will have bragging rights in the city for the next few months.
Two penalties from Omar Milanetto and Raffaele Palladino and a third goal from Marco Rossi secured three points for Genoa.
Giuseppe Biava was sent-off in the first half for Genoa while Sampdoria's Marco Rossi and Fabrizio Cacciatore were both dismissed after the break.
Genoa went in front on 10 minutes when Milanetto sent Samp goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi the wrong way from the spot after Swiss international Reto Ziegler had bundled over Rodrigo Palacio in the box.
On 22 minutes Ziegler's bad start almost got worse as he turned a left-wing cross meant for Palacio onto his own post.
Castellazzi then tipped a Domenico Criscito header onto the bar 10 minutes before the break as Genoa dominated.
Two minutes later Giuseppe Sculli should have done better when one-on-one with Castellazzi, but with Palladino free and with an open goal, he chose to shoot himself and put the ball well wide.
On the stroke of half-time Biava was dismissed for a second booking after a stupid handball in the middle of the park.
Rossi then doubled Genoa's lead on 53 minutes before his namesake on the Samp team was dismissed for a second booking on 67 minutes.
Ziegler gave away his second penalty of the evening after bringing down Sokratis Papastrathopoulos, with Palladino stroking home the spot-kick with 15 minutes left.
The game descended almost into farce in the dying moments as Cacciatore was given a straight red.
Earlier in the day mid-table Udinese beat lowly Livorno 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Antonio Di Natale and Antonio Floro Flores, leaving Livorno stuck in the bottom three.
Rooney ruins Grant´s big day
PORTSMOUTH, England (AFP) - Wayne Rooney's first Manchester United hat-trick in three years inspired the champions to a 4-1 win over Portsmouth and reduced Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League to two points.
Rooney, whose last treble in a red shirt was during a 4-0 win at Bolton in October 2006, converted two penalties either side of a fine finish from a Ryan Giggs pass as United ensured Avram Grant's first match in charge of Pompey ended in defeat.
Giggs, in yet another masterful display a day shy of his 36th birthday, completed the punishment with a late free-kick for his 100th Premier League goal.
Ferguson made eight changes from the side which suffered a shock midweek Champions League defeat to Besiktas, among which, was the forced inclusion of Tomasz Kuszczak for his first Premier League start of the season as Edwin Van der Sar was unable to travel.
An early Rooney foray down the left-hand side caught Younes Kaboul off-balance but the French defender did enough to put him off his stride as he progressed toward the by-line.
United continued to stretch the home defence and a corner by Giggs was rolled into Paul Scholes on the edge of the penalty area but the midfielder's first-time drive was placed a yard over Asmir Begovic?s crossbar.
Moments later, Portsmouth nearly stole the lead as Jamie O?Hara and Boateng combined to feed Aruna Dindane but the Ivorian's scrambled effort was kept away by the outstretched frame of Kuszczak.
Portsmouth continued to flourish and a long ball floated forward on 15 minutes was controlled by O'Hara before the on-loan Tottenham midfielder forced Kuszczak into an acrobatic save.
With both sides pressing forward in an entertaining opening it was United who grabbed the lead. Rooney played a one-two with Antonio Valencia and as the United striker moved away from goal found his heel clipped by Michael Brown.
There was a degree of protest from the Portsmouth players on the legitimacy of Mike Dean's decision but Rooney converted the penalty high above Asmir Begovic's right-hand.
If there was some debate about United's penalty, the whole of Fratton Park stood in bemusement as the home side were awarded their own spot-kick eight minutes later, assistant Simon Beck having apparently caught Nemanja Vidic tugging Frederic Piquionne?s shirt as he challenged Kuszczak.
The decision looked harsh but Kevin-Prince Boateng, who missed from 12 yards last week against Stoke, drove the penalty under Kuszczak?s right arm and the contest was all square.
