United aglow as Blues bow to City

Frank Lampard's missed penalty handed Manchester City FC a 2-1 win against Premier League leaders Chelsea FC, with a 4-0 win at West Ham United FC allowing Manchester United FC to make up valuable ground.

Fateful miss
Only two points separate the top two in England after City finally ended a bizarre run of seven successive league draws to beat Chelsea. Mark Hughes' side were unlucky to go behind after eight minutes when Shay Given's save from Nicolas Anelka rebounded into his own net off Emmanuel Adebayor, but the former Arsenal FC striker made amends before half-time, stabbing home the rebound from a Shaun Wright-Phillips shot. Former United man Carlos Tévez then gave city the lead with a 56th-minute free-kick, but Lampard missed the chance to salvage a point, with his penalty saved by Given following a foul on Didier Drogba with less than ten minutes remaining.

United rout
Earlier in the day, a rousing second-half performance at Upton Park earned Sir Alex Ferguson's United a comfortable victory over West Ham. Paul Scholes chested down to smash home United's opener in first-half added time, with Darron Gibson striking a fine second after just after the hour mark after being set up by Ryan Giggs. Antonio Valencia then slid in to nudge home a third before setting up Wayne Rooney to make it 4-0 barely a minute later.

Villa success
Cesc Fàbregas missed a first-half penalty for Arsenal, but they still beat Stoke City FC 2-0, with Andrei Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey on target. Liverpool FC, meanwhile, were held to a 0-0 draw at Blackburn Rovers FC, with Aston Villa FC taking full advantage, securing fifth place in the table with a 3-0 win against Hull City AFC. Villa's local rivals Birmingham City FC won 3-2 at Wigan Athletic FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC won 2-1 against fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers FC, while the day's early fixture saw bottom side Portsmouth FC net a 2-0 triumph against Burnley FC.