With seven games to go in the Premier League this season, Sir Alex Ferguson's men came closer to their 20th league title.

Their 2-0 win against Blackburn at Ewood Park on Monday saw them go five points clear of fierce rivals Manchester City. Manager Roberto Mancini's squad faltered at the Etihad against Sunderland on Saturday in a thrilling 3-3 tie that saw Martin O'Neill's men go up twice, only to be pegged back by two late goals.

Sebastian Larsson set the ball rolling in the 30th minute with a goal from the edge of the penalty box, and scored again in the 55th minute, but not before Balotelli scored a penalty in the 43rd minute, followed by a late goal in the first half from Nicklas Bendtner. Sunderland held on until late in the second half, as City scored two goals in sixty seconds, Mario Balotelli and Aleksandar Koralov getting themselves onto the scoresheet.

But it was not enough as City dropped two more important points, and with it, the Premier League began slowly slipping from their grasp.

The red side of Manchester was celebrating, however, as United grabbed all three points at Ewood Park. Two late goals from Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young in the 81st and 86th minute respectively were enough to take United five points clear of City.

Arsenal's recent run of form ended abruptly as Mark Hughes' QPR beat Arsene Wenger's men 2-1 at Loftus Road on Saturday. Adel Taarabt and Samba Diakite scored for the Rangers, and Theo Walcott scored Arsenal's lone goal.

QPR manager Mark Hughes, incidentally, has a record of managing teams that have done well against Arsenal - for instance, as the manager of Manchester City, Hughes' squad won 4-2 and 5-1 in one season against Wenger's men.

Chelsea's fine form under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo continued as they beat Aston Villa 4-2 at Villa Park on Saturday.

Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring in the 9th minute, and Branislav Ivanovic managed to get himself two goals, while Fernando Torres managed to get himself a goal in the dying minutes of the game. Aston Villa came back from 2-0 down to go 2-2, as James Collins and Eric Lichaj scored two goals in a span of three minutes - but Ivanovic added a second in the 83rd minute three minutes after Villa scored twice, and Torres' goal put the tie to bed.

Chelsea are currently five points behind fourth-placeTottenham Hotspur, who comfortably beat Brendan Rodgers' side 3-1 at the White Hart Lane. Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring with a goal from just outside the penalty area, and though Gylfi Sigurdsson's 59th minute equalizer gave the Swans hope, Emmanuel Adebayor added two goals to Van der Vaart's first, in the 72nd and 86th minute, putting the Spurs equal on points with third-placed Arsenal with seven games to go.

And in arguably the most interesting tie this weekend, Alan Pardew's Newcastle beat Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool at St. James' Park 2-0.

Papiss Cisse scored twice to give the Magpies a ten-point lead over seventh-placed Everton, who are one point above Merseyside rivals Liverpool.

The highlight of the game involved Andy Carroll, who was returning to his former club, attempting to win a penalty from a clear scoring position by diving (albeit in a poor manner). Referee Martin Atkinson saw right through Carroll's dive and booked the English forward for simulation. Replays showed that Carroll had a good chance of scoring if he had decided to stay on his feet - instead, he was booked, Liverpool eventually lost, and Dalglish's exorbitant spending continues to be questioned as the Reds struggle in eighth.