Manchester United dented Chelsea's Premier League title hopes by scoring a hugely significant 2-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday. United's victory cut Chelsea's lead at the top to just four points over Tottenham Hotspur.Goals from Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera also boosted United's chances of making the top four and playing in next season's UEFA Champions League. The Red Devils are now up to fifth, four points behind neighbours Manchester City with a game in hand.City will be looking over their shoulders, but Liverpool created some space after moving into third by beating West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns thanks to Roberto Firmino. The Anfield club is now six points clear of bitter rivals United but have played two games more.Here are the results from today's matches:Here's what those results mean for the updated table:RecapUnited were brighter, stronger and quicker from the start against a visibly out-of-sorts Chelsea. It took the Red Devils just seven minutes to go in front.The goal came whenHerrera slid a ball through to Rashford, although the midfielder may have gotten away with a handball before releasing the pass. To his credit, Rashford finished well, sliding his shot across advancing Blues goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.As Sky Sports Statto noted, Rashford is finding his form again in front of goal, while the Chelsea defence continues to creak:Rashford consistently ran a plodding Chelsea back three ragged, but it was Herrera who performed the vital role. United manager Jose Mourinho had the Basque playmaker man-mark mercurial Chelsea No. 10 Eden Hazard all over the pitch.BBC Sport's Phil McNulty spotted early how intensely Herrera committed himself to his task:United continued to dictate the pace after the break and were two up after Herrera's shot deflected past a stranded Begovic. Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard felt Chelsea manager Antonio Conte's decision to stick with the same starting XI that started the match had proved costly:Going two down finally pushed Conte into action and he introduced Cesc Fabregas for Victor Moses and Willian for Nemanja Matic. Mourinho countered by brining on holding player Michael Carrick to shore up midfield.Faced by a resilient and well-drilled West Brom side, Liverpool were forced to wait until first-half stoppage time to take the lead. The goal came when Firmino reacted quickest in the box to a free-kick, finishing emphatically.One more goal confirmed Firmino's improvement in England's top flight this season, per BBC Match of the Day:More than just a scoring touch, though, Firmino has made strides thanks to his relentless work rate. Statistics from Squawka Football highlighted how hard the South American worked at the Hawthorns:Firmino impressed throughout, but the true credit belonged to much-maligned Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. The Belgian stopper made a crucial save to deny Baggies winger Matt Phillips deep into the second half.Mignolet also stood up well to West Brom's familiar aerial bombardment. He came out decisively to claim crosses and made the right choices against long throws.Mignolet was chiefly responsible for preserving Liverpool's clean sheet. Meanwhile, drawing a blank again continued an unwanted barren run for the Baggies, per OptaJoe:Liverpool's ascension to third place is just reward for how they have navigated two tough away matches since losing star forward Sadio Mane to a season-ending knee injury. Winning at Stoke and West Brom also means the Reds have created a healthy six-point lead ahead of rivals United in the race for a top-four finish and the right to play Champions League football next season.United's games in hand mean there is still ample work left for Liverpool to do to make sure of Champions League qualification. Yet the more important work for Chelsea is suddenly facing up to the genuine prospect of being caught in a title race they have controlled for most of this season.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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