Weekend review

Arsenal lacked the necessary bite to remain in the title race

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Arsenal slipped further out of the title race after failing to learn from their loss seven days prior while Liverpool enjoyed a positive weekend regarding their target of fourth place.

Elsewhere, Manchester United battered woeful Portsmouth to temporarily move to the summit, Hull City capped off a marvellous week after they saw off Roberto Mancini's Manchester City, Brian Laws earned his first win as Burnley boss while Kevin Phillips was the star of the show for Birmingham City.

In the last kick-off of the weekend, Didier Drogba surprised few when he was the man to capitalise on yet more shoddy defending from Arsenal to hand Chelsea the lead at Stamford Bridge. And, despite a rousing attempt to find a leveller from the Gunners, it was pretty much game over when the powerhouse that is Drogba rounded off a flowing counter-attack in the 23rd minute. One can argue that Arsenal, losers against United last weekend, were the better footballing side on the day - and one would be right - but Chelsea performed better in the areas that matter more: defending solidly while being clinical in front of goal. These are the signs of champions. It was a case of so near and yet so far for Arsenal, who play Liverpool on Wednesday.

Liverpool met Merseyside foes Everton on Saturday lunchtime with both sides in decent form. The match, however, was not so much a football encounter, rather a brutish affair. Tackles flew in wildly, some of which often crossed the line into recklessness. And the fixture lived up to its reputation when Sotirios Kyrgiakos was sent off for being involved in a meaty challenge with Marouane Fellaini, who can arguably count himself lucky not have also been handed his marching orders. Dirk Kuyt was the Reds' hero when he popped up with the winning goal against a lacklustre Toffees, who later had Steven Pienaar sent off for an innocuous looking charge, despite earlier committing a high and dangerous tackle on Javier Mascherano.

Prior to Chelsea returning to the top of the table, Manchester United had done their bit by breezing past bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth, albeit via some slices of help from their opponents. After Pompey had flirted with causing an upset, Wayne Rooney kept up his incredible run as he opened the scoring on 40 minutes. Then Anthony Vanden Borre diverted into his own net before Michael Carrick's strike clipped off Richard Hughes and nestled home. Dimitar Berbatov made it 4-0 before another own goal, this time through Marc Wilson, completed the rout - if we are counting Hughes' effort, that is now nine own goals scored for United this season. Pompey appear more and more doomed, with seven points now separating them from safety. They next host Sunderland at home on Tuesday in what is a must-win match for both sides.

Despite holding Chelsea to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, only the minority will have predicted another shock result for Hull City against Manchester City. Yet when American youngster Jozy Altidore grabbed his first league goal in English football it looked like being one of those days for the visitors. Indeed, the Tigers are turning the KC Stadium into something of a fortress, which is good considering they have not won on their travels this term. The unlikely goalscoring figure of George Boateng made it 2-0 with a fine strike in the second half. Emmanuel Adebayor did pull one back for City while Patrick Vieira made his debut, but it was not enough for Mancini, whom, lest we forget, received an outrageous amount of praise from some media quarters after his bright, yet unremarkable, start. That was premature praise.

Burnley boss Laws was an evidently, and rightly, delighted man come the final whistle of his side's 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers West Ham United. It was not only a first win for Laws but also the Clarets' first taste of success since Halloween 2009. In spite of such a drought, Burnley now sit higher than the Hammers in the table by two points, such was their excellent start. David Nugent got the ball rolling as he lobbed high over Robert Green in the first period. In the second half, debutant Daniel Fox doubled the hosts' lead with an exquisite free-kick. West Ham salvaged some hope with nine minutes remaining thanks to Ilan's goal, but, despite a nervy finish and the post being struck, Burnley held on. Two massive games now await the Hammers.

Birmingham returned to winning ways after what they might consider - in the grand scheme of their fine season to date - a mini slump. The Blues headed into their meeting with Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers having not won any of their last three matches. Things looked to be going Wolves' way at St Andrews when Kevin Doyle popped up to hand them the advantage. But Blues boss Alex McLeish threw on veteran striker Phillips in an attempt to turn the tide. And the move paid dividends as Phillips first equalised and then secured a memorable brace and comeback with five minutes remaining. It marked Birmingham's 10th win of the season, double the number of triumphs achieved by Wolves.

Tony Pulis marked his 300th game in charge of Stoke City with a 3-0 triumph against Blackburn Rovers. Matthew Etherington was the star of the show for the Potters, with the left winger bagging his side's third goal after Danny Higginbotham and Mamady Sidibe had scored in the first half. At 28-years-old and having not represented England at senior level, Etherington is pushing hard for a chance to impress Fabio Capello at one of the forthcoming friendlies. For Blackburn, the loss was a first in four outings as it brought to an end a decent string of results. The Lancashire side also saw defender Christopher Samba dismissed after he received a second yellow card on 59 minutes.

Those hoping for a game raining goals in North London left White Hart Lane disappointed after Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa played out a goalless draw. In fact, the result should have come as little surprise: the stalemate was Spurs' fourth in seven matches, while Villa's mean defence was never likely to give away many, if any, goals. Like the meeting between the pair earlier this season, Tottenham had the better of the chances but were denied by some resilient Villa defending and some fine goalkeeping from Brad Friedel. Spurs will likely be kicking themselves after stuttering of late - they now lie a point behind fourth-placed Liverpool. Villa, meanwhile, sit seventh but could move level on points with the Reds should they win their game in hand.

Sunderland and Wigan played out a draw that they both could have done without. Mohamed Diame broke the deadlock with a stunning shot but the Latics were unable to grab that elusive second goal and the Black Cats made them pay when Kenwyne Jones headed in a leveller which proved the final strike of the game. Frustration for both managers who see their sides separated by two points and worryingly close to the bottom three, although Wigan have a game in hand. Sunderland, who have suffered a staggering decline, now face back-to-back away games against Portsmouth and Arsenal while Wigan play the Potters and then Bolton.

Bolton Wanderers' clash with Fulham finished in a 0-0 stalemate, although the former can rightly feel aggrieved after having a seemingly fair goal ruled out at the death. With just minutes left of the clock, striker Kevin Davies headed home only for the effort to be disallowed by referee Mark Clattenburg for an alleged push on Brede Hangeland. Trotters boss Owen Coyle was less than pleased with the decision that cost his side the chance to rise to 14th in the table. It was, however, a second clean sheet achieved under Coyle; that is two more than former boss Gary Megson accumulated under his stewardship this season. For Fulham, their injury crisis is cause for concern.