A thriller ensued at Molineux as Bolton saw off Wolves 3-2, Wigan edged a tight affair with West Brom, while West Ham and Blackpool and Newcastle and Fulham could not muster a goal between them.
An enthralling second half ensued in the Midlands after what was an insipid first period as Manchester United fought back from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
A young Villa side repeatedly knocked at the door prior to Ashley Young's opener from the penalty spot with 18 minutes left as Gabriel Agbohlahor struck the base of the post and James Collins rattled the bar with a powerful header.
Wes Brown's awkward challenge from behind on Young gave the Villa winger a chance he gleefully dispatched from 12 yards before a fine break from the home side saw them double their advantage.
Young played in Stewart Downing down the left and his perfectly executed low cross was stabbed in from close range by Marc Albrighton.
There looked to be no way back for United but with under ten minutes left substitute Federico Macheda slammed a fine snapshot beyond Brad Friedel from just inside the box.
In the 85th minute it was left to skipper Nemanja Vidic to keep United's unbeaten record this season intact with a clever far post header from Nani's whipped in delivery.
Tottenham got back to winning ways at White Hart Lane as they recorded a handsome 4-2 defeat of Blackburn.
Gareth Bale has now added headed goals to his armoury as his bulleted near post effort from Rafael van der Vaart's corner flashed past Paul Robinson.
Roman Pavlyuchenko was guilty of criminal profligacy as he fired over when clean through before shooting wide from the penalty spot after Jermaine Jenas was awarded the softest of spot-kicks after going down under a challenge from Christopher Samba.
The Russian was not to be denied though as Bale's darting run and cross presented him with the straightforward task of nodding in from close range.
Peter Crouch profited from some rank Rovers defending to put the game beyond doubt from close range after the break, leaving it to man of the moment Bale to grab Spurs' final goal with a scuffed finish from around eight yards.
Ryan Nelsen netted a consolation for Blackburn when David Dunn's drive deflected off him, before at the death a goalkeeping gaffe from Heurelho Gomes allowed Gael Givet's tepid shot to pass him.
Manchester City continue to struggle for goals as Roberto Mancini again endured criticism from the home crowd following a goalless draw with Birmingham.
A dull first half at Eastlands was punctuated by just one real talking point as Carlos Tevez saw a goal chalked off for handball; a decision that led to a booking as he took his protest too far.
It didn't get much better after the interval either as Mancini made the remarkable decision to substitute Tevez for Gareth Barry when chasing a winner with seven minutes left.
Molineux was the place to be in terms of goals as Owen Coyle's Bolton left the Midlands with a 3-2 victory in the bag.
Wolves experienced a nightmare start as Richard Stearman put past his own goalkeeper from close range when under pressure from Matthew Taylor.
It was a lead extended after the interval when Johan Elmander bamboozled Wolves' backline with some stunning footwork and a smart finish, before Stuart Holden made it three from Lee Chung-yong's cute pull-back.
Wolves' bid to earn an unlikely point saw Kevin Foley bend an effort beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen, before Steven Fletcher stooped low to expose some awful Bolton defending from a corner.
Liverpool's mini-revival came to an end in the day's late kick-off as they went down 2-0 to Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
The Potters were the better team in a goalless first half before taking the lead early in the second period when Ricardo Fuller struck following a goalmouth scramble.
Roy Hodgson's side rarely looked like finding an equaliser and the result was put beyond doubt when Kenwyne Jones scored a breakaway goal in stoppage time.
There was still time before the final whistle for Liverpool's misery to be compounded as Lucas Leiva was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Wigan claimed a massive three-point haul at home to West Brom as Victor Moses netted the only goal. Charles N'Zogbia was the architect as his run from the halfway line combined power and pace before he slipped in his team-mate, whose angled finish was immaculate.
West Ham and Blackpool played out a remarkable goalless draw that saw both sides create, and squander, a plethora of chances. Carlton Cole was perhaps the guiltiest party as he hit the post from just a couple of yards.
It was a similar tale of poor finishing at St James' Park as a hard-working Fulham left the North East with a point following another goalless stalemate with Newcastle.
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