Chelsea snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Stoke at Stamford Bridge, with a desperate late winner from Frank Lampard making the score 2-1.
The Potters had stunned their hosts with a Rory Delap goal on 59 minutes - the long-throw specialist registering a smart finish after an assist from new boy James Beattie - but the West Londoners showed strength of spirit to fight on, and Juliano Belletti headed home on 87 minutes before Lampard netted the winner four minutes into injury time.
Thomas Sorensen provided a fine showing in the Stoke goal, withstanding a pounding from Chelsea's Didier Drogba-less line-up. The Dane dealt with fine efforts from Lampard, Anelka and Ashley Cole before Delap bloodied the West Londoners' noses. But the men in blue will find comfort in the fact that they had the character to come back from behind, not least because their championship rivals Manchester United gathered maximum points away at Bolton.
Chelsea were knocked off-balance by the loss of captain John Terry, who limped off the field during the warm-up, but credit was still richly deserved for the Potters, whose fans serenaded Felipe Scolari with a rousing chorus of "You're getting sacked in the morning". Lampard's late, late show should ensure the Portuguese lives to fight another day.
Manchester United knocked Liverpool off their perch at the top of the Premier League after Dimitar Berbatov snatched a late goal to take maximum points at local rivals Bolton Wanderers. Wanderers' new signing Ariza Makukula provided the most entertaining moment of an uninspiring first half, picking up a yellow card for bizarrely shoulder-charging Nemanja Vidic to the ground long after goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar had picked up the ball.
Despite long-range efforts from Ronaldo and Anderson, Jussi Jaaskelainen put in a spirited performance between the posts for Bolton, leaving the Champions frustrated at half time, but United never let their heads drop, keeping up the pressure in the second half, and their determination paid off when Berbatov scored in the final minute.
At Ewood Park, Sam Allardyce got one over on his old club as Blackburn beat Newcastle 3-0. A dubious penalty, won and converted by Benni McCarthy, who went down very softly, and a brace from Jason Roberts gave Rovers the much-needed points.
Manchester City bossed north west rivals Wigan at the City of Manchester stadium, with out-of-position defender Pablo Zabaleta filling in for Kaka in midfield, and scoring a stunning volley at the start of the second half. City were reduced to 10 men when Richard Dunne, following an aerial clash with Amr Zaki, petulantly kicked out at the Wigan striker, but the Citizens hung on to take the points.
Bottom-of-the-table (before kick-off) West Brom added to bottom-of-the-form-table Middlesbrough's woes at the Hawthorns with a 3-0 win. Goals from Chris Brunt and a brace from Rob Koren, as well as a sending-off for Didier Digard, provided the nightmares for Gareth Southgate. Boro have now failed to win in 10 league games - the last time they claimed maximum points was against Aston Villa on November 9.
Aston Villa celebrated their fifth straight win at the Stadium of Light, coming from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1. Manager Martin O'Neill will have mixed feelings about the match, which saw Ashley Young receive a straight red card for tackling over the ball, but will be pleased to consolidate his team's fourth-place berth with goals from James Milner and a late penalty converted by Gareth Barry wresting back the points after Sunderland's Danny Collins had opened the scoring.
Arsenal left it late, but still took all three points on a wet and windy evening at Hull's KC Stadium, as they beat their hosts 3-1. The Gunners went ahead on 30 minutes through a fine Emmanuel Adebayor header, but Hull battled back in the second half, and when Gael Clichy stood off Bernard Mendy, the wideman crossed for Daniel Cousin to power home. Despite their superiority, Arsenal couldn't find an end product, and an increasingly angry Arsene Wenger was not shy about making his feelings known from the bench. But the breakthrough came on 82 minutes, when Robin Van Persie found Samir Nasri unmarked, and the Frenchman coolly slotted home. There was still tension in the match, as Hull gamely battled for an equaliser, but Nicklas Bendtner made sure of the result four minutes from time, despite a hint of offside about the goal.
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