Chelsea Third After Eight, United's Lead Now Only Four After Draw

Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa: Chelsea reclaim third, with a game in hand, after spanking a very sorry and lacklustre Villa. The thrashing began after just three minutes when Torres scored a decent header. David Luiz was moved into midfield for this match and marked with a Ronaldo-esque free-kick just before the half hour mark. It would be 3-0 before half-time when Branislav Ivanovic finished off a half-cleared corner 11-minutes before the whistle. There was no change from Villa in the second half and a cool finish from Frank Lampard 13-minutes after the restart marked his 100th goal in London. Substitute Ramires made it 5-0 on 75-minutes before fellow substitute Oscar converted a penalty four minutes later, which he had won. Eden Hazard made it seven seven minutes before the end and third substitute Lucas Piazon could have marked his Premiership debut with a goal, but his penalty kick was smartly saved by Brad Guzan. Chelsea weren't to be denied their eighth though and Ramires would get his second in injury time. This sorry result leaves Villa three points ahead of relegation.

Swansea 1-1 Manchester United: United lose two points of their lead although this game has now become about Sir Alex Ferguson and Ashley Williams, not a great game for the neutral or a fantastic point for Swansea. United took the lead just after the quarter of an hour mark when Patrice Evra headed a corner home for his third goal of the season. But Swansea levelled just before the half hour mark when a defensive lapse saw Jonathan De Guzman through but his shot was parried by David De Gea, only for Michu to follow it up for his 13th goal of the season. United did come closest to winning the game when Robin Van Persie and Michael Carrick both hit the bar. But the game will be remembered for a foul on the Dutchman; after the whistle had gone Williams smashed the ball into the back of Van Persie's head from minimal distance. The Dutchman instantly got up and tried to tussle with the Welshman. Both received a yellow card for their parts in the brawl. Williams protested his innocence by saying it was just a reactive clearance that unluckily hit Van Persie. But replays showed Williams was looking at the Dutchman when he kicked the ball, and it was this that enraged Fergie the most. He feels that Williams should be banned for a long, long time even though he already got booked as he thinks he could have killed Van Persie.

Manchester City 1-0 Reading: Reading were seconds away from reaching double figures before Christmas at the Etihad. The only goal of the game came in the 93rd minute from a diving Gareth Barry header. The win for City sees them go four points behind Manchester United.

Wigan 0-1 Arsenal: In the season of good will, Arsene Wenger will be grateful for the present from Jon Moss. The referee awarded a penalty to the visitors when Theo Walcott went down far too easily under slight contact from Jean Beausejour. Mikel Arteta converted the penalty on the hour to put them fourth on goal difference. Wigan will remain in the bottom three over Christmas, although only on goal difference.

West Ham 1-2 Everton: Everton go fifth on goal difference, level with Arsenal, Tottenham and West Brom, as Chelsea play the first of their games in hand tomorrow just a point behind. The opening goal of the came on 14-minutes when Carlton Cole scored from outside the box. Everton levelled on 64-minutes through Victor Anichebe and three minutes later, West Ham were down to ten when Cole was given a straight red for a simple high foot. Everton took full advantage with Steve Pienaar making it 2-1 on 73-minutes. Referee Anthony Taylor then levelled things up when he issued Darron Gibson a straight red for another innocuous high foot in injury time. 

Liverpool 4-0 Fulham: Liverpool move into the top half of the table after this crushing victory over Fulham. Martin Skrtel broke the deadlock on eight minutes when he fired a bullet half-volley from a corner home. Steven Gerrard latched onto a fantastic Luis Suarez through ball to slot home and make it 2-0 nine minutes before half-time. Stewart Downing guaranteed the points six minutes into the second half when he cut inside and finished well. Suarez had the final say in injury time with Liverpool's fourth from a small pull back. 

West Brom 2-1 Norwich: West Brom end a four match streak without a victory to go level on points with Everton, Tottenham and Arsenal. Norwich actually took the lead on 23-minutes through Robert Snodgrass. West Brom got their crucial equaliser two minutes before half-time thanks to Zoltan Gera. The winner came eight minutes from the end when Romelu Lukaku scored his sixth of the season. Norwich remain in the top half despite the defeat.

Southampton 0-1 Sunderland: Southampton remain out of the bottom three on goal difference despite this defeat. There was no surprise to see that the only goal in the game came from Steven Fletcher three minutes before half-time, his eighth of the season. The win for Sunderland sees them move four points ahead of the relegation zone. 

Newcastle 1-0 QPR: QPR remain five points from safety after Harry Redknapp's first defeat in charge. The winner came nine minutes from the end when substitute Shola Ameobi performed a fake shot before placing the ball into the bottom corner, his first since March. The win for Newcastle sees them move five points clear of the drop. 

Tottenham 0-0 Stoke: Spurs drop to sixth on goal difference after this goalless draw. The point sees Stoke in ninth place, level on points with Liverpool above them and Norwich below them. Tottenham had the more frequent and better chances, but they couldn't put the ball past Asmir Begovic.