Manchester United moved closer to the Premier League title with a dramatic 1-0 win at Liverpool yesterday that left them nine points clear of Chelsea.
The champions ground out a 2-0 victory at Portsmouth, with Didier Drogba scoring in the 33rd minute and Chelsea's other Ivory Coast striker, Salomon Kalou, coming off the bench to make sure in the 82nd.
United substitute John O'Shea fired a stoppage time winner to move them on to 72 points with nine games left to play, while Chelsea are second on 63 with a game in hand.
Liverpool are third on 53 points, but Arsenal closed to within a point with two games in hand after they finished a miserable week with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Reading.
The northeast derby finished 0-0 between Newcastle and Middl-esbrough, Wigan's revival continued with a 1-0 win at Manchester City and Watford let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Charlton in a relegation dogfight.
Manchester United had only 10 men when they scored after midfielder Paul Scholes was shown a straight red card four minutes from time for raising his hands at Xabi Alonso.
Scholes will miss three domestic matches, starting with Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough.
"Today's a massive result for us," manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports, pointing out that United had also scored their winner in the final two minutes last Saturday at Fulham.
"You need that bit of luck to win a championship, there's no question about that, and I think we've got it in the last two weeks," he said.
The United manager said England striker Wayne Rooney, who made way for O'Shea in the 74th minute, would be assessed today after suffering a knee injury.
Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez was clearly frustrated by the outcome.
"It's unbelievable how we lost this match because we controlled the game and deserved to win it," Benitez told the club's website.
"We controlled the attacking side of the game and had many corners and free kicks, but in football you sometimes have luck and sometimes have bad luck."
Chelsea, who will need to make the most of a home game with Ferguson's men scheduled for April 15, have kept the title race alive with their win at Fratton Park.
Drogba celebrated his African Footballer of the Year award in midweek by scoring his 29th goal of the season, a superb volley from a long Ashley Cole cross from the left.
However, it needed a brilliant one-handed save from keeper Petr Cech to deny Pompey substitute Andy Cole a headed equaliser before Kalou slid home Chelsea's second.
Arsenal's Ivorians have fared less well recently with Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure, along with Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor, getting banned after the ugly fracas in Sunday's League Cup final defeat by Chelsea.
That loss completed a hat-trick of setbacks with Arsenal's Champions League reverse at PSV and FA Cup exit in midweek at Blackburn Rovers, making yesterday's win all the more welcome for Arsene Wenger's men.
Gilberto converted a 51st minute penalty and Baptista hit their second before Arsenal's Fabregas turned the ball into his own net in the 87th minute.
Upcoming fixtures...
Saturday: FA Cup quarter-final 6.30 p.m. Middlesbrough vs Manchester United.
Sunday: FA Cup quarter-finals 1.45 p.m. Chelsea vs Tottenham; 5 p.m. Blackburn vs Manchester City; 7 p.m. Plymouth vs Watford.
Wednesday, March 14: Premier League 8.45 p.m. Aston Villa vs Arsenal. 9 p.m. Manchester City vs Chelsea.
Saturday, March 17: Premier League 1.45 p.m. Man. United vs Bolton. 4 p.m. Chelsea vs Sheffield United; M'boro vs Man. City; Reading vs Portsmouth; Tottenham vs Watford; Wigan vs Fulham. 6.15 p.m. Blackburn vs West Ham.
Sunday, March 18: Premier League 2.30 p.m. Charlton vs Newcastle. 2.35 p.m. Aston Villa vs Liverpool. 5 p.m. Everton vs Arsenal.