Swansea 1 Norwich 0
Swansea provided the perfect pick-me-up for absent head coach Francesco Guidolin with a crucial 1-0 win over relegation rivals Norwich.
Although Ireland manager Martin O'Neill won't quite share his enthusiasm after watching his left back Robbie Brady limp off within the first half hour with what looked like a knee injury.
Swansea’s morale had been raised by their shock midweek win at Arsenal which put six points between themselves and Norwich, but it was not translated into greater confidence on the pitch early on as passes were misplaced with increasing regularity.
Canaries boss Alex Neil, however, would have been delighted by his side’s work ethic, even if Cameron Jerome and Brady overstepped the mark to earn yellow cards.
Brady soon limped out of the action, although his pain would have been greater had Andre Ayew not headed over from Angel Rangel’s cross after the Norwich man had carelessly conceded possession.
With Swansea boss Guidolin still being treated for a chest infection at a London hospital, first-team coach Alan Curtis took charge once more to oversee a victory which moves them nine points clear of the Barclays Premier League zone.
After a slow first half Curtis pushed Ayew up front and Modou Barrow was introduced on the right - with the move having the desired effect as Swansea started to enjoy greater possession and territory and Norwich’s growing anxiety resulted in further bookings for Ryan Bennett, Russell Martin and Nathan Redmond.
Then after 61 minutes Gylfi Sigurdsson settled the contest with his sixth goal in 10 games, sliding home the pass of substitute Leroy Fer in a composed fashion, at odds with much of what had gone before.
Norwich’s position is looking increasingly perilous after an eighth defeat in nine games, and much of their good work in an even first half was undone when Swansea applied pressure after the interval.
Gianni Infantino was among the crowd after travelling from the International Football Association Board meeting in Cardiff and the new Fifa president was served up a contest high on energy, but low on quality
Chelsea 1 Stoke 1
Meanwhile Mame Diouf stunned Chelsea with a late equaliser as Stoke battled back to earn a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea appeared to be on their way to a fourth straight win — and about to leapfrog Stoke in the table — thanks to a memorable goal from youngster Bertrand Traore.
But in the 85th minute Diouf, who had missed two gilt-edged chances in the first half, made amends by taking advantage of a rare Thibaut Courtois slip to snatch a deserved point.
Traore, usually a midfielder, was asked to lead the Blues attack on only his second start with Diego Costa missing from the squad.
Costa was ruled out due to an apparently minor tendon injury, with Wednesday’s Champions League return against Paris Saint-Germain firmly in mind.
Yet it was the Spaniard’s surprise replacement whose thunderous strike sent Chelsea in ahead at the interval.
Six minutes before the break Nemanja Matic won possession in midfield and played in Traore five yards outside the Stoke box.
The 20-year-old’s initial touch took him away from goal, but with no Stoke player in a hurry to close him down he turned back inside and lashed a superb shot across Jack Butland from 20 yards.
Yet Stoke had been the better side for much of the first half, troubling Chelsea on the break time and again through Ibrahim Afellay and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Diouf should have opened the scoring when Afellay raced down the left and curled an inviting pass behind the Blues’ backline, but the Senegal international hooked his shot over,
And Diouf had his head in his hands against when Shaqiri burst along the opposite flank and whipped in another cross, this time the striker sending his volley crashing into the turf and bouncing wide.
Stoke, like Chelsea on a run of three straight wins, looked for a way back into the match after the break and Shaqiri’s low drive forced a smart save from Courtois.
Chelsea had chances to make the game safe, however, with Butland saving well at his near post from Willian and keeping out substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek, while Eden Hazard flashed a shot across goal and wide.
But with just five minutes remaining Stoke got their reward — although it was handed to them by Courtois.
Afellay robbed Willian in midfield and Bojan Krkic sent Shaqiri clear down the right to swing in another cross.
The normally-reliable Courtois opted to punch the ball, only to direct it straight onto the head of Diouf — and even he could not miss this time.
Newcastle 1 Bournemouth 3
Back down at the wrong end of the table, Bournemouth increased the pressure on Newcastle manager Steve McClaren with a 3-1 win at St James’s Park.
The Cherries, who have moved clear of the relegation zone, took the lead on 28 minutes when Josh King’s cross was deflected into his own net by Newcastle defender Steven Taylor.
King made it 2-0 on 70 minutes, as the boos rang out from the home support.
Ayoze Perez’s goal with 10 minutes left gave Newcastle hope before Charlie Daniels made sure of victory with a third in stoppage time to leave the home side deep in relegation trouble.
Southampton 1 Sunderland 1
While Sunderland looked to have boosted their own survival hopes with a late strike from Jermain Defoe (84) at Southampton.
However the Saints, who had Jose Fonte sent off on 79 minutes, snatched a point in stoppage-time through Virgil van Dijk.
