Danny Murphy's late penalty gave surging Liverpool a 2-1 away win over Fulham on Sunday.
Emile Heskey also scored for the Reds, who won their third straight game after losing three straight in the league.
Louis Saha had Fulham's goal late in the first half.
In Sunday's other game, Leicester beat Blackburn 2-0 to snap a five-game losing streak.
Arsenal, the only undefeated team in England, leads the Premier League with 27 points. Chelsea has 26, and defending champion Manchester United 25. Fulham, which beat Manchester United at Old Trafford last week, stayed in sixth with 18 points. Liverpool moved from 10th to seventh with 17 points.
Referee Rob Styles awarded the penalty when Florent Sinama Pongolle was pulled down by Zat Knight in the 88th minute. Murphy calmly shot past backup keeper Mark Crossley to make it 2-1.
"I like taking penalties," said Murphy, who took the spot kick because Michael Owen was substituted earlier in the half. "I enjoy it. But more importantly, it was a great win for us because we've had a sticky patch recently. To win three games in a row is a good confidence booster."
Moments later, Luis Boa Morte was given a red card for a fierce challenge on Sinama Pongolle.
Fulham manager Chris Coleman said Styles got both calls right.
"It was a stone-cold penalty," he said. "Zat is a good player and will learn quickly and will get better with experience.
"And the sending-off -- it was a horrendous challenge by Luis. I'll back up my players any time, but I was glad to see their player get up because it could have been a lot more serious."
Heskey opened the scoring in the 16th minute, beating Crossley on a volley following a cross from former Fulham player Steve Finnan.
Saha tied the game in the 39th minute. Steed Malbranque's pass was deflected by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, and the ball fell to Saha five yards away from goal. He scored his sixth goal of the season.
Saha almost had another 10 minutes later, but keeper Jerzy Dudek made a stunning save. Heskey came close on a goalmouth scramble in the 63rd minute, and Crossley saved Vladimir Smicer's chip in the 72nd.
Liverpool is unbeaten since a 1-0 loss to promoted Portsmouth on Oct. 18 and has scored two or more goals in six of its last eight league games.
"In the three years before this, we have been known for our defensive strength and our solidarity," Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier told Sky Sports. "We want to go back to that, but I don't want to compromise what we have going forward.
"We have players who can attack. In practically every game we have had 19 or 20 shots, and I want to keep that going."
Crossley played in place of Edwin van der Sar, who had a groin injury.
Former Rover Marcus Bent and Steve Howey scored for Leicester, which lost to Wolves 4-3 last week after taking a 3-0 lead. Bent shot past Brad Friedel in the 75th minute after beating defender Vratislav Gresko to the ball, and Howey added the second on a header in the 82nd minute. The goals were the only shots Leicester had on target.
Leicester moved out of last place and into 18th on goal difference. Blackburn, which has lost five straight in the league, slipped to 19th.
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