Manchester United succumbed to their first defeat in 12 Premier League games as they were overturned 1-0 by a spirited Wigan Athletic side at the DW Stadium. The win meant as much to the Latics as it did to the Blue half of Manchester as Man City were thrown a lifeline in the title race. Wigan's first ever victory against the Red Devils was fashioned thanks to a wonderful goal by Shaun Maloney in the 50th minute. A below-par United were given the run around by Wigan for most of the game, who even had a goal harshly disallowed in the 1st half.

There was more than a hint of fortune about the goal though as it resulted from a corner that should have never been awarded as referee Phil Dowd adjudged Phil Jones to have made the final touch when it was clearly Jean Beasuejour. But Wigan were worthy leaders on the night and they absorbed some late United pressure to secure a famous victory.

Arsenal tightened their vice-like grip on 3^rd place in the Barclays Premier League as they secured a comfortable win over bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux, with the final scoreline reading 3-0 in their favour. The hosts had a disastrous start to the game as Sebastien Bassong got sent off within 10 minutes after bringing Theo Walcott down inside the box. Robin Van Persie then scored his 34^th goal of the season, this time from the penalty spot to break the deadlock, before Walcott, who had a mixed game, doubled the Gunners' tally 2 minutes later.

Wolves did have their moments in the second half, with Kevin Doyle in particular coming close at the hour mark but it was Arsenal who scored yet again, this time through Yossi Benayoun in the 69^th minute. With the win, the Gunners move to 64 points, 5 ahead of Tottenham and with just five games to go Arsene Wenger’s side will perhaps be the favourites to finish 3^rd in the league now. Wolves meanwhile remain 20th and last with just 22 points, 6 behind 19^th placed Blackburn and 9 points away from safety.

Liverpool's faltering Premier League campaign got a slight boost when a ten-man Reds side picked up a last gasp 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in dramatic circumstances on Tuesday. Kenny Dalglish's side, who started the game on level points with Fulham and Norwich, held an initial two-goal lead through Maxi Rodriguez's brace, but saw their second keeper red-carded in two weeks as Doni was sent off for a blatant foul inside his box. Despite missing the resultant penalty, Yakubu Aiyegbani's two goal salvo pegged the Reds back, who in the second half were lucky to even have their third keeper Brad Jones on the field.

However, the weakened side that played on Tuesday with the FA Cup semifinal in mind found a 90th minute winner through Carroll, helping them climb to within a point of Everton while Blackburn remained stuck to the dropzone.

Chelsea dropped behind Newcastle United in the race for the final Champions League spot after being held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage. Fulham were the better side over the course of the 90 minutes in a game that was short on goal-mouth action. Chelsea got a break on the stroke of half-time after being awarded a controversial penalty, which Frank Lampard converted with aplomb to mark his 150^th goal. The Cottagers left it late as Chelsea once again conceded a goal in the last ten minutes, with Clint Dempsey the scorer as the American took his tally to 22 goals for the season with a free-header from a corner.

Danny Murphy returned to the starting eleven for Fulham as the veteran midfielder took his place alongside Mahamadou Diarra in central midfield. Kerim Frei was brought in on the left while Damien Duff stayed wide right, with Moussa Dembele playing off the frontman Clint Dempsey. The defence had Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland down the middle and Stephen Kelly and John Arne Riise in the wide areas.

Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of Champions League football next season were further dented on Monday by a bright and effusive display from Norwich City, who deservedly beat the Spurs 2-1 at White Hart Lane to climb to ninth in the League table. Goals from Anthony Pilkington and Elliot Bennett came on either side of Jermain Defoe's first half strike to succumb the Spurs, who now are holding on to fourth place only via goal difference after Newcastle's win against strugglers Bolton, and could be overtaken by Chelsea when the Blues play Fulham later on Saturday.

Harry Redknapp offered Jermain Defoe a rare start for the hosts as the Englishman partnered Louis Saha upfront, with loan man Emmanuel Adebayor making only the bench. There was no place for the likes of Scott Parker and Rafael Van der Vaart as well, as Aaron Lennon returned to the eleven along with Jake Livermore. Ledley King was deemed fit enough to start at centre-half alongside Younes Kaboul, with regulars Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Walker flanking them.

A busy week of Premier League action continued, as Champions League aspirants Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea all were in action on Monday against Norwich, Bolton and Fulham respectively. While Tottenham were surprisingly beaten at home by Norwich, Newcastle managed to overcome Bolton at the Sports Direct Arena to keep their hopes of European qualification alive. In other results, Everton too bagged a comfortable victory over Sunderland, while Aston Villa and Stoke played out a draw.

Tottenham 1-2 Norwich ( Pilkington 13’, Defoe 33’, Bennett 66’)

Tottenham suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Norwich at White Hart Lane, a result that could potentially scupper their chances of a top four finish. Anthony Pilkington broke the deadlock for the visitors in the 13^th minute, before Jermain Defoe brought Spurs on level terms 20 minutes later.