LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea reclaimed the top spot in the Premiership with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Fulham as champions Arsenal edged a 5-4 thriller against Tottenham.
Arsenal had briefly gone top with a topsy-turvy victory at White Hart Lane.
But Chelsea hit back taking the lead on the half-hour mark at Craven Cottage when Frank Lampard drilled a ferocious right-footed shot past Fulham goalkeeper Mark Crossley.
Fulham's Papa Bouba Diop scored his first Premiership goal in the 57th minute but parity lasted just two minutes as Chelsea winger Arjen Robben scored his fourth goal in four matches to give the Blues a deserved lead.
Two late goals from William Gallas and Tiago ensured Jose Mourinho's side leapfrogged Arsenal at the top of the Premiership.
Spurs opened the scoring in the 37th minute when Noureddine Naybet popped up at the far post to give the home side an undeserved lead.
The shock goal seemed to energise the Premiership champions, and Thierry Henry levelled in the dying moments of the first half.
Arsenal then seized control of the match as Lauren converted a penalty and Patrick Vieira stormed through the heart of the Spurs defence to give the visitors a 3-1 lead on the hour mark.
Tottenham took just 60 seconds to reduce the deficit as England striker Jermain Defoe collected a loose ball and sliced through the Arsenal defence before unleashing a superb curling shot past Jens Lehmann.
Freddie Ljungberg restored Arsenal's two-goal lead with an easy tap in the 69th minute but again Tottenham staged a furious fightback.
England defender Ledley King rose above the Arsenal defence to narrow the deficit in the 74th minute.
Tottenham's new manager Martin Jol must have thought his side would earn a memorable point but the impressive Robert Pires squeezed in Arsenal's fifth before Frederic Kanoute finished the scoring two minutes from the end of a pulsating match.
Czech international striker Milan Baros scored an impressive hat-trick as Liverpool overcame Crystal Palace 3-2 at Anfield.
Baros opened the scoring from the spot after 23 minutes.
Joonas Kolkka equalised when he collected a pass from Tony Popovic and dispatched the ball past Liverpool keeper Chris Kirkland in the 44th minute.
Baros then restored the Reds' lead at the stroke of half time when he pounced on a loose ball to drive it past Palace goalie Gabor Kiraly.
Michael Hughes raced through a packed penalty area to give the Eagles their second goal.
Palace manager Iain Dowie must have thought his side would leave with a point, but Baros earned another penalty in the final minute when he was brought down by Popovic.
Baros made no mistake as he blasted home the spot kick to earn Rafael Benitez's side all three points.
Southampton manager Steve Wigley can meanwhile breath a sigh of relief after earning his first league victory in a hard-fought 2-1 defeat of rivals Portsmouth.
Wigley's position looked even more vulnerable when Pompey took the lead in the 12th minute when Andreas Jakobsson headed the ball into his own net.
However, the Saints took just six minutes to equalise when 18-year-old Dexter Blackstock poked the ball past Portsmouth keeper Shaka Hislop.
It looked like the match was heading for a draw before Wigley made an inspirational substitution in the 68th minute, replacing James Beattie with Kevin Phillips.
The gamble paid off. Phillips had been on for three minutes when he converted Jason Dodd's free-kick to settle the south coast derby.
At the Reebok Stadium, a late goal by Thomas Hitzlsperger gave Aston Villa all three points in a hard-fought 2-1 victory over high-flying Bolton.
Bolton striker El-Hadji Diouf opened the scoring in the 21st minute when he latched on a pass from Kevin Nolan, before slotting the ball past Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen.
Gavin McCann equalised in the 41st minute when he ghosted clear of his marker to plant a firm header past Bolton keeper Andy Oakes.
The match was heading for a draw before Hitzlesperger's late strike earned David O'Leary his first away win of the season.
The defeat means Bolton missed out on a chance to move to third in the Premiership.
The Trotters needed a point to overtake Everton who were playing in the late match against Birmingham.
A late penalty from Paul Dickov allowed Blackburn Rovers to rescue a point at Manchester City.
Antoine Sibierski had given the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time but former City striker Dickov scored the vital equaliser to lift Mark Hughes' side off the bottom of the table
Newly-promoted Norwich are still searching for their first Premiership victory as they lost 4-0 to an inspired Charlton side at The Valley.
Two goals from Jonatan Johansson gave the Addicks a deserved first half lead before Paul Konchesky converted a Luke Young cross in the 75th minute.
Jason Euell completed the rout in the 88th minute when he redirected Johansson's left wing cross past substitute goalkeeper Darren Ward.
The heavy defeat mean Norwich are rooted at the foot of the table after Blackburn and Southampton both earned points.
11/13/2004 - 19:10 GMT - AFP