Liverpool maintained their advantage with a slender 1 – 0 victory over Portsmouth. Tony Adams in his first game in charge after being confirmed as Harry Redknapp’s replacement looked as though his charges would suffocate their hosts before Diop handled in the area with fourteen minutes remaining, L’il Stevie Gerrard despatched the resultant penalty. Robbie Keane Watch: Well, he looked dapper in the stands and looked more likely to score with blondes around him than he does in the Premier League when he is on the pitch.

Chelsea acted tough before their defeat to Liverpool and were back to their party spoiling ways as they crushed Hull City 3 – 0 at the KC Stadium. Frank Lampard set them on their way with a third minute strike, the rout being completed by the French duo of Anelka and Malouda in the second half.

Arsenal stumbled into third place, recovering from an audacious David Bentley strike to subsequently drop a two-goal lead in their 4 – 4 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at The Emirates Stadium. A Mikael Silvestre header nine minutes before the interval cancelled out Bentley’s thirteenth minute opener, the former Gunner hammering a volley past the hapless Manuel Almunia from forty yards. William Gallas scored another header a minute into the second half before Emmanuel Adebayor added a third capitalising on Alan Hutton’s slow recovery to force the ball home. It set about a mad five minutes as Bent made it 3 – 2, scoring from Almunia’s fumble before Hutton gifted the ball to Adebayor who set Robin van Persie up for 4 – 2. It seemed that the match would fizzle out before Jermaine Jenas punished Gael Clichy’s slip to score from twenty yards. Harry Redknapp’s passionate affair with Lady Luck paid off as Aaron Lennon reacted first to Luca Modric’s shot that came back off the post in the 94th minute.

Manchester United closed in on the top four, comfortably beating West Ham United 2 – 0 at Old Trafford. Two Cristiano Ronaldo goals did the damage in the opening half-hour but it goes to fuel more flames in the fire that supports the theory he is a bit of a Johnny-Come-Lately who struggles to score away from home. Having won the FIFPro Player of the Year award, he needs to improve that aspect of his game if he is to be considered a true great of the world game.

As it was, Aston Villa came back from Stephen Warnock’s 30th minute opener to overcome Blackburn Rovers 3 – 2 at Villa Park. Luke Young equalised on the stroke of half-time, bundling the ball home with his knee after a bout of pinball in the Rovers area. The turn around came as Gareth Barry got his third in three games before Gabriel Agbonlahor scored Villa’s third from Ashley Young’s pass. A last minute Brett Emerton freekick for all its majesty was little more than a consolation.

At the other end of the table, Stoke City recorded a rare win, beating Sunderland 1 – 0 at The Britannia Stadium, Ricardo Fuller getting the games only goal. It meant that Bolton Wanderers dropped into the bottom two as they succumbed to a 90th minute Fellaini goal in their 0 – 1 defeat at home to Everton. The relegation places are completed with Wigan Athletic, their 0 – 2 reverse at Craven Cottage gave Fulham three much needed points. Andy Johnson got both, his first for the club since his move from Everton.

The North East had a ray rare of sunshine this week with both Newcastle United and Middlesbrough winning at home. The Magpies defeated West Bromwich Albion 2 – 1 at St James Park, Thug In Chief, Joey Barton gave a sickening display of chest thumping following his tenth minute penalty conversion, a lead doubled by Shola Ameobi just before the break. Although Albion pulled one back through Miller midway through the second half, the victory led Joe Kinnear to demand an end to the uncertainty and a more permanent contract. Not bad for the manager of a team who are fourth bottom.

At The Cellnet Riverside Stadium, Manchester City and their money pitched up, leading to a comprehensive mugging at the hands of Middlesbrough. Robinho’s stated aim of thirty goals in a season took a battering as did the City defence with Afonso Alves with a penalty and Gary O’Neill in the last minute did the damage.