Champions and Premier League leaders Chelsea suffered their second defeat of the season as Fernando Torres scored twice to guide resurgent Liverpool to a deserved 2-0 victory at Anfield on Sunday.
The Spaniard was back to his predatory best with two well-taken goals in the first half, inspiring Liverpool to their best performance of the season and their third successive league win.
Arsenal failed to take advantage of the leaders' slip, however, as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Newcastle United courtesy of Andy Carroll's header at the end of the first half.
Manchester City did gain ground with Italian striker Mario Balotelli scoring both goals in a comfortable 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion before being sent off in the second half.
The results squeezed the top of the standings with Chelsea still top on 25 points, two ahead of Manchester United, who beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 on Saturday.
Arsenal and Man City have 20 with Newcastle up to fifth on 17 points. Liverpool, in the bottom three a week ago, jumped to ninth on 15.
