Premier League Weekend Review
Arsenal's title hopes effectively ended at Stamford Bridge while Manchester United continued their charge.
In the weekend's last game Chelsea beat the Gunners 2-0, thanks largely to a Didier Drogba masterclass.
Ivory Coast international striker Drogba continued his fine record against Arsenal when he smashed home at the far post following a flick by captain John Terry before drilling in a second goal midway through the first half.
When the Gunners - who lost at Manchester United last week - did manage to get past the imposing Terry, they were woefully wasteful with Andrey Arshavin the main culprit.
The victory restored Chelsea's two-point lead over United at the top of the table and, more significantly, increased the gap over third-placed Arsenal to nine.
Kevin Phillips came off the bench to earn a Barclays Premier League victory for Birmingham with a two-goal blast as the Blues came from behind to beat Wolves 2-1.
Kevin Doyle looked to have given Wolves boss Mick McCarthy the perfect present on his 51st birthday by breaking the deadlock shortly before half-time.
But then the 36-year-old Phillips replaced the injured Christian Benitez and struck twice in a six-minute spell to leave the visitors in the bottom three.
On Saturday, Manchester United hammered Portsmouth 5-0. Wayne Rooney headed in from close range from Darren Fletcher's cross as the champions dominated, with Anthony Vanden Borre turning in Nani's attempted cross just before half-time.
Michael Carrick's shot deflected in off Richard Hughes to make it 3-0 before Dimitar Berbatov tormented the Pompey defence and fired home the fourth. Mark Wilson then became the third Pompey player to put through his own goal and round off the scoring.
Liverpool vs Everton Player Ratings
Chelsea vs Arsenal Player Ratings
Liverpool went fourth in the table thanks to a 1-0 victory over local rivals Everton at Anfield in the early kick-off.
The Reds had Greece defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos sent off for a poorly-timed challenge on Marouane Fellaini, but Holland striker Dirk Kuyt got the only goal of the game as he headed in Steven Gerrard's 55th-minute corner before Everton were also reduced to 10 men as Steven Pienaar was shown a second yellow card in injury time.
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Manchester City, another side with Champions League aspirations, lost ground in the race for a top-four spot as they lost 2-1 to lowly Hull.
Jozy Altidore gave the Tigers the lead when he linked up well with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink before shooting into the corner of Shay Given's net.
George Boateng got Hull's second with a well-placed volley from the edge of the area and Emmanuel Adebayor's effort was not enough for City.
David Nugent marked the start of his second loan spell at Burnley with a goal to help the Clarets to climb out of the relegation zone with victory over fellow strugglers West Ham.
The Portsmouth forward beautifully lofted Danny Fox's long ball over Robert Green in the 14th minute at Turf Moor.
A fantastic free-kick from Danny Fox just after half-time put the home side 2-0 up and sealed Brian Laws' first win as Burnley manager, despite Ilan grabbing a goal on his debut for the Hammers.
Sunderland's 10-match streak without a win continued as they drew 1-1 at home to Wigan.
Mohamed Diame gave the visitors the lead at the Stadium of Light after blasting home when the hosts gave the ball away after 20 minutes.
But Kenwyne Jones headed in Jordan Henderson's cross to secure a point for Steve Bruce against his former club.
Danny Higginbotham's eighth-minute strike at the Britannia Stadium set Stoke on the way to a 3-0 win against 10-man Blackburn.
The defender volleyed home after Rovers had failed to clear a corner before Franco Di Santo headed over from close range for the visitors.
Mamady Sidibe's tap-in made it 2-0 and sealed the win for the hosts before Christopher Samba was sent off for a second yellow card. Matthew Etherington then rounded off the scoring.
The clash between Bolton and Fulham at the Reebok Stadium ended goalless.
In Saturday's last match, Aston Villa survived a late batterting by Tottenham, thanks to keeper Brad Freidel, to escape with a draw from White Hart Lane.
Match Reports
Manchester United 5-0 Portsmouth
Post-Match Interviews (Video)
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