John Terry scored in the 62nd minute to give leader Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough in the English Premier League on Saturday.
While Chelsea kept winning to boost its season points total to 40, there were mixed results for the chasing clubs.
Manchester United defeated Portsmouth 3-0 at Old Trafford on goals by Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy to hold second place with 30 points. Manchester United has a game in hand on Chelsea.
The sellout crowd at Old Trafford saluted George Best -- the former Northern Ireland and Manchester United star who was buried Saturday -- with a minute's standing ovation. The tribute came three days after Manchester United fans gave Best a minute of silence before a League Cup match at Old Trafford.
Liverpool won its sixth straight league game as Peter Crouch broke his goal drought in a 3-0 victory over Wigan at Anfield. Liverpool improved to 28 points -- good for third place -- and has played one fewer game than Chelsea.
Arsenal slipped 2-0 at Bolton, dropping the Gunners 14 points behind Chelsea. Arsenal also has a game in hand on Chelsea.
In other results Saturday, it was: Blackburn 0, Everton 2; Newcastle 1, Aston Villa 1; Tottenham 3, Sunderland 2; West Brom 0, Fulham 0.
Today, it's Charlton versus Manchester City. Birmingham hosts West Ham on Monday.
After Liverpool in third place, the next clubs are: Tottenham (27), Arsenal (26), Bolton (26) and Wigan (25). At the bottom, Sunderland has five, topped by Birmingham City (9) and Portsmouth (10).
Chelsea, which is unbeaten in 33 home games, has won its last 11 at Stamford Bridge.
"Today was a difficult game," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "It was not a beautiful one, but it was very competitive."
'Boro's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink missed a chance to score early in the game.
"I can imagine if Jimmy scores, it would have been more difficult for us," Mourinho said.
Saturday's games came with Best's funeral as a backdrop.
More than 100,000 fans said a bittersweet goodbye to Best, the Manchester United star who died last week.
Best, 59, received a state-style funeral inside Stormont Parliamentary Building, Northern Ireland's most impressive public space on a hill overlooking the city, in the biggest display of public mourning ever experienced in this British territory of 1.7 million.
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