London, England – Gareth Bale's second goal of the match in the 78th minute handed Tottenham a 2-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday at White Hart Lane.
Andre Villas-Boas' team stretched its unbeaten run in league play to 10 consecutive matches and has not tasted defeat since a 2-1 setback against Everton on Dec. 9. Tottenham remains in fourth place as a result of Chelsea's victory over Wigan on Saturday.
Newcastle, meanwhile had won two straight and looked to be in good form entering the match, but the Toons were unable to contain Bale, who has 13 goals in league play this season.
Spurs' talisman opened the scoring for his side just five minutes into the contest when he fired a well-placed, left-footed free kick into the bottom right corner past Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul.
The visitors equalized in the 24th minute through Yoan Gouffran, who collected a ball in the box off a nice feed from Moussa Sissoko and fired it past Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to make it 1-1.
But, the hosts went in front 12 minutes from time though Bale, who ran onto a bouncing ball in the attacking third, took one touch to control, and rolled it under a diving Krul to secure all three points for Tottenham.
Newcastle remains on 27 points, six from the bottom three.
Chelsea 4, Wigan 1
London, England - Chelsea put the brakes on a four-match winless run in all competitions with a comfortable 4-1 result against Wigan on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts went ahead in the 23rd minute through Ramires, who ran onto a nice through pass from Fernando Torres and fired it into the top right corner of the net. It was 2-0 for Chelsea in the 56th minute when Eden Hazard scored with a right-footed strike.
Shaun Maloney pulled one back for Wigan just two minutes later, but Frank Lampard ran onto a nice layoff by Hazard and blasted one into the bottom right corner from outside the back to make it 3-1.
Marko Marin made it 4-1 with a stoppage-time tally for the home side, who remain in third place with 49 points. Wigan, meanwhile, sits in the bottom three on 21 points.
Southampton 3, Manchester City 1
Southampton, England - Manchester City's grip on the Premier League title slipped a little more on Saturday as the Citizens suffered a 3-1 defeat to Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium.
After earning a 2-2 home draw against Liverpool last week, City dropped three more points to remain nine behind Manchester United, who will face Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Jason Puncheon got the Saints off to a fantastic start just seven minutes in as he pounced on a rebound from a Jay Rodriguez shot and fired it past an out- of-position Joe Hart for the 1-0 advantage.
It was 2-0 for Southampton in the 22nd minute when Puncheon fired a shot on net that Hart could not contain and Steven Davis was there to bury the loose ball.
Six minutes before the break City got back into the game when Pablo Zabaleta sent a nice square pass to Edin Dzeko, who chipped it past Saints goalkeeper Artur Boruc to make it 2-1.
But instead of using the momentum from their first goal to find an equalizer, Southampton was gifted a third tally in the 48th minute when Rickie Lambert fired a cross into the box from the left flank. Gareth Barry got a boot to it, but deflected it into his own net to secure the result.
Norwich City 0, Fulham 0
Norwich, England - Norwich City and Fulham shared the points in a 0-0 draw on Saturday at Carrow Road.
The visitors controlled 57 percent of possession throughout the 90 minutes and fired seven shots, but were unable to hit the back of the net.
Norwich City put four shots on goal and former Sporting Kansas City forward Kei Kamara, who joined the Canaries during the transfer window, made his debut five minutes from time, but was unable to find a winner for his side.
The result sees both clubs remain mid-table on 29 points.
Stoke City 2, Reading 1
Stoke-on-Trent, England - Cameron Jerome netted the match-winner eight minutes from time to lift Stoke City to a 2-1 result over Reading on Saturday at the Britannia Stadium.
After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the hosts found a breakthrough in the 67th minute as Robert Huth got on the end of a corner kick by Glenn Whelan and nodded it past Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici.
Jerome made it 2-0 for the Potters in the 81st minute when he slotted a well- placed right-footed strike into the bottom right corner of the net.
Just two minutes later, Adrian Mariappa pulled one back for the Royals, but Stoke held on to claim all three points.
The result gives Stoke 33 points, while Reading remains on the brink of the drop zone with 23 points from 26 matches.
Arsenal 1, Sunderland 0
Sunderland, England - Santi Cazorla's 35th minute tally was enough to lift 10- man Arsenal to a 1-0 victory over Sunderland on Saturday at the Stadium of Light.
The only goal of the contest materialized when Cazorla ran onto a nice pass from Theo Walcott and fired a left-footed shot into the far corner, just past the outstretched arm of Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Things got difficult for the Gunners in the 62nd minute when Carl Jenkinson was shown a red card. With the extra man, Sunderland pushed for an equalizer, but none was forthcoming as Arsenal held on for the win.
With the result, Arsenal moves into fifth place on 44 points, while Sunderland remains stuck on 29 points.
Swansea City 4, QPR 1
Swansea, Wales - Michu netted a brace as Swansea City earned a 4-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday at the Liberty Stadium.
Michu got the hosts off to a flying start just eight minutes into the game when he pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and fired it into the top right corner of the net for his first goal in seven league appearances.
Angel Rangel made it 2-0 for the Swans 10 minutes later with a left-footed strike into the bottom left corner.
After the break, Bobby Zamora got QPR on the board in the 48th minute with a fantastic strike, but two minutes later, Pablo Hernandez restored the home side's two-goal margin with a left-footed strike into the bottom right corner from a near impossible angle.
Michu finished it off for the Swans in the 67th minute to lift his club into seventh place on 37 points, while Rangers remain glued to the foot of the table with 17 points.
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