Manchester United have taken a 15-point lead on arch rivals Manchester City in the race for the Premier League table.
Last season's runners-up are in prime position to secure a 20th league title after beating Reading 1-0 at Old Trafford whilst reigning champions City were surprisingly beaten 2-0 by Everton at Goodison Park.
For United, Wayne Rooney scored the only goal in the 21st minute as they recorded their sixth-straight league victory to extend their unbeaten run to 17 games whilst City conceded to Leon Osman and Nikica Jelavic despite Steven Pienaar seeing red for the Toffees.
Chelsea reclaimed third spot thanks to their 2-0 home win over West Ham United today with Frank Lampard netting his 200th club goal and Eden Hazard adding a second to replace Tottenham who were beaten 1-0 at home by Fulham with former Spurs star Dimitar Berbatov scoring the only goal of the match early in the second half.
Arsenal moved close to edging North London rivals Spurs out of a Champions League place by beating Swansea City 2-0 at the Liberty Stadium thanks to second-half goals from Nacho Monreal (his first for the club) and Gervinho. They now sit four points behind Tottenham in fifth.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa moved three points clear of the drop zone with a 3-2 come-from-behind triumph over bottom-placed QPR who took a 23rd-minute lead through Jermaine Jenas.
Villa hit the front after Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann scored either side of the break before Andros Townsend netted his second in two matches for the R's but Christian Benteke had the last laugh with a winner nine minutes from time.
Liverpool crashed 3-1 at Southampton who had Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez to thank for their goals, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion played out a 0-0 draw, Sunderland and Norwich City drew 1-1 despite Canaries goalkeeper Mark Bunn's sending off and Wigan Athletic produced a last-gasp 2-1 win over Newcastle United.
2012/13 Barclays Premier League season scores
Everton: 2 (Leon Osman 32', Nikica Jelavic 90+3', red card: Steven Pienaar 61') Manchester City: 0 Goodison Park, Liverpool - 36,519
Aston Villa: 3 (Gabriel Agbonlahor 45+3', Andreas Weimann 59', Christian Benteke 81') Queens Park Rangers: 2 (Jermaine Jenas 23', Andros Townsend 73') Villa Park, Birmingham - 38,594
Southampton: 3 (Morgan Schneiderlin 6', Rickie L:ambert 33', Jay Rodriguez 80') Liverpool: 1 (Philippe Coutinho 45+1') St Mary's Stadium, Southampton - 32,070
Stoke City: 0 West Bromwich Albion: 0 Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent - 26,317
Swansea City: 0 Arsenal: 2 (Nacho Monreal 74', Gervinho 90+1') Liberty Stadium, Swansea - 20,583
Manchester United: 1 (Wayne Rooney 21') Reading: 0 Old Trafford, Manchester - 75,605
Sunderland: 1 (Craig Gardner (p) 40') Norwich City: 1 (Wesley Hoolahan 26', red card: Mark Bunn 30') Stadium of Light, Sunderland - 38,625
Tottenham: 0 Fulham: 1 (Dimitar Berbatov 52') White Hart Lane, London - 36,004
Chelsea: 2 (Frank Lampard 19', Eden Hazard 50') West Ham United: 0 Stamford Bridge, Chelsea - 41,639
Wigan Athletic: 2 (Jean Beausejour 18', Arouna Kona 90') Newcastle United: 1 (Davide Santon 72') DW Stadium, Wigan - 22,297
