Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points after they won 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Manchester United FC went down to a 3-1 defeat at Everton.

Playing in the day's early kick-off, United had the chance to regain top spot and put pressure on Chelsea. They looked on their way to three points when Dimitar Berbatov struck in the 16th minute, driving in off the crossbar. However, the hosts replied almost immediately through Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's swerving effort from 20 metres that left United keeper Edwin van der Sar rooted to the spot and found the bottom corner.

Both sides squandered clear openings before Everton took a grasp on the game with 14 minutes remaining, substitute Dan Gosling steering in Steven Pienaar's driven cross. Jack Rodwell then burst clear late on to add a third as the hosts picked up consecutive top-flight wins against the division's top two. Chelsea again had Didier Drogba to thank for victory as he struck twice – his 18th and 19th Premier League goals of the season – to secure three points at Molineux.

Arsenal FC kept up the chase on the leading pair, moving to within two points of United with a 2-0 home win against Sunderland AFC, Nicklas Bendtner and Cesc Fàbregas landing the key blows. In the lower half of the table, West Ham United FC eased their relegation worries with a 3-0 victory at home to fellow strugglers Hull City AFC while Salif Diao struck in added time to consign bottom-placed Portsmouth FC to a 2-1 defeat by Stoke City FC.