Game Week 24- Review

Arsenal are back in pole position as Emmanuel Adebayor continued his stunning streak in front of goal with a brace in the 3-1 victory over Manchester City at Eastlands.The Togolese striker has now scored 11 times in his last eight games, and also provided a towering assist for Eduardo da Silva's acrobatic volley.

Sir Alex Ferguson had warned his Manchester United side that they could not afford another defeat if they were to retain the title, but they came within seconds of leaving White Hart Lane with nothing.Tottenham dominated for much of the match and took a deserved lead when Dimitar Berbatov slotted home from close range after Edwin van der Sar had parried Aaron Lennon's low cross into his path.But United refused to buckle and an intense spell of pressure over the closing stages finally told in the last seconds of the game as Carlos Tevez sneaked in front of Michael Dawson to apply the finishing touch to Nani's corner.Cue manic celebrations from the entire United side, but they have still slipped two points behind the Gunners at the Premier League summit.

Chelsea are now six points adrift as Jermain Defoe proved an immediate point following his deadline day departure from Spurs with a goal on his debut to earn Portsmouth a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park.Nicolas Anelka has settled immediately into the Blues' starting XI and was on target again for Avram Grant's men, with his impending partnership with Didier Drogba an enthralling prospect.

The battle against relegation is even more tightly packed, with only nine points between second from bottom Fulham and Newcastle, who are up in 12th.Jimmy Bullard's late free-kick earned the Cottagers their first victory under Roy Hodgson, denting Aston Villa's UEFA Champions League dreams in the process.Given Bullard's long road back to full fitness after suffering an horrific knee injury against Newcastle in September 2006, few would begrudge his exuberant celebrations, which included a hug for referee Chris Foy at the final whistle.

Emanuel Villa grabbed a late equaliser for Derby as they snatched a point at Birmingham, which will do far more to damage Blues' survival hopes than boost those of Paul Jewell's side.Villa has stated he wants to follow in the footsteps of Carlos Tevez, whose goals helped West Ham beat the drop last term, but with so much ground to make up and games running out fast, it is a forlorn hope.

Reading's freefall towards the relegation places gained more unwanted momentum as Bolton claimed their first away victory of the season at the Madejski Stadium.Steve Coppell's men have lost six successive matches and are leaking goals at a rate which puts them on a par with Derby.

Wigan were the other big winners of the weekend at the wrong end of the table, climbing out of the bottom three thanks to Kevin Kilbane's solitary strike against lacklustre West Ham at The JJB Stadium.

Sunderland's miserable form on the road, they have taken just two points from the 39 on offer, could well be their undoing come May, and they were brushed aside 3-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.Rafa Benitez's men were far from their best, but gained the upper hand after a turgid first half with goals from Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

David Moyes was left seething on the sidelines at Ewood Park as the Toffees were held to a goalless draw by Blackburn Rovers.Andy Johnson had what looked to be a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out for a debatable offside call, Everton were denied what they felt was a penalty for a foul on Johnson and David Dunn, who later cleared off the line, escaped a red card when a deliberate handball went unpunished.

And on Tyneside, the much-feted return of 'Messiah' Kevin Keegan continues to flounder, although Newcastle at least managed to get on the scoresheet for the first time in his four games at the helm as they drew 1-1 with local rivals Middlesbrough.