London: Manchester United moved top of the Premier League on Saturday as striker Dimitar Berbatov struck a last-minute winner in a 1-0 defeat of Bolton Wanderers.
On a day of late goals, Chelsea breathed a huge sigh of relief as England midfielder Frank Lampard struck four minutes into stoppage time to earn a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge after Brazilian Juliano Belletti equalised for the Blues after 88 minutes.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, who earlier discovered that midfielder Joe Cole will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, stayed third, just ahead of Aston Villa who came from a goal down to beat Sunderland 2-1 away despite having striker Ashley Young sent off.
United have 47 points from 21 matches, one ahead of Liverpool who can reclaim top spot with victory over Everton on Monday.
Chelsea have 45 points from 22 matches with Villa on 44.
Fifth-placed Arsenal are in danger of losing touch with the title race and must beat Hull City away later on Saturday to stay in the hunt.
Manchester City put aside the hype surrounding their world-record bid for AC Milan's Kaka to beat Wigan Athletic 1-0 at Eastlands despite ending the match with 10 men after defender Richard Dunne was sent off.
While the battle for the title looks to be the most open for many years, the dogfight at the bottom is equally fascinating.
West Bromwich Albion moved off the bottom with a 3-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 defeat of Newcastle United, for whom midfielder Nicky Butt was dismissed.
Tottenham Hotspur are now bottom with 20 points, although they can move out of the drop zone with victory at home to Portsmouth on Sunday.
For the second time in a week United ground out a precious three points, having beaten Wigan Athletic 1-0 on Wednesday.
Alex Ferguson's side have now kept 10 consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League, equalling the record held by Chelsea.
United, who were without England striker Wayne Rooney who injured his hamstring after scoring the winner against Wigan, looked like being frustrated as Bolton defended resolutely.
However, they secured a seventh 1-0 league victory of the season when Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, who was about to be substituted, provided the chance for Berbatov to head home a vital winner.
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