Manchester United left it late to beat Wolverhampton, Bolton upset European hero Tottenham and Sunderland overcame Stoke in English Premier League action today.
Blackpool shared the spoils with Everton after an action-packed clash at Bloomfield Road, while Blackburn got back to winning ways against Wigan.
Fulham denied Aston Villa all three points at Craven Cottage with a last-gasp leveler and Birmingham battled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with West Ham.
Park Ji-sung’s late goal earned Manchester United a fortuitous 2-1 win over battling Wolves at Old Trafford.
United looked set to miss the chance to close on Chelsea by dropping two points until Park popped up deep into stoppage time with a crucial winner.
Owen Hargreaves saw his long-awaited return to action last less than five minutes as he limped off with an apparent hamstring problem.
Hargreaves was a shock inclusion in the starting XI in his first Premier League start since September 2008 because of long-term knee problems.
However, the England international’s injury jinx struck again in the opening five minutes when he appeared to pull his hamstring when crossing the ball from the right and he was forced to limp off to be replaced by Bebe.
Somewhat against the run of play, United broke the deadlock right on the stroke of half-time as Darren Fletcher picked out Park inside the box with a clever pass and the South Korean slotted past Wolves keeper Marcus Hahnemann.
Former United man Sylvan Ebanks-Blake came off the bench to draw Wolves level on 66 minutes when Nenad Milijas’ mis-hit shot fell into his path inside the box and he fired his shot between the legs of Edwin van de Sar.
That looked like earning Wolves a famous point, but Park broke their hearts as he cut in from the right and drilled a low shot past Hahnemann to send the home fans into raptures.
Tottenham was brought back to earth after its midweek European heroics after going down 4-2 to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
Kevin Davies scored twice for the home side, one from the penalty spot, with further goals from Gretar Steinsson and substitute Martin Petrov rendering Alan Hutton and Roman Pavlyuchenko’s superb efforts mere consolations.
Bolton broke the deadlock just past the half hour mark in controversial circumstance when Taylor robbed Sandro in possession and fed Davies who was in an offside position, but the offside flag stayed down and Davies drilled his left-footed shot past Heurelho Gomes.
The home team added a second on 56 minutes when Johan Elmander picked out Steinsson inside the box for the fullback to drive home his first goal of the season.
Bolton won a penalty 14 minutes from time when Benoit Assou-Ekotto barged into the back of Chung-Yong Lee and Davies scored with ease from the spot.
Three minutes later Spurs pulled a goal back when Hutton cut in from the right and curled a brilliant left-footed shot high into the net past Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Substitute Pavlyuchenko reduced the arrears further three minutes from time with a stunning volley from an acute angle to set up a tense finale.
However, Bolton ended any hopes of a shock comeback from the visitors when Petrov raced clear from Davies’ flick to slot coolly past Gomes.
Meanwhile, Birmingham came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with basement boys West Ham.
Asamoah Gyan marked his first Premier League start for Sunderland with both goals in a controversial 2-0 win over Stoke.
Stoke felt they had equalized midway through the second half when Lee Cattermole appeared to clear Kenwyne Jones’s header behind his own goal-line with a combination of his arms and legs, but to the visitors’ astonishment, referee Martin Atkinson only awarded a corner to Stoke.
Also Saturday Everton twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at Blackpool and Brede Hangeland’s goal in the dying stages earned Fulham a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
And Blackburn climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Wigan at Ewood Park.
