Ratings review

Lampard: Weekend's star man

Also see

• Sky Sports experts
• Fantasy Football
• Sky Sports Twitter
• £20 Free Bet

There can surely be only one winner of this week's star man award with a haul of four goals, an assist and a man of the match award - Frank Lampard.

England ace Lampard was instrumental in Chelsea's 7-1 demolition job of UEFA Champions League hopeful Aston Villa as Carlo Ancelotti's side did their goal difference in the title race no harm.

Lampard scored two penalties and concerted two others as The Blues made a mockery of Villa's previously impressive defensive record while also avenging their 2-1 defeat at Villa Park earlier in the season.

It comes as no surprise that Lampard registered ratings of nine and 9.3, although personally I would have given him a perfect ten for his efforts while red-hot Florent Malouda picked up a nine and 8.7 for his brace.

Only two of Villa's players, John Carew and Ashley Young, mustered a rating over 5 while left-back Stephen Warnock came out at the bottom of Martin O'Neill's pile with scores of three and 3.3.

Manchester United might have been without star striker Wayne Rooney against Bolton, who had been hard to beat on home soil, but The Reebok proved a very small obstacle for The Red Devils regardless.

Dimitar Berbatov excelled in the lone striker role (nine and 8.9) while Nani also starred for Sir Alex Ferguson's side putting on two goals as the visitors cruised to a 4-0 success.

Johan Elmander's tireless display up front earned him an impressive eight from our man at the match, although the home fans were not bowled over by his efforts and gave him just 5.1 as Owen Coyle's side slumped to defeat.

Biggest losers

Arsenal were the big losers in the title race after surrendering a late advantage and being held to a 1-1 draw against Birmingham City at St Andrews.

The venue proved an unhappy ground for The Gunners two years ago and they were unable to banish the memory of that fateful day with more dropped points at the weekend.

There was a full spectrum of ratings on show with Abou Diaby (nine and 7.5) shining while Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy, Sol Campbell, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky were all given fives.

On-loan keeper Joe Hart was Blues' star man (eight and 7.2) although a few of Alex McLeish's men had an off day with the likes of James McFadden (four and 5.4) and the usually reliable Lee Bowyer (five and 6.0) failing to impress.

At the foot of the table rock-bottom Portsmouth look doomed following a convincing 2-0 defeat to European chasing Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Gareth Bale continues to shine on the left wing (eight and 8.3) while Luka Modric also fared well with a 8.3 from fans. Only Steve Finnan and Hermann Hreidarsson emerged with any credit with both landing sevens while Hayden Mullins was their lowest performer with a 3.6.

Stoke inflicted more pain on relegation-threatened West Ham with a 1-0 success at Upton Park. Robert Huth, Rory Delap and Rory Delap all secured steady sevens while Valon Behrami's poor finishing saw him handed a 4.3 from Hammers fans.

Piled on the pressure

Hull City piled the pressure on their rivals with a 2-0 win over high-flying Fulham. Jimmy Bulled (eight and 7.5) pulled the strings in midfield for Iain Dowie's side although American striker Jozy Altidore took the plaudits with a lofty nine and 9.4 rating. Only Chris Baird (seven) secured any credit with Nicky Shorey, Bjorn Helge Riise and Kagiso Dikgacoi (all fours) struggling.

Wolves edged closed to Premier League safety with a hard-fought goalless draw at home to Everton. Veteran defender Jody Craddock is often Wolves' most consistent performer and he was Mick McCarthy's ace in the pack with an eight and 8.5 performance. No one stood out for The Toffees, who might have lacked the creativity provided by Mikel Arteta.

It was men against boys at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool put Sunderland to the sword. The Black Cats were unable to contain in-form Fernando Torres (nine and 9.3) while England internationals Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard impressed against Steve Bruce's charges. Craig Gordon and Lorik Cana got sevens from our man on Merseyside, although their fans' ratings were not as high.

Blackburn secured bragging rights in Lancashire with a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Burnley. David Dunn (seven and 7.3) grabbed the only goal of the game, but it was defender Martin Olsson (eight and 7.9) who was the visitors' biggest threat.

Last but not least Manchester City stayed in the hunt for a top-four finish with a 3-0 victory over Wigan. Gary Caldwell's (five and 3.9) dismissal proved the turning point as The Latics succumbed to a blistering 12-minute hat-trick from Argentina ace Carlos Tevez (nine and 9.1).

Stay with skysports.com for another ratings review next week as the Premier League title race enters the final stretch.