Manchester United missed the chance to start the New Year on top of the Premier League after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Blackburn as Arsenal went fourth after Chelsea crashed 3-1 at home to Aston Villa.
With Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson celebrating his 70th birthday at Old Trafford, the stage was set for United to open up a three-point lead against crisis-hit bottom club Rovers.
But an 80th-minute winner from Grant Hanley settled a pulsating game in Rovers’ favour after two goals from Dimitar Berbatov had helped United fight back from 2-0 down after Ayegbeni Yakubu’s double for Blackburn.
The defeat means league leaders Manchester City can go three points clear of United if they defeat Sunderland today.
A disastrous afternoon for Chelsea saw Aston Villa come from behind to score a stunning 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Didier Drogba shot Chelsea ahead from the penalty spot on 23 minutes after being brought down in the area by Richard Dunne.
But Villa silenced the home crowd just five minutes later when Stephen Ireland rifled home a rebound after his first effort had cannoned off John Terry on the line.
And two goals in the final seven minutes from Stiliyan Petrov and Darren Bent handed Aston Villa victory as boos rang out around the ground following a fourth game without a win.
“I thought in the end we deserved it. We looked very dangerous on the break,” Villa boss Alex McLeish said.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas was meanwhile happy to draw a line under 2011.
“Hopefully 2012 brings us better results,” Villas-Boas said.
“We need to improve on a couple of aspects and we know what they are. Villa punished us well in the final stages of the game.”
Arsenal were the main beneficiaries of Chelsea’s loss, Robin van Persie bagging his 35th Premier League goal of 2011 as Arsenal downed QPR 1-0 at the Emirates to move into fourth spot.
Van Persie’s 60th-minute winner saw him finish just one goal away from Alan Shearer’s calendar goalscoring record of 36.
Arsenal’s win also saw them gain ground on third-placed Tottenham, who had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Swansea after Scott Sinclair’s late goal for the Welsh club cancelled out Rafael van der Vaart’s opener.
A bruising encounter at the Britannia Stadium saw 10-man Wigan snatch a 2-2 draw with Stoke, Ben Watson scoring with his first touch from the penalty spot to give the Latics a share of the points.
Wigan took the lead against the run of play shortly before half-time, Victor Moses getting on the end of a Hugo Rodallega cross to put the visitors 1-0 up.
But Jonathan Walters scored from the penalty spot to level when Gary Caldwell was sent off before Cameron Jerome made it 2-1 to Stoke. Substitute Watson made it 2-2 three minutes from time after Ryan Shotton fouled Rodallega.
In the day’s other game, Norwich came from behind to draw 1-1 with Fulham at Carrow Road, Simeon Jackson scoring deep into stoppage time for the Canaries after Orlando Sa had given the Cottagers a 1-0 lead.
Results
Premier League
Arsenal 1
Van Persie 60;
QPR 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 60,067.
Bolton 1
Ricketts 22;
Wolves 1
Fletcher 49;
HT: 1-0. Att: 20,354.
Chelsea 1
Drogba 23 pen;
Aston Villa 3
Ireland 28; Petrov 83; Bent 86;
HT: 1-1. Att: 41,332.
Man. United 2
Berbatov 52, 62;
Blackburn 3
Yakubu 16 pen, 51; Hanley 80;
HT: 0-1. Att: 75,146.
Norwich 1
Jackson 90;
Fulham 1
Sa 7;
HT: 0-1. Att: 26,406.
Stoke 2
Walters 77 pen; Jerome 84;
Wigan 2
Moses 45; Watson 87 pen;
HT: 0-1. Att: 26,595.
Red card: Caldwell (W) 76.
Swansea 1
Sinclair 84;
Tottenham 1
Van der Vaart 24;
HT: 0-1. Att: 20,393
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. City | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 15 | 45 |
| Man. United | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 49 | 17 | 45 |
| Tottenham | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 35 | 20 | 39 |
| Arsenal | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 26 | 36 |
| Chelsea | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 24 | 34 |
| Liverpool | 19 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 15 | 34 |
| Newcastle | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 25 | 30 |
| Stoke City | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 30 | 26 |
| Aston Villa | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| Norwich | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 34 | 22 |
| West Brom | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 26 | 22 |
| Everton | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 21 |
| Fulham | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 25 | 20 |
| Swansea | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 20 |
| Sunderland | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 22 | 18 |
| Wolves | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 34 | 17 |
| QPR | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 17 |
| Wigan | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 37 | 15 |
| Blackburn | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 28 | 41 | 14 |
| Bolton | 19 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 23 | 42 | 13 |
Today:
Sunderland vs Man. City - 16.00
West Brom vs Everton - 13:30
Next Fixtures
Tomorrow: Premier League 4 p.m. Aston Villa vs Swansea; Blackburn vs Stoke; QPR vs Norwich; Wolves vs Chelsea. 18.30 Fulham vs Arsenal.
Tuesday: Premier League 20.45 Tottenham vs West Bom; Wigan vs Sunderland. 21.00 Manchester City vs Liverpool.
Wednesday: Premier League 21.00 Everton vs Bolton; Newcastle vs Man. United.
The Championship
Barnsley 4 - Leeds 1
Birmingham 3 - Blackpool 0
Burnley 1 - Hull 0
Coventry 2 - Brighton 0
Derby 2 - West Ham 1
Leicester 1 - Portsmouth 1
M’boro 1 - Peterboro 1
Millwall 0 - C. Palace 1
Nottm Forest 0 - Cardiff 1
Reading 1 - Ipswich 0
Watford 4 - Doncaster 1
Standings: Southampton 47; M’Boro 45; West Ham 44; Cardiff 42; Reading, Hull 39; Burnley, Crystal Palace 36; Blackpool, Leeds 35; Derby 34; Birmingham, Barnsley 33; Leicester, Peterborough, Brighton 32; Watford 30; Portsmouth 28; Ipswich 27; Millwall 26; Bristol City 24; N. Forest 21; Coventry, Doncaster 19.
League One
Brentford 3 - MK Dons 3
Colchester 2 - Exeter 0
L. Orient 1 - Charlton 0
Oldham 3 - Notts County 2
Preston 0 - Sheff. Wed. 2
Scunthorpe 2 - Chesterfield 2
Sheff. Utd 3 - Hartlepool 1
Walsall 0 - Rochdale 0
Wycombe 0 - Stevenage 1
Yeovil 1 - Bournemouth 3
Standings: Charlton 51; Sheff. United 47; Sheffield Wed. 46; MK Dons, Huddersfield 43; Stevenage 38; Brentford, Carlisle 35; Colchester 32; Notts County, Preston, Bury 31; Bournemouth, Oldham 30; Tranmere, Hartlepool 29; Leyton Orient 28; Walsall 22; Exeter 21; Scunthorpe, Wycombe, Yeovil 20; Rochdale 19; Chesterfield 15.
League Two
Aldershot 0 - Plymouth 0
Bradford 3 - Shrewsbury 1
Bristol Rovers 2 - Crewe 5
Macclesfield 2 - Port Vale 1
Morecambe 2 - Burton 2
Northampton 1 - Swindon 2
Torquay 0 - Oxford 0
Wimbledon 1 - Southend 4
Standings: Crawley Town 49; Cheltenham 46; Southend 45; Shrewsbury 41; Swindon, Burton 40; Gillingham 38; Oxford 37; Port Vale, Torquay 35; Rotherham 34; Accrington 33; Morecambe 32; Macclesfield, Crewe 30; Aldershot 27; Wimbledon 26; Bradford 25; Bristol Rovers 23; Dagenham, Barnet 20; Hereford 19; Plymouth 18; Northampton 17.