Arsenal ended their seven match winless run in the Premier League with a surprise 3-1 London derby victory over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday while Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw at Leicester City.
Everton moved into second spot with a late winner in a 1-0 defeat of bottom club Sheffield United while Manchester City moved fifth thanks to a 2-0 win over Newcastle United.
Manchester United, who had won their last 10 away games in the Premier League, dropped to fourth on 27 points, with third-placed Leicester on 28 and a resurgent Everton on 29.
Leaders Liverpool (31) can extend their lead when they face West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Chelsea’s third defeat in four games drops them to seventh, behind Aston Villa on goal difference after Dean Smith’s side beat Crystal Palace 3-0.
Under pressure Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s troubles looked to have increased with several regulars ruled out for the visit of a Chelsea side that could have gone second with a win.
But the Gunners took the lead in the 35th minute through an Alexandre Lacazette penalty after Kieran Tierney was adjudged to have been clipped in the box by Reece James.
Nine minutes later, Granit Xhaka’s unstoppable freekick past Edouard Mendy made it 2-0.
Visibly frustrated Chelsea coach Frank Lampard replaced out-of-form Germany striker Timo Werner with winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mateo Kovacic with Jorginho at halftime but Arsenal sealed a timely win in the 56th minute when Bukayo Saka’s cross floated over Mendy and the ball went in off the post.
Tammy Abraham grabbed a late consolation from a Hudson-Odoi cross and Chelsea could have scared Arsenal further if Jorginho had not had a 90th-minute penalty saved by Bernd Leno.
“That shows you we’re able to do it when we’re at our best. Can we do it every three days? That’s the question mark we need to respond in the next weeks or so,” Arteta, whose side are in 14th spot, told reporters.
Marcus Rashford put United ahead in the 23rd minute with a cool finish after being slipped in by Bruno Fernandes but Harvey Barnes equalised eight minutes later from the edge of the box.
Fernandes restored United’s lead in the 79th minute, drilling into the bottom corner after being found inside the area by substitute Edinson Cavani.
Again though, the lead was short-lived as Vardy’s first time shot on the half-turn from a low cross from Ayoze Perez, deflected off United defender Axel Tuanzebe.
“One point is not the worst result but we’re disappointed to not get the three points against a tough side,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
Aston Villa made light of playing half the match with 10 men to thrash Crystal Palace 3-0.
Bertrand Traore put an impressive Villa side ahead early on but the hosts had Tyrone Mings dismissed shortly before the break after picking up a second yellow card.
It made little difference as they outplayed Palace in the second half with Kortney Hause heading in from close range to double their lead in the 66th minute and Anwar El Ghazi’s rasping finish 10 minutes later wrapping up the points.
Everton left it late with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 80th-minute goal earning them the points at Sheffield United.
Goals in each half from Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres allowed Manchester City to cruise past Newcastle.
City have kept their 13th clean sheet of the campaign, more than any other team within the top five European leagues this season. They travel to second-placed Everton on Monday.
Southampton were left frustrated by a 0-0 draw at Fulham as James Ward-Prowse hit the woodwork with a 26th minute freekick and both Shane Long and Theo Walcott had efforts ruled out.
Fulham remain in the relegation zone, on 11 points in 18th place, while Southampton are ninth on 25 points.
Liverpool’s hopes of opening up a menacing five-point lead at the top of the Premier League were scuppered in unlikely fashion as struggling West Bromwich Albion snatched a 1-1 draw at Anfield to leave manager Juergen Klopp scowling on Sunday.
Leading through Sadio Mane’s early goal, Klopp’s side appeared to be heading for an eighth successive home league win but a late header by Semi Ajayi left Liverpool frustrated.
Not that the weekend’s most odd result will cause Klopp a sleepless night, even though it left them with only a three-point lead over neighbours Everton.
With Leicester City and Manchester United sharing the spoils on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur had the chance to move into third spot on Sunday but conceded a late goal in a 1-1 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool lead the standings with 32 points from 15 games, with Everton on 29, Leicester on 28 and United on 27.
Tottenham have 26 points alongside Manchester City.
Leeds United beat Burnley 1-0 on Sunday with an early penalty by Patrick Bamford while Brighton and Hove Albion twice led at West Ham United but had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Tomas Soucek scoring late on for the hosts.
The hectic Christmas programme continues on Monday with the standout game being Everton’s home clash with Manchester City.
Klopp criticised West Brom’s defensive approach at Anfield but what soured the taste of his Christmas was the way his side tossed away two points by failing to kill off the game.
“The problem that I have is I think West Brom deserved the point — it’s our fault, but they deserved a point in the second half,” Klopp conceded.
“We don’t live in dream-land and just win football matches because we want to win them: we have to work for it and we have to play for it and we have to finish the situations off and we have to pass in the right moments.”
Klopp’s mood was hardly helped by a groin injury to central defender Joel Matip — one of his few options with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez long-term absentees.
“It is a massive worry but it is not a new worry,” former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said, saying Klopp must sign a defender in January.
While West Brom remain in deep trouble having picked up only eight points from 15 games, the result will give the fans some hope that new manager Sam Allardyce, who has never experienced relegation with 11 previous clubs, can inspire a great escape.
Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham have now gone four games without a Premier League win and once again their defensive tactics came under scrutiny against Wolves.
Tottenham were given a perfect start when Tanguy Ndomeble thumped home a shot after 57 seconds but they spent most of the game thereafter soaking up Wolves pressure.
They failed to have a shot on target from the 21st minute onwards. Wolves were rewarded for their relentless attacking when defender Romain Saiss glanced in a header from a corner in the 86th minute.
Wolves almost snatched all three points when Fabio Silva headed a glorious chance straight at Hugo Lloris.
“One point against Wolves normally wouldn’t be a bad result because they are a strong opponent,” Mourinho said.
“But scoring in the first minute and having 89 minutes to score more, there’s a sense of feeling frustrated. We didn’t have that ambition or desire to go for more.”
