John Terry grabbed a stoppage-time winner as leaders Chelsea showed their Premier League title mettle by snatching a 1-0 victory over Everton, having looked set to suffer another damaging blow.
The Chelsea captain strained every sinew to get a faint touch to a Frank Lampard free kick in the 93rd minute and keep his team a point clear of Arsenal who thrashed Sunderland 4-1 and three ahead of Manchester City who beat Stoke City 1-0.
After drawing their last league game against West Bromwich Albion and suffering a chastening FA Cup defeat to rivals Manchester City, Jose Mourinho's side were looking for a morale-boosting return to form.
Yet they looked sluggish for most of the match and after finally sparking into life they came up against a stubborn Everton rearguard that only crumbled deep into added time.
West Brom's Matej Vydra snatched an 86th-minute equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw against Fulham, denying the London club a win that would have moved them off the foot of the table.
Fulham stay a point behind Cardiff City whose sorry season hit a new low after a 4-0 home defeat by Hull City.
Hull are now six points clear of trouble and one point behind West Ham United who continued their recent resurgence with a 3-1 win over Southampton.