Goals from Didier Drogba and Joe Cole gave Premier League leaders Chelsea a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in a bad-tempered clash at the Hawthorns on Saturday in which they had Arjen Robben sent off.
Drogba struck just after the break and, following Robben's dismissal, Cole wrapped up the points for the champions with a close-range effort 10 minutes after replacing Damien Duff. Nwankwo Kanu hit a late consolation for West Brom.
Chelsea moved on to 72 points from 28 games, stretching their lead to 17 points after Liverpool could only draw 0-0 with Charlton Athletic in a late kickoff.
The disappointing point allowed Liverpool to rise above Manchester United into second place with 55 points, although United (54 points) play at Wigan Athletic on Monday.
Arsenal revived their hopes of a top-four finish with a 4-0 thumping of Fulham at Craven Cottage to go fifth.
West Ham United's surge was checked by a 2-2 home draw against Everton and Newcastle United's improvement continued with a 3-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers.
Fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who are two points above Arsenal, host Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.
At the bottom Birmingham City failed to take advantage of West Brom's defeat, losing 1-0 at Middlesbrough when a win would have taken them out of the relegation zone.
Portsmouth's survival prospects look grim after a Milan Baros winner for Aston Villa left them without a league win this year. They are second from bottom, eight points adrift of safety.
Chelsea, who face a daunting Champions League trip to Barcelona on Tuesday when they will try to overturn a 2-1 deficit, hardly mustered a shot in a dreary first half.
But the game crackled into life after the break as tempers frayed on and off the pitch.
West Brom manager Bryan Robson was infuriated by the late arrival of Chelsea's players for the resumption of play, and his mood worsened when Drogba was allowed to run unchallenged to plant a low shot past keeper Tomasz Kuszczak after 50 minutes.
Robben then had a rush of blood to the head, diving in recklessly on Jonathan Greening to get a straight red card from referee Mark Halsey in the 62nd minute -- a decision met with sarcastic applause by grizzly Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
West Brom failed to capitalise, however, and Cole made the points safe in the 74th after the home defence failed to clear.
There was still time for another angry exchange between the managers after Drogba's theatrical reaction to a tackle from Greening and for substitute Kanu to set up a frantic finale.
"Drogba just dives around all the time," Robson told Sky Sports. "What he tried to do near the touchline was to even it up. Because they had a player sent off he tried to get Greening sent off.
Liverpool showed a worrying lack of killer instinct against Charlton just four days before they attempt to claw back a 1-0 deficit against Benfica in the Champions League.
Charlton goalkeeper Thomas Myhre made great saves from Djibril Cisse before the break, while England striker Peter Crouch missed a second-half sitter and Robbie Fowler had a goal ruled out for offside.
Arsenal's season has been sabotaged by eight away league defeats, but they finally clicked at Fulham.
Thierry Henry scored twice for the Gunners with Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas also on target to give them an injection of confidence as they prepare for Wednesday's Champions League second leg against Real Madrid.
Newcastle continue to impress under caretaker manager Glenn Roeder, their defeat of Bolton making it four wins and a draw since the sacking of Graeme Souness.
West Ham missed the chance to move to within two points of the Champions League spots despite twice leading against Everton. Marlon Harewood and Dean Ashton gave the Hammers a 2-1 halftime lead but James Beattie gave Everton a deserved point with a superb 71st-minute equaliser.
