Everton won 1-0 at bottom club Sunderland to leapfrog Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League yesterday and the battle at the other end of the table intensified with wins for three clubs in danger of relegation.
The only goal at the Stadium of Light came after 75 minutes when Sunderland defender Wes Brown chested a cross into his own net to give Everton a seventh successive victory and move them into the Champions League places.
They have 66 points, two more than Arsenal.
Sunderland’s defeat left them four points adrift at the bottom after second-from-bottom Cardiff City won 1-0 at Southampton and Fulham, who are 18th, beat fourth-from-bottom Norwich City 1-0 at Craven Cottage.
Crystal Palace eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa but West Bromwich Albion, who started the day in 16th place, drew 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur after leading 3-0 after 31 minutes. Spurs also missed a penalty.
Palace’s victory saw them climb to 37 points and virtual safety while West Brom stayed in 16th place.
The bottom four positions are occupied by Norwich who have 32 points, followed by Fulham (30), Cardiff (29) and Sunderland (25). Sunderland have two games in hand on the teams above them.
The top three sides Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are all in action today with Liverpool playing Manchester City at Anfield and Chelsea going to Swansea City.
All of yesterday’s matches kicked off at 14.07 to commemorate the Hillsborough disaster 25 years ago this weekend when 96 Liverpool fans died at their FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in Sheffield.
That match was abandoned after six minutes and the seven-minute delay yesterday marked that duration and also included a minute’s silence around the grounds.
Results and standings
Premier League
C. Palace 1
Puncheon 76;
Aston Villa 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 25,564.
Fulham 1
Rodallega 40;
Norwich City 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 25,028.
S’thampton 0
Cardiff City 1
Cala 65;
HT: 0-0. Att: 30,526.
Stoke City 1
Pieters 42;
Newcastle 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 27,400.
Sunderland 0
Everton 1
Brown 75og;
HT: 0-0. Att: 38,445.
West Brom 3
Vydra 1; Brunt 4; Sessegnon 31;
Tottenham 3
Olsson 34og; Kane 70; Eriksen 90;
HT: 3-1. Att: 25,398.
Missed penalty: Adebayor (T) 16.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Liverpool | 33 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 90 | 40 | 74 |
| Chelsea | 33 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 65 | 24 | 72 |
| Man. City | 31 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 84 | 29 | 70 |
| Everton | 33 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 53 | 31 | 66 |
| Arsenal | 33 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 56 | 40 | 64 |
| Tottenham | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 48 | 60 |
| Man. United | 33 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 56 | 38 | 57 |
| Southampton | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 45 | 48 |
| Newcastle | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 38 | 52 | 46 |
| Stoke City | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 38 | 48 | 43 |
| West Ham | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 37 | 44 | 37 |
| C. Palace | 33 | 11 | 4 | 18 | 24 | 39 | 37 |
| Hull City | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 34 | 40 | 36 |
| Aston Villa | 33 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 35 | 49 | 34 |
| Swansea | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 45 | 49 | 33 |
| West Brom | 33 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 40 | 51 | 33 |
| Norwich City | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 53 | 32 |
| Fulham | 34 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 34 | 74 | 30 |
| Cardiff City | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 30 | 64 | 29 |
| Sunderland | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 29 | 54 | 25 |
Playing today
Liverpool vs Man. City - 14:37
Swansea City vs Chelsea - 17:07
Top scorers
29 goals: Suarez (Liverpool).
20 goals: Sturridge (Liverpool).
18 goals: Toure (Man. City).
15 goals: Aguero (Man. City), Rooney (Man. United), Rodriguez (Southampton).
14 goals: Hazard (Chelsea)
13 goals: Giroud (Arsenal), Remy (Newcastle), Lukaku (Everton), Gerrard (Liverpool).
Next fixtures
Tuesday: 20.45 Arsenal vs West Ham United.
Wednesday: 20.45 Everton vs C. Palace; 20.45 Man. City vs Sunderland.
Saturday: 13.45 Tottenham vs Fulham. 16.00 Aston Villa vs Southampton; Cardiff vs Stoke; Newcastle vs Swansea; West Ham United vs Crystal Palace. 18.30 Chelsea vs Sunderland.
Sunday: 13.00 Norwich City vs Liverpool. 15.05 Hull City vs Arsenal. 17.10 Everton vs Man. United.
Monday, April 21: 21.00 Man. City vs West Brom.
The Championship
Bolton 1 - Barnsley 0
Brighton 3 - Charlton 0
Burnley 0 - Middlesbrough 1
Derby 3 - Huddersfield 1
Ipswich 2 - Doncaster 1
Leeds United 2 - Blackpool 0
Millwall 2 - Watford 2
QPR 5 - N. Forest2
Sheffield Wed. 3 - Blackburn 3
Yeovil 1 - Bournemouth 1
Reading vs Leicester - tomorrow
Standings: Leicester City 89; Burnley 83; Derby County 75; Queen’s Park Rangers 73; Wigan Athletic 67; Brighton, Ipswich Town 64; Reading 63; Bournemouth 62; Blackburn Rovers 60; Nottingham Forest 59; Middlesbrough 58; Watford 57; Bolton 54; Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United 50; Huddersfield 46; Birmingham, Doncaster 43; Blackpool 42; Charlton 41; Millwall 40; Yeovil, Barnsley 36.
League One
Crewe 0 - Wolves 2
L. Orient 5 - Gillingham 1
MK Dons 0 - Crawley 2
Notts County 4 - Port Vale 2
Peterborough 1 - Coventry City 0
Preston NE 6 - Carlisle 1
Stevenage 2 - Colchester 3
Swindon 1 - Brentford 0
Tranmere 2 - Shrewsbury1
Walsall 0 - Bristol City 1
Standings: Wolves 93; Brentford 87; Leyton Orient 80; Rotherham United, Preston 79; Peterborough 67; Swindon 60; MK Dons 58; Port Vale 57; Walsall, Sheffield United 56; Bradford City, Bristol City 50; Coventry City, Crawley Town 49; Gillingham 48; Oldham Athletic 47; Colchester, Tranmere 46; Notts County, Carlisle, Crewe 43; Shrewsbury Town 41; Stevenage 39.
League Two
Bristol Rovers 1 - Torquay 2
Dagenham 1 - Portsmouth 4
Exeter 1 - Cheltenham 1
Fleetwood 2 - Morecambe 2
Hartlepool 1 - Chesterfield 2
Mansfield 3 - Rochdale0
Newport 2 - Wycombe 0
Northampton 1 - Burton 0
Plymouth 0 - Oxford 2
Scunthorpe 2 - Bury 2
Southend0Wimbledon 1
York City1Accrington 1
Standings: Scunthorpe United 76; Rochdale 75; Chesterfield 74; Fleetwood Town 69; Burton Albion 68; Southend United, Oxford United 62; York City 61; Plymouth Argyle 58; Mansfield Town 56; Bury, Dagenham 54; Newport 53; Wimbledon, Cheltenham 52; Portsmouth 51; Accrington Stanley 50; Hartlepool United, Morecambe 49; Exeter City 48; Bristol Rovers 47; Wycombe Wanderers, Northampton Town 46; Torquay United 39.