Liverpool edge Tottenham, Arsenal move fourth
Mario Balotelli was the hero as Liverpool beat Tottenham 3-2 in a pulsating English Premier League game at Anfield.
Balotelli grabbed his first goal in the top-flight of English football since scoring for Manchester City against Wigan in November 2012 but it guaranteed him centre stage on a night when England strikers Daniel Sturridge and Harry Kane went head-to-head and were the focus of attention. Kane was duly on the scoresheet again with a 12th goal in his last 15 games cancelling out Lazar Markovic's opener before half-time, but Liverpool led again through Steven Gerrard's 53rd-minute penalty after Danny Rose had tripped Sturridge.
Spurs levelled for a second time when Mousa Dembele finished from close range just after the hour mark but Balotelli swept home Adam Lallana's cross seven minutes from time for Liverpool to move within a point of Tottenham.
Arsenal moved above Manchester United into fourth and the final UEFA Champions League spot with a 2-1 home victory over bottom-placed Leicester. Laurent Koscielny swept home a 27th-minute corner to hand Arsenal the lead before Mesut Ozil managed another assist when setting up Theo Walcott's third goal in four games four minutes before the break.
Andrej Kramaric pulled one back after 61 minutes to register his first goal in English football following his £9.5m move from Croatian club Rijeka, but it did little to lift the gloom on embattled Leicester manager Nigel Pearson.
QPR claimed their first points on the road in the Premier League at the 12th attempt courtesy of a 2-0 win at Sunderland to move out of the relegation zone. Rangers had lost all 11 previous away games but there was finally some cheer for the Londoners as Leroy Fer and Bobby Zamora struck before half-time to stop Sunderland's mini-revival.
Rangers chairman Tony Fernandes said before the game he believes he has got his "dream manager" to replace Harry Redknapp but director of football Les Ferdinand and academy coach Chris Ramsey provided the perfect pick-me-up at the Stadium of Light. Fer put QPR ahead for the first time in an away game all season with a firm downward header after 17 minutes and Zamora doubled the lead with a stunning strike on the stroke of half-time. The only downside for QPR saw midfielder Joey Barton set a new Premier League record with a seventh consecutive booking.
Hull also moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa who dropped into the bottom three in their place. Nikica Jelavic's deflected 22nd-minute shot gave Hull the lead before new signing Dame N'Doye settled matters after 74 minutes with his first goal since completing a £3m move from Lokomotiv Moscow.
It was Hull's first win since New Year's Day as goal-shy Villa drew yet another blank in front of goal - the seventh time in eight games that Paul Lambert's side have failed to find the net.