Portsmouth could even have found themselves in-front going in at half-time, Dindane having connected with Boateng's cross only to place his header wide.
Such wastefulness tends not to go unpunished by United and just two minutes into the second half Valencia's measured pass found Giggs in behind Marc Wilson. The Welsh winger in turn picked out Rooney, who converted from eight yards out.
The three points were secured six minutes later as Giggs and Piquionne battled on the by-line. The Frenchman looked in control but allowed Giggs to steal the ball and then compounded his initial error by tripping the United player.
Rooney made sure driving low to Begovic's left and soon the Premier League champions were threatening a rout. Valencia?s pace took him through a gaping hole in the Portsmouth defence and the Ecuadorian was inches wide with his shot.
Begovic was then forced to dive low to his near post to keep out a Giggs drive but the veteran was not to be denied and there was little Pompey's Bosnian goalkeeper could do about the 20-yard free-kick he swung into the corner with three minutes left.
Bullard on the spot to frustrate City
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Hull midfielder Jimmy Bullard hit a late penalty to leave Manchester City frustrated again as the Tigers snatched a 1-1 draw at Eastlands on Saturday.
Mark Hughes' side have now drawn seven successive league matches and are in danger of falling behind in the race for a top-four finish.
City, who stay sixth in the Premier League, had taken the lead through Shaun Wright Phillips' deflected strike on the stroke of half time.
But Bullard made no mistake from the spot in the 82nd minute and Hull's players were able to celebrate by sitting down in the corner to recreate manager Phil Brown's half-time team talk in last season's 5-1 defeat here.
Robinho was back in the City side for the first time since picking up an ankle injury at the end of August.
And despite three months of speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona, the Brazilian quickly showed he was in the mood, swapping passes with Emmanuel Adebayor and forcing Hull to desperately clear for a corner.
Hughes was once again forced to deny Micah Richards could be on his way out of City in the build-up to the game but, having been recalled to the side, he almost allowed Hull to score with their first proper attack.
Richard Garcia lobbed a cross in from the right and Richards allowed the ball to come over his shoulder and was lucky to see Stephen Hunt's shot blocked and hacked clear.
But it was all one-way traffic, with Kolo Toure picking out Richards and his cross finding Stephen Ireland, whose flick at goal just flew over the bar.
Robinho was on the top of his game, collecting a pass from Wright-Phillips and skipping past Paul McShane before producing a curling shot that just flew wide of Matt Duke's post.
Duke was worked for the first time after Adebayor slid through for Tevez and the Argentinian's stab at goal was blocked by the legs of the Tigers goalkeeper.
But Robinho was soon getting back in on the act when Nigel De Jong headed into the Hull area and the Brazilian lifted an over-head kick over the bar.
And soon it was Wright-Phillips that was passing up an opportunity with De Jong flicking into his path and the winger firing into the side netting.
Hull threatened again when Geovanni broke from his own half to force a low save from City goalkeeper Shay Given.
But City finally broke the deadlock in added time at the end of the first half.
Tevez burst into the Hull half and slipped the ball to Wright-Phillips and the little winger jinked inside Hunt's challenge and his shot deflected off Anthony Gardner and inside the near post from more than 20 yards.
But Hull should have levelled just a minute after the restart when Jozy Altidore passed through for Garcia and his low shot beat Given but was cleared off the line by Joleon Lescott.
City still looked dangerous and were appealing for a penalty when Wright-Phillips went down after being tugged by Hunt in the area.
And shortly after that Tevez drilled just over the bar and Wright-Phillips thumped a low drive straight at Duke.
Robinho almost celebrated his return to the team with a goal when he beat the wall with a free-kick that flew just wide of Duke's goal.
But with 10 minutes left, referee Lee Probert pointed to the spot after Toure tangled with Jan Venegoor of Hesselink.
Bullard swept in from the spot to provoke celebrations every bit as memorable as Brown's ill-advised team-talk last season.