Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League has been cut to three points after they lost for the first time this season at Newcastle, while Man City picked up a nervy victory at home to Everton.
There was more woe for Arsene Wenger, however, as his 10-man Arsenal lost 3-2 at Stoke City, while Sunderland held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
Papiss Cisse's double condemned Chelsea to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.
Newcastle took the lead in the 57th minute when substitute Cisse diverted the ball home after Gary Cahill had failed to clear a cross, and he added his second on the counter on 78 minutes after Eden Hazard had hit a post at the other end.
The match then took a dramatic twist as first Steven Taylor collected a second yellow card for a foul on Andre Schurrle and then Didier Drogba headed home from Cesc Fabregas' free kick, but the 10 men held on for a memorable victory.
Manchester City will have an anxious wait to discover the extent of an injury to star striker Sergio Aguero, suffered just two minutes into their 1-0 win at home to Everton.
Aguero suffered what is reported to be a thigh injury and left the field in tears, but the champions went on to take all three points.
The only goal of the game came in the 24th minute when Phil Jagielka was adjudged to have tripped James Milner in the box, and Yaya Toure put away the resulting penalty.
Everton pushed for an equaliser, with Romelu Lukaku bringing a fine save out of Joe Hart -- but City would not be deneid.
Ten-man Arsenal fell just short as Stoke City clinched a 3-2 victory in an entertaining game at the Britannia Stadium.
Peter Crouch had Stoke ahead inside the first minute after an error by Calum Chambers, and they doubled their advantage on 36 minutes when Bojan Krkic netted from a Jonathan Walters cross.
Walters then scored from Bojan's corner just before the break to leave the visitors with a huge task for the second half.
Bojan thought he had made it 4-0 only to see the goal ruled out, and Arsenal then sparked into action, with Mathieu Flamini winning a penalty that Santi Cazorla converted.
Aaron Ramsey added another for the visitors following a corner, but Calum Chambers then received a second yellow card and the 10 men were unable to find a third goal.
Liverpool were unable to secure a third Premier League win in succession as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Sunderland.
Brendan Rodgers' decision to rest Steven Gerrard failed to pay dividends as the Reds struggled to live up to expectations.
Although Gerrard's appearance with 23 minutes to go lifted his teammates, particularly Raheem Sterling, they still could not find the breakthrough and had to settle for a point in a 0-0 draw.
Tottenham Hotspur were held to a goalless draw at home to London rivals Crystal Palace.
Mauricio Pochettino's side looked to have turned a corner when they overcame Everton last weekend, yet that was followed by a heavy defeat to rivals Chelsea and things did not get much better against the Eagles.
Only wayward finishing and saves from the ever-impressive Hugo Lloris thwarted Palace in their bid to win at White Hart Lane for the first time since 1997.
Charlie Austin scored his eighth goal of the season as Queens Park Rangers beat fellow strugglers Burnley 2-0 and climbed out of the bottom three for the first time since September.
Austin's close-range finish sealed a valuable three points after Leroy Fer had earlier opened the scoring. Burnley were given hope when Austin was shown a second yellow card with 15 minutes to play, but they could not find a leveller.
West Bromwich Albion's sluggish run of form continued in a tepid 0-0 draw against Hull City at the KC Stadium.
A ninth-minute penalty miss from Graham Dorrans summed up another frustrating afternoon for the Baggies which Saido Berahino -- introduced for the final 18 minutes in place of Victor Anichebe -- failed to salvage.
If the result will do little to ease the pressure on their under-fire boss Alan Irvine, neither will it work wonders for Hull, who slid into the relegation zone after this stalemate, which extended their own winless run to eight games.
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.