Chelsea maintained their five-point lead at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace today.

A free-kick from Oscar and a goal from Cesc Fabregas put Jose Mourinho’s men in charge before Fraizer Campbell scored a late consolation goal for the home side.

It was a bad-tempered clash at Selhurst Park, with Chelsea having Cesar Azpilicueta sent off for a late challenge in the first half, with Palace having Damien Delaney dismissed for two bookable offences shortly afterwards.

Manchester City had briefly narrowed the gap to two points when they won the early game 4-1 against Tottenham Hotspur, with Sergio Aguero scoring all four, two of which came from the penalty spot.

There were four spot-kicks in all in the game, with Aguero missing a third one, while Tottenham’s Roberto Soldado had his effort saved by City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Elsewhere, Southampton were the big winners on the day as they won 8-0 against Sunderland, with their top scorer Graziano Pelle netting twice in the rout.

Daniel Welbeck scored a last minute equaliser for Arsenal as they drew 2-2 at home to Hull City, Everton were 3-0 victors over Aston Villa, while Burnley remain winless in the Premier League as they lost 3-1 at home to West Ham United.