Manchester United and Manchester City pulled away from the rest of the pack with hard fought victories in the English Premier League, as Chelsea and Arsenal stuttered yet again.
Robin Van Persie scored the only goal for United in the very first minute to give his side all three points and ensure they stayed top of the table, one clear of City, who won 2-0 at Wigan.
It took just 30 seconds for United to break the deadlock, with Michael Carrick slipping the ball in for Van Persie, whose shot took a deflection of James Collins before going in.
United were rarely threatened for the rest of the 89 minutes, as they played in pretty much second gear to seal another three points.
At the DW Stadium, things were not going too smoothly for Roberto Mancini, before two goals in the space of three minutes - the first from Mario Balotelli in the 69th minute and the second for James Milner in the 72nd minute - tilted the game the defending champions' way.
At Stamford Bridge, Rafa Benitez saw his side play another dull goalless draw, this time against Fulham. Fernando Torres and co. disappointed yet again, as a struggling Chelsea side now lie seven points behind leaders United, and six behind second-placed City.
At Goodison Park, Arsenal got off to the best possible start, with Theo Walcott, playing a one-two with Aaron Ramsey before slotting the ball past Tim Howard with just over half a minute gone in the game.
Everton, however, refused to be bogged down by the early goal and took the game to Arsenal, with the away side, just like they did against Aston Villa, finding it hard to cope with the high pressure.
Arsenal, despite having more than enough possession, rarely looked like threatening the Everton goal, while looking vulnerable at the back on more than a couple of occasions. The equalizer came in the 28th minute, with Arsenal committing the cardinal sin of giving away possession in their own half.
A poor pass from Bacary Sagna, saw Everton take possession, with Marouane Fellaini, turning and brilliantly placing the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.
The second half bore the same pattern, with Everton looking much more dangerous in possession, while Arsenal looked passive, rarely threatening Howard.
No goals came about in the second period, however, as both teams went away with a point, with another disappointing result for Arsenal away from home.
At White Hart Lane, Tottenham enjoyed a brilliant early start, just like their North London rivals, with Gareth Bale running riot on the Liverpool defense. The Welsh winger created the opening goal, going on one of his trademark slaloming runs, before laying off a perfect cross for Aaron Lennon to tap in at the far post.
Bale then turned scorer, albeit with a slice of luck, as his freekick from 22 yards swerved wickedly in the air, wrong-footing Pepe Reina and nestling into the back of the net.
Liverpool had a glorious chance to get back into the game, but Luis Suarez saw his shot just cleared off the line by Kyle Walker.
The away side got back into the game in the second period, when they got on the scoresheet in bizarre circumstances.
A cross saw Steven Gerrard guide the ball towards goal with his head from the far post, only to fall perfectly for the man on the line, Lennon, to boot the ball away; however, unfortunately for Spurs, the clearance struck Bale in the face and went into the back of the net in the 72nd minute.
Liverpool huffed and puffed in the final 20 minutes, but Spurs just about held on to take a valuable three points, which will see them go above Arsenal and Everton in the table to fifth.
Results: Chelsea 0-0 Fulham; Everton 1-1 Arsenal; Southampton 1-1 Norwich; Stoke 2-1 Newcastle; Swansea 3-1 West Brom; Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool; Manchester United 1-0 West Ham; Wigan 0-2 Manchester City.
