Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 13th goal of the season while Park Ji-sung and Michael Carrick got their first as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3-1 to maintain their six-point Premiership lead.
United, who have not lost to Villa for 12 years, have 57 points to the 51 of Chelsea, who ended a run of three straight league draws with a 4-0 home win over Wigan Athletic.
Liverpool, knocked out of League and FA Cups by Arsenal in the last week, continued their strong league form with their seventh win from the last eight - 3-0 at Watford - to consolidate third place on 43.
Middlesbrough won 3-1 at Charlton Athletic, Sheffield United drew 1-1 with Portsmouth, West Ham United and Fulham ended 3-3 while Bolton Wanderers against Manchester City was goalless.