Manchester City brought Manchester United's lead back to 15 points, while Arsenal and Tottenham picked up victories as Chelsea crashed to a disappointing defeat at Southampton.
United had gone 18 points clear with their comfortable 1-0 win over Sunderland earlier, and City needed to hit back with three points of their own, which they did in some style easing past Newcastle United 4-0.
Late goals in the first half from Carlos Tevez and David Silva settled the issue at the Etihad, before the returning Vincent Kompany and an own goal from James Perch added the gloss for the reigning champions who are basically only playing for second place.
The race for the top four is much more interesting with four teams fighting it out for the two spots available, and Arsenal and Tottenham came out smelling like roses with Chelsea leaving with a very foul taste in their mouth.
The Blues were a point clear of Spurs and five ahead of the Gunners going into the game, however, after the round of fixtures on Saturday, Chelsea now find themselves a place down and probably facing an uphill battle to stay in the top four.
Chelsea went down 2-1 to Southampton, who again raised their game against the bigger teams at St. Mary's. The Saints already had the scalps of Manchester City and Liverpool this season and they added Chelsea to that list.
Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring for the Saints in the 23rd minute, before Chelsea skipper John Terry made it 1-1 ten minutes later.
However, Southampton did not take too long to restore their lead, with the excellent Rickie Lambert firing home what proved to be the winner in the 35th minute. Rafa Benitez will have plenty of questions to answer, because at the end of the day Champions League qualification is the priority for Chelsea, even if they might have a crucial F.A. Cup quarterfinal replay against Manchester United Monday.
At the Emirates, it was the Santi Cazorla and Gervinho show as Arsenal ran riot against Reading, in a 4-1 win, which could have easily gone into double figures, if not for some heroic last-ditch defending from the away side.
Cazorla and Gervinho were at their creative best, with both players scoring one while adding three assists together in one of the easiest wins that Arsenal have had all season.
Gervinho opened the scoring, latching onto a cross-shot from Cazorla in the 11th minute. Arsenal absolutely battered Reading for the rest of the first half, but the scoreline somehow remained 1-0.
Cazorla, however, put the game to bed three minutes into the second half, curling home a delightful strike into the bottom corner off a setup from Gervinho.
The Ivory Coast international then turned provider for Olivier Giroud, who struck a shot pure into the bottom corner via a classic counter-attack.
Hal Robson-Kanu made it 3-1 in one of Reading's rare forays into the Arsenal half, before substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won a penalty seconds after coming on, which Mikel Arteta duly dispatched with aplomb.
At the Liberty Stadium, Gareth Bale was the main man yet again as Spurs held on for a 2-1 victory over Swansea.
Jan Vertonghen opened the scoring, off a Bale assist, before the marauding Welshman got in on the act, with an absolutely brilliant finish into the top corner.
Swansea gave themselves a chance of a comeback with a goal from Michu with 20 minutes remaining, but Spurs came away with a deserved three points.
Elsewhere, Wigan picked up a vital 1-0 win over Norwich to climb out of the relegation zone, while West Ham hammered West Brom 3-1.
Results: Sunderland 0-1 Manchester United; Arsenal 4-1 Reading; Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle; Southampton 2-1 Chelsea; Swansea 1-2 Tottenham; West Ham 3-1 West Brom; Wigan 1-0 Norwich.
