Chelsea have moved two points clear on top of the Barclays Premier League table courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United today.
Jose Mourinho's Blues were fairly unimpressive at Stamford Bridge but like all good teams do, they found a way to win when it mattered, to make it 10 wins from 10 home fixtures so far this term.
Goals either side of the break from Oscar and Diego Costa - who now leads the Golden Boot race with 15 - saw Chelsea edge ahead of reigning champions Manchester City who were held at Everton.
Fernandinho gave Manuel Pellegrini's side the lead at Goodison Park in the 74th minute but Steven Naismith delivered his sixth goal of the campaign four minutes later to help the Toffees halt a four-game losing streak.
In the early game, Liverpool made hard work of their 1-0 win over ten-man Sunderland at the Stadium of Light which came courtesy of Lazar Markovic's first Premier League goal.
Black Cats midfielder Liam Bridcutt was sent off early in the second half for a bookable offence which allowed the Reds to hold onto their early lead to extend their undefeated run to five matches.
Elsewhere, Burnley moved out of the relegation zone by beating QPR 2-1 at Turf Moor with goals from Scott Arfield and Danny Ings coming either side of Charlie Austin's 33rd-minute penalty which was his 13th strike of the campaign.
Leicester City edged Aston Villa 1-0 at the King Power Stadium thanks to Paul Konchesky's first-half stoppage time goal, Swansea City and West Ham United drew 1-1 at the Liberty Stadium and Saido Berahino grabbed his ninth goal of the campaign to help West Bromwich Albion get the better of Hull City 1-0 at The Hawthorns.
And in the late game, Alan Pardew masterminded a debut win as manager of Crystal Palace who came from behind to beat London rivals Tottenham 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
Harry Kane had given Spurs the lead in the 49th minute with his seventh goal in 10 outings (8 for the term) but a controversial penalty saw Dwight Gayle level 20 minutes later before Jason Puncheon landed the killer blow in the 80th minute to give the Eagles a first win since November 23.
Sunday's fixtures see sixth-placed Arsenal host 11th-placed Stoke City while Southampton will look to replace Manchester United in third when they head to Old Trafford.
2014/15 Barclays Premier League - season scores
Sunderland: 0 (red card: Liam Bridcutt 49') Liverpool: 1 (Lazar Markovic 9') Stadium of Light, Sunderland - 45,369
Burnley: 2 (Scott Arfield 12', Danny Ings 37') QPR: 1 (Charlie Austin (p) 33') Turf Moor, Burnley - 17,523
Chelsea: 2 (Oscar 43', Diego Costa 59') Newcastle United: 0 Stamford Bridge, London - 41,612
Everton: 1 (Steven Naismith 78') Manchester City: 1 (Fernandinho 74') Goodison Park, Liverpool - 39,499
Leicester City: 1 (Paul Konchesky 45+1', red card: Matthew James 90+3') Aston Villa: 0 (red card: Ciaran Clark 90+4') King Power Stadium, Leicester - 31,728
Swansea City: 1 (Mark Noble (og) 74') West Ham United: 1 (Andy Carroll 43') Liberty Stadium, Swansea - 20,745
West Bromwich Albion: 1 (Saido Berahino 78') Hull City: 0 The Hawthorns, West Bromwich - 24,818
Crystal Palace: 2 (Dwight Gayle (p) 69', Jason Puncheon 80') Tottenham: 1 (Harry Kane 49') Selhurst Park, London - 24,193
