Liverpool flirted with what would have been an embarrassing low in their poor start to the season as they were taken to penalties by fourth tier Carlisle United, but came through to reach the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.
In another match in the English Premiership, Manchester United finished with nine men in a 0-1 defeat to Everton.
A round-up of the weekend's action in the major European leagues.
Manchester United beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to go three points clear in the premier league.
Leicester City stumbled on their march towards the Premier League title when they drew 2-2 with West Ham United and had goalscorer Jamie Vardy sent off at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Manager Roy Hodgson has hinted that Liverpool are unlikely to mount a Premier League title challenge this season.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Wednesday.
City have 89 points, one more than rivals Liverpool, with both teams having three games to play -- and none of them against top six opponents.
Liverpool will start favourites but PSV Eindhoven coach Ronald Koeman will fancy another English scalp when the Dutch club host the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
Ryan Giggs scored both times for Manchester United; Harry Kewell pulled one back for Liverpool.
The four-times European champions went through 3-2 on aggregate after losing 0-1 in the second leg Champions League quarter-final.
Arsenal will host Newcastle United in the outstanding League Cup third-round tie after the draw was made on Saturday.
Steven Gerrard was again Liverpool's saviour on Sunday as the inspirational captain secured a 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside rivals' fourth-round FA Cup tie at Anfield. Gerrard struck nine minutes after halftime to cancel Joleon Lescott's first-half header as the game finished with the same score as their Premier League meeting on the same ground last Monday.
Mario Balotelli will return to Liverpool's squad for the festive programme but manager Brendan Rodgers was hardly effusive in his praise of the Italy's striker's credentials.
Images from the English Premier League matches on Saturday.
England begin their World Cup group campaign against Iran on November 21.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be sidelined for at least four weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up last weekend, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday.
Liverpool's half-baked pre-season transfer dealings have come back to bite them with Brendan Rodgers admitting his side have lacked the quality to finish in the Premier League's top four.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Arsenal beat Liverpool 4-2 to take a seven-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the league with seven matches remaining.
Images from the English Premier League matches played across England on Sunday.
Arsenal also suffered a shock defeat when they went down 2-1 at Stoke City and Hull City came from 1-4 down to push Manchester United all the way before losing 4-3 at Old Trafford, in the English Premier League.
Holders Barcelona suffered a stunning 2-1 home defeat by Russia's Rubin Kazan while Liverpool lost by the same score to Olympique Lyon at Anfield on a night of high drama and late goals in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Fans are openly speculating that owner Roman Abramovich, a man who places notoriously high demands on his managers, could call time on Jose Mourinho's second spell at Stamford Bridge if Liverpool can inflict another defeat on the champions.
Manchester United climbed two places up to second in the Premier League after Marcus Rashford scored deep into stoppage time to give them a fortuitous 1-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp called for his players to "stay calm" and does not expect to expect wholesale changes against Burton Albion on Tuesday as they seek to quickly bounce back from their 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
Arsenal beat north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 to surge top of the English Premier League.
A stunning strike from Jordan Henderson helped Liverpool secure a comfortable 2-1 win at Chelsea on Friday that ended the London club's unbeaten start to the season and underlined the growing potential of Juergen Klopp's side.
Liverpool kept their push for a top-four finish in the Premier League on course as Emre Can thundered home a second-half winner to complete a hard-earned 2-1 comeback win over Burnley at a relieved Anfield on Sunday.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Manager Arsene Wenger has silenced his critics with Arsenal's rip-roaring start to the season, club great Dennis Bergkamp said on Friday.
Two defeats and a draw from their first three matches in Group A left Liverpool in the mire and needing a Houdini-like escape act to stay alive
After a six-match unbeaten start to his reign as Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp came down to earth with a bump as his side lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
Manchester City are top on goal difference, with Chelsea second and Liverpool dropping to third, two points ahead of Arsenal, who routed Fulham 5-1.
Aston Villa blew a chance to go eight points clear of Arsenal in the race for England's fourth Champions League berth Sunday after conceding two late goals against relegation-threatened Stoke City. The 2-2 draw, with Stoke cancelling out their hosts' 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, left fourth-placed Villa six points ahead of Arsenal and three adrift of second-placed Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Favourites Barcelona will meet Benfica in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Gerard Delofeu's late goal earned Everton a deserved 1-1 draw at Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday after Mesut Ozil's strike seemed set to seal three points for the home side.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has a 70 million-pound escape clause in his new 200,000-pound-a-week contract with the club, under which he could stay in Anfield until 2018 just before Christmas.
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