Tottenham go seven points clear of Arsenal
Tottenham moved seven points clear of Arsenal after they emerged 2-1 winners in a pulsating north London derby at White Hart Lane.
Two goals in just over two minutes before the break sealed victory for Andre Villas-Boas' men, who underlined their position as top dogs in the north of the capital thanks to a lax display at the back from the Gunners.
Despite playing second fiddle to Spurs for most of the season, Arsenal started strongly, and they looked as if they had the potential to record their first win at White Hart Lane in six years.
Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon had other ideas, however. Bale slipped behind a static Arsenal back four and slotted past Wojciech Szczesny to put Tottenham 1-0 up before Lennon breezed past the flat back line moments later, latching on to Scott Parker's pass before beating the Arsenal goalkeeper from close range.
Per Mertesacker pulled one back for the Gunners in the second half, but a mix of wasteful passing around the box, and excellent displays from Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson, stopped Arsene Wenger's men from finding their way through again.
Saturday
Shinji Kagawa scored a hat-trick as Manchester United went 15 points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League with a 4-0 win over Norwich at Old Trafford.
The Japan international gave United a 1-0 the lead on the stroke of half-time after Robin van Persie played him in following a first half with few chances.
Kagawa then added his second in the 76th minute before he linked up with Wayne Rooney for his third, running on to the striker's pass to clip into the roof of the net in style.
Rooney sealed the comprehensive win with United's fourth goal in the 90th minute as Sir Alex Ferguson's side pulled even further clear of rivals Manchester City in the title race.
Luis Suarez netted a hat-trick to fuel Liverpool to a 4-0 win over Wigan and keep their European hopes alive, but January signing Philippe Coutinho also caught the eye with a sparkling display that included two assists.
The Brazilian youngster floated in a lovely cross for Stewart Downing to head home the opener after just two minutes, before sending Suarez through 16 minutes later to make it 2-0.
Suarez then doubled his tally four minutes after the half-hour mark when his free-kick took a wicked deflection off the head of Shaun Maloney and crept past Ali Al Habsi, before completing his hat-trick in the 49th minute with another clever finish.
Demba Ba gave Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez something to smile about as he fired the Blues to a 1-0 win over West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
Benitez faced flak from Chelsea's own supporters before kick-off and during the first half after his outburst criticising a section of them following the midweek cup win at Middlesbrough.
Chelsea went ahead after 26 minutes and held on to move above Tottenham and into third place ahead of Spurs' derby clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
West Brom conceded a corner following a brilliant save by goalkeeper Ben Foster, who tipped David Luiz's 25-yard free-kick around the post.
However, Frank Lampard delivered a testing corner which picked out Luiz, and the defender headed the ball into the path of Ba, allowing the striker to slot home from close range.
Lampard almost scored his 200th goal for Chelsea when he put Juan Mata's pass into the net only for the offside flag to be raised.
Marouane Fellaini inspired Everton to a 3-1 win over Reading at Goodison Park.
The Belgium international climbed to reach Seamus Coleman's cross from the right wing to head past Royals goalkeeper Jan Mucha in the 42nd minute before he saw another chance blocked by Ian Harte.
Steven Pienaar doubled the Toffees' advantage in the second half when he was played in by Fellaini and fired home from 20 yards just before the hour mark before Kevin Mirallas added the third.
Hal Robson-Kanu pulled one back for Reading but it was scant consolation.
Elsewhere, Fulham drew 2-2 with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light after the home side fought back from a two-goal deficit.
Dimitar Berbatov put Fulham ahead with a penalty after Craig Gardner fouled Ashkan Dejagah before Sascha Riether made it 2-0 to the Cottagers 10 minutes before the break.
Sunderland hit back two minutes later, though, with Gardner atoning for his earlier mistake when he scored from the spot at the other end of the pitch after Danny Graham was pulled back by Philippe Senderos .
Stephane Sessegnon then levelled the score when he pounced on Adam Johnson's deflected cross in the 70th minute.
QPR claimed a much-needed 2-1 win over Southampton at St Mary's on manager Harry Redknapp's birthday but it was not enough to lift them from the foot of the table.
Loic Remy gave QPR the advantage when Junior Hoilett played a ball over the top and found the Frenchman, who lifted the ball over goalkeeper Artur Boruc
Gaston Ramirez levelled the score up at 1-1 with a close-range shot on the stroke of half-time but Jay Bothroyd put QPR back in front after the break, moments after goalkeeper Julio Cesar limped off at the other end.
Swansea claimed a 1-0 win over Newcastle in their first match since their historic Capital One Cup win over Bradford last weekend.
Luke Moore scored in the 85th minute after Newcastle looked to have held the upper hand for much of the game with strikers Papiss Cisse and Yoan Gouffran missing two good scoring chances.
West Ham also triumphed 1-0 against Stoke thanks to substitute Jack Collison.
Collinson, on for the injured Matt Taylor, put the Hammers ahead in first-half in injury time when he fired past Asmir Begovic after a good run by Ricardo Vaz Te.
Sunday's Barclays Premier League Results
Wenger: Arsenal still top team in north London
AVB remains cautious despite vital derby win
Saturday's Barclays Premier League Results
Victorious Benitez revels in Bridge atmosphere
Chelsea vs West Brom: Benitez Watch
Reading display gives McDermott belief
Fergie expects more from 'brilliant' Kagawa
Redknapp furious despite QPR victory
Allardyce acknowledges 'fortunate' win
O'Neill pleads for consistent refereeing
Swansea attitude leaves Laudrup purring