Both Manchester clubs were held to draws while Tottenham continued their storming run.
Manchester dominance curbed by Liverpool and Newcastle
An action-packed weekend of Premier League action saw both Manchester clubs held to draws while Tottenham continued their storming run.
Leaders City were denied an eighth successive win on Sunday after they were held on Merseyside by Liverpool, while second-placed United shared the spoils with surprise high-fliers Newcastle the day before.
Elsewhere, Spurs secured their fifth win on the bounce with a convincing triumph at West Brom but North London rivals Arsenal were held by a resilient Fulham side at Emirates Stadium and Aston Villa's trip to Swansea also ended in a draw.
Chelsea got their campaign back on track with victory at home to Wolves, while Stoke were also winners on their own turf, seeing off rock-bottom Blackburn.
Struggling Wigan enjoyed a much-needed win at Sunderland, Norwich edged past QPR and Everton worked hard to triumph over 10-man Bolton.
Frustrated
Leaders Manchester City could only manage a point at Liverpool after Joleon Lescott's own goal cancelled out Vincent Kompany's opener
for a 1-1 draw. City made the brighter start at Anfield when Kompany opened the scoring in the 31st minute but the match was back on level terms almost immediately when Lescott put through his own net. Roberto Mancini called Mario Balotelli into action from the bench in the second half as City hunted for the winner but the volatile striker was soon walking back to the stands after earning two yellow cards in the space of six minutes to incur an 83rd minute dismissal. The Reds pushed for a late goal in the dying stages but 10-man City held on to remain unbeaten this season with a five-point cushion at the top.
City's local rivals Manchester United failed to recover their best form as they were also
held to a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle. After a goalless first half, Javier Hernandez finally broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 49th minute when Steven Taylor's unsuccessful clearance ricocheted off the Mexican hitman and into the net. The Magpies equalised in controversial fashion 15 minutes later when Demba Ba converted a penalty after referee Mike Jones adjudged Rio Ferdinand to have fouled Hatem Ben Arfa in the area, despite having previously appeared to signal for a corner. Toon midfielder Jonas Gutierrez was then dismissed after a second booking to trigger an onslaught from United as they desperately searched for the winner, but the 10-man visitors held on for a point.
That result sees Newcastle retain their spot in fourth and leaves them two points behind Tottenham, who extended their unbeaten run to an impressive 10 games with a
3-1 victory at West Brom. In-form Emmanuel Adebayor was the star of the afternoon once again for Harry Redknapp's side, notching a goal either side of Jermain Defoe's 81st-minute strike. The Baggies had gone ahead through Youssouf Mulumbu early in the Hawthorns encounter but the hosts' lead was short-lived as Adebayor levelled things up in the 25th minute before adding another in stoppage-time after Defoe had netted late on to put Spurs' win beyond doubt. The North
