A little over two hours after Liverpool moved into top spot, Manchester United returned to the summit of the Premiership with a remarkable 5-3 victory at West Ham United.
Alex Ferguson's defending champions secured another vital three points thanks to second-half goals from Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and David Beckham at Upton Park.
The Hammers had twice rocked United taking the lead twice in the opening 45 minutes through Steve Lomas and Freddy Kanoute, before Beckham and Nicky Butt equalised. Jermain Defoe was West Ham's other scorer.
The win puts United two points clear of second-placed Liverpool who ground out a 2-1 away win over Middlesbrough in Saturday's early match.
Third-placed Arsenal can leapfrog over Liverpool into second place with a victory at Aston Villa tomorrow.
But Bobby Robson's Newcastle slipped further off the pace when they were held 2-2 by Ipswich at St James' Park.
Former England captain Alan Shearer, who equalised two minutes from time, missed a last minute penalty for the Magpies in a drama-filled game against Robson's former club.
Marcus Bent was the goal hero for George Burley's 'Tractor Boys', scoring either side of an equaliser from Newcastle's French midfielder Laurent Robert.
Elsewhere Chelsea defender William Gallas scored his second goal in seven days as the Londoners beat relegation strugglers Sunderland 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.
In-form forward Eidur Gudjohnsen made sure of the points for Claudio Ranieri's Blues, scoring on 73 minutes with a perfectly weighted lob. Mikael Forssell continued the rout in the dying minutes, exchanging passes with Graeme Le Saux before uncorking an unstoppable 25-yarder that flew in into the Sunderland net. Italian midfielder Sam Dalla Bona made it 4-0 in injury time.
At Goodison Park, Everton manager David Moyes' reign got off to a dream start against Fulham when David Unsworth fired the Toffees into the lead after just 27 seconds.
Everton went 2-0 up after just 13 minutes when bustling striker Duncan Ferguson, made captain for the day by Moyes, drilled in a low shot from six yards. Frenchman Steed Malbranque gave Fulham hope with a side-footed goal seven minutes after halftime but Everton were not to be denied, despite playing most of the match with 10 men after having Thomas Gravesen sent-off.
Dave Bassett's relegation certainties Leicester snatched a draw from the jaws of victory when they squandered a 2-0 lead against Southampton at St Mary's.
Two goals in five minutes from striker Brian Deane put Leicester in the driving seat, the veteran netting in the 20th and 25th minutes before Marian Pahars pulled one back for Southampton.
Pahars then struck again from the penalty spot on 87 minutes to level for the Saints and Leicester's fate at the bottom now looks beyond hope.
Bolton slipped further into the relegation zone when they crashed 3-1 at home to John Gregory's Derby, who remain one place behind Wanderers and one place off the bottom despite the win. Derby had in-form striker Malcolm Christie to thank for their opener, the England under-21 player volleying in on 22 minutes.
Bolton levelled in the first minute of the second half when Ricardo Gardner unleashed a 25-yard shot that flew into the top right-hand corner, but Fabrizio Ravanelli restored the Rams' lead eight minutes later.
A miserable day for Bolton was completed five minutes from time when Danny Higginbotham netted for Derby from the penalty spot, after home goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen had been sent off for a professional foul on Lee Morris.