The Premier League title is now out of the hands of Manchester City after their comeback fell short against Sunderland on Saturday - throwing control of the championship firmly into Manchester United's possession. Arsenal, meanwhile, were also stunted in their pursuit of Champions League football by QPR, which allowed Chelsea to close the gap on their rivals with a thrilling victory at Aston Villa.
At the bottom, Wolves remain winless at the bottom under manager Terry Connor, while Wigan's recovery continues thanks to another success against Stoke.
Manchester City failed to move back to the top of the Premier League table and must now rely on results elsewhere if they are to win the title this season, after Sunderland ruined their impeccable home record with an incredible