Frank Lampard underlined his value to Chelsea with a well-taken double that secured a 2-1 win at Everton yesterday to move the Blues back into third place in the Premier League.
The subject of intense speculation about his future at Stamford Bridge, midfielder Lampard reminded Chelsea's power-brokers of his class as he scored either side of halftime to cancel out Steven Pienaar's thunderbolt strike after just 63 seconds.
Chelsea's fourth successive league win under interim manager Rafael Benitez lifted them to within four points of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
Bottom side Queens Park Rangers hosted 10th-placed Liverpool in a late kickoff.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Manchester United maintained its seven-point cushion to stay at the top of the standings. Another stunning goal from Robin van Persie sealed a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford on the highest scoring day of the season.
Second-place Manchester City held on to beat Norwich 4-3 with 10 men to stay in contention, while Arsenal hammered Newcastle 7-3 on a day that brought 35 goals in eight matches.
United was more than content with two goals. Gareth McAuley's early own goal and a league-high 14th strike of the campaign by substitute Van Persie in the final minute earned the team a seventh straight home win, leaving City with a mountain to climb to catch its fierce rival.
"We're in a good position. We're halfway there," United manager Alex Ferguson said.
The reigning champions withstood the first-half dismissal of Samir Nasri for an apparent head butt to hold off Norwich, with Edin Dzeko (2) and Sergio Aguero answering manager Roberto Mancini's call for more goals from his strikers.
"Today we showed we are there for the title," Mancini said.
At Emirates Stadium, Theo Walcott - playing again as a central striker - grabbed a hat trick and substitute Olivier Giroud scored twice in a match that featured eight goals in a riveting second half. It equaled the second highest-scoring game in Premier League history, behind Portsmouth's 7-4 victory over Reading in 2007.
At the other end of the standings, Reading climbed three points clear of last-place Queens Park Rangers by beating West Ham 1-0 thanks to Pavel Pogrebnyak's fifth-minute goal. It was only Reading's second win of the season.
Southampton slipped into the relegation zone despite drawing 3-3 at Stoke. Wigan defeated Aston Villa 3-0 at Villa Park.
Fulham's poor form continued with a 2-1 home loss to Swansea, leaving the hosts with just one win in 12 league games.