Under pressure from the chasing pack and rocked on their heels by a Charlie Adam bolt from the blue, Chelsea showed cool heads to extend their Premier League to seven points on Saturday with a 2-1 home win over Stoke City.
Manchester United won 2-1 at Crystal Palace to consolidate fourth spot.
Factbox on Jose Mourinho, who was named manager of Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday
Liverpool survived a late spell of Everton pressure to stretch their record unbeaten run in Merseyside derbies to 17 games
Manchester City withdrew from the battle to secure the services of Arsenal's Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez, leaving Jose Mourinho's Manchester United as the most likely destination for the 29-year-old.
The Premier League champions have endured a dismal season so far, losing eight of the 16 games they have played in all competitions, and were knocked out of the League Cup, that they also won last season, in a penalty shootout against Stoke City on Tuesday night.
Sergio Aguero proved he is still vital to Manchester City's cause as the Argentine paved the way for a routine 2-0 victory at bottom club Sunderland on Sunday.
Arsenal's improbable late run at the Premier League title gained momentum with a 1-0 victory at struggling Burnley on Saturday, an eighth straight triumph that moved them within four points of leaders Chelsea.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane's determination to prove his doubters wrong after a slow start to the campaign has driven the England international to the top of the scoring charts in a remarkable season for the player and his club.
Riyad Mahrez scored one and set up another as Leicester City strolled to a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on Monday.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has admitted that he made a mistake when he resigned as Fulham boss in 2011.
Arsenal will reportedly play Chelsea in a fourth-round Capital One Cup match after winning 4-3 on penalties against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday at The Hawthorns.
Mohamed Salah struck four times in rampant Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of Watford that lifted them back into third spot in the Premier League on Saturday.
Premier League newcomers Watford suffered a League Cup upset in a 1-0 loss at Preston North End while five-times champions Aston Villa overcame plucky Notts County 5-3 after extra-time to reach the third round on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper David de Gea believes the busy holiday fixture list offers the perfect opportunity for Manchester United to put some pressure on the Premier League's top two clubs.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
Champions Manchester United travel to Swansea City for their first Premier League match under new manager David Moyes, while Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City are at home to Newcastle United on August 17.
Defeat always seemed likely for West Brom, who are bottom of the Premier League and sacked their chairman and chief-executive on Tuesday.
Champions Manchester United's hopes of retaining their English Premier League title suffered another major setback on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 at Old Trafford by a composed Newcastle United.
The half court challenge allows a player five attempts to make a basket from a distance of 47ft (half court).
Manchester City opened up a two-point lead over their neighbours Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League on Saturday thanks to another display of scintillating brilliance in a 7-2 thrashing of Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester United players are right behind under-fire manager Louis Van Gaal and are determined to get their season back on track, captain Wayne Rooney said.
Manchester United players are right behind under-fire manager Louis Van Gaal and are determined to get their season back on track, captain Wayne Rooney said.
Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson scored as Liverpool registered their first Premier League win since August with a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday.
Jamie Vardy became the first player to score in 11 consecutive Premier League matches when he gave Leicester City the lead in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea put a miserable week behind them to return to the Premier League summit with a 2-0 win over Fulham as the wheels came off Liverpool's bright start in a 1-0 home defeat to Southampton on Saturday.
'That was quite an empty period in this club with no evolution in areas that are important'
Manchester United's calamitous week hit rock bottom as Bournemouth famously consigned them to a 2-1 defeat on Sunday and, to rub salt into the wounds, neighbours Manchester City moved back to the top of the English Premier League.
He also said he expected to be at Chelsea for the remainder of his four-year contract and that Chelsea would finish first or second in their Champions League group.
Third-placed Arsenal tightened their grip on a spot in the top four on the English Premier League table, continuing an impressive run of form at the Emirates with a 3-0 win over West Ham United on Saturday.
Rooney's 50th, 150th and 200th EPL goals have all come against Manchester City.
Chelsea offered a chink of light to Manchester City in the Premier League title race after a stormy 1-1 home draw with Burnley on Saturday that gave more ammunition to their outspoken manager Jose Mourinho.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Manchester City have signed Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from Barcelona on a four-year contract for an initial 18 million euros (15.37 million pounds), the clubs confirmed on Thursday.
Chelsea must end their hire-and-fire approach and make sure the club's next manager is a long-term appointment, interim boss Guus Hiddink said on Friday. The Dutchman has overseen a dramatic turnaround in fortunes, helping the champions climb to 10th in the Premier League after they were struggling one point off the relegation zone when he replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho in December. Chelsea have changed their manager 10 times since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich became owner 13 years ago with 2005, 2006 and 2015 league winner Mourinho serving two spells at the helm and Hiddink twice operating in an interim role. "The club has to go in a new way where it is not on short spells," Hiddink told a news conference ahead of Saturday's game against seventh-placed Stoke City at Stamford Bridge. "I think now they have to go into a new era of Chelsea where managers have more than one or two years."
Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta will be out for the next three months after having a "successful" operation on the left ankle that has kept him sidelined since late November, the club said on Thursday.
'Before the start of the season I felt Manchester United will be a lot better this year and they were my tip for the title'
Chelsea surged to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home win over Stoke City thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard and Willian at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Anthony Martial introduced himself to Manchester United fans with a superb goal to complete a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool and cap a much-improved performance from Louis van Gaal's side on Saturday.
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