England forward Raheem Sterling's 100th Premier League goal was enough to earn leaders Manchester City a 1-0 win over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves did a fine job of frustrating City in the opening period, before striker Raul Jimenez's dismissal for two yellow cards in quick succession in first-half stoppage time changed the complexion of the game.
City dominated the second half as a result, edging in front through Sterling's penalty - a decision that required a lengthy video check - in the 66th minute.
The home side had plenty of chances to make the result more comfortable, with Jack Grealish's struggles since becoming the British record transfer during the season continuing, as he missed from close range.
One goal proved enough for City, who picked up their sixth successive league win to maintain a one-point lead over Liverpool.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted a 75th-minute penalty to give Manchester United a 1-0 win at Norwich City, after the visitors struggled to create chances at Carrow Road.
The result lifted United to fifth place in the standings on 27 points from 16 games, behind fourth-placed West Ham United on goal difference, while Norwich stayed bottom on 10 points.
Ralf Rangnick will be pleased United kept a second successive clean sheet in the league under his tenure, but they lacked cutting edge, until Ronaldo drove in the spot-kick, after he was hauled down by home defender Max Aarons.
Ronaldo saw a shot beaten away by Tim Krul in the 37th minute and the home goalkeeper also tipped over a Harry Maguire header on the stroke of halftime, after Alex Telles hit the bar with a deflected free kick early on.
United fizzled out in the second half and Norwich looked more likely to break the deadlock, as David De Gea kept out a Teemu Pukki shot from the edge of the area, before Ronaldo struck, sending Krul the wrong way.
The home side piled on pressure in the closing stages and De Gea rescued United again, when he clawed out an Ozan Kabak header, before Eric Bailly deflected a Billy Gilmour shot with a last-gasp lunge.
Steven Gerrard's return to Anfield as Aston Villa manager ended in a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool, with a 67th minute Mohamed Salah penalty keeping the Merseysiders behind Premier League leaders Manchester City.
There was little fanfare for Gerrard - the Liverpool-born former captain and Champions League winner - as he took his place in the technical area and from the opening moments, he had clearly set his side up well to frustrate his old club.
Liverpool dominated the first half, with Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez doing well to save efforts from Andy Robertson and Salah.
After the break, Martinez produced a brilliant reflex stop to keep out a powerful header from Virgil van Dijk, but Liverpool's pressure finally paid off, when Salah went down in the box under challenge from Tyrone Mings.
Chelsea got their title challenge back on track with a dramatic 3-2 home win over Leeds United, settled by an injury-time penalty by Jorginho, who had earlier scored another spot kick.
In the 28th minute, Leeds went ahead against the run of play, when Daniel James went down under a challenge by Marcos Alonso to win a penalty that Brazilian playmaker Raphinha stroked home.
Chelsea, who lost last weekend at West Ham United, looked stunned, as they contemplated the prospect of conceding more ground to table-toppers Manchester City.
But the Blues clawed their way back into the game, when Alonso, trying to atone for his earlier error, stole the ball from Stuart Dallas, exchanged passes with Timo Werner and crossed for Mason Mount to score with a first-time angled shot.
Thomas Tuchel's men turned the game around, when referee Chris Kavanagh - after a video check - awarded them a penalty for a Raphinha challenge on Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho fired high into the net.
Chelsea were caught out in the 83rd minute, when 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt, barely on the field as a substitute, connected with a Tyler Roberts cross to score his first league goal.
But just when the Blues looked like they had slipped further behind in the title race, Rudiger went down under a challenge by Mateusz Klich and Jorginho rolled the ball home, choosing the other side of the goal to his first penalty strike.
The win left Chelsea in third place with 36 points.
Arsenal weathered storms on and off the pitch, before coasting to a 3-0 win over Southampton, as boss Mikel Arteta dropped captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the matchday squad for "disciplinary reasons".
Southampton had the better of the opening exchanges on a rainy afternoon, but Arsenal took the lead in the 21st minute, breaking through the visitors' high press, before Bukayo Saka squared to Alexandre Lacazette, who fired home.
Six minutes later, the Gunners went two up, when Southampton's slack defending was punished by Martin Odegaard, as Kieran Tierney's attempted cross bounced back to him and he headed the ball across the goal for the Norwegian to nod home.
Defender Gabriel had a goal ruled out for offside on the hour mark, but popped up again a few minutes later to make it 3-0 and leave Arsenal fifth on 26 points, while Southampton are 16th on 16 points.
Reuters.
