Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday as Peter Crouch scored what could possibly be his best goal as a professional player. Stoke's Crouch smashed the ball from outside the penalty area into the top-left corner of the net, leaving Joe Hart no chance of saving his shot.

City managed to find a response through Yaya Toure in the 76th minute, but it was not enough as United were given a chance to go three points clear, against Fulham on Monday.

And that is exactly what Sir Alex Ferguson's team managed to do in an unspectacular fashion, as they Wayne Rooney's close-range effort was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday. Their sixth consecutive league victory leaves them with a three-point cushion with eight games left in the 2011-12 season.

Tottenham Hotspur were held to a goalless draw with Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday. This allowed Spurs to maintain their five-point lead over Chelsea for the last Champions League spot for next year.

The only winner from the London Derby though, however, was Arsenal, as they comfortably beat Aston Villa 3-0 at The Emirates on Saturday, consolidating their place in the top three, opening a three-point gap over fierce rivals Tottenham. Kieran Gibbs opened the scoring in the 16th minute, and Theo Walcott ended Aston Villa's chances of coming back into the game in the 25th minute. Mikel Arteta capped off a fine performance with a brilliant long range free kick in the 93rd minute.

Elsewhere, Liverpool's poor run of form in the Premier League continued as they were shocked by Wigan at home. Liverpool have now won just one of their last seven games, sitting eight points behind 6th-placed Newcastle United. Those Magpies from Newcastle, on the other hand, managed to catch up with Chelsea by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1. Cisse and Ben Arfa scored three goals in 34 minutes, effectively ending the tie in the first half.

Meanwhile, Bolton beat Blackburn 2-1, as David Wheater scored twice at The Reebok on Saturday. The win saw Owen Coyle's men climb out of the drop zone with a game in hand. Swansea were denied a chance to extend their 3-game winning run as Everton ended up winners at the Liberty Stadium. Leighton Baines scored an amazing freekick to give Everton a 1-0 lead, after which Jelavic ended Swansea's chances of coming back into the game in the 76th minute, the game ending with a 2-0 scoreline.

 

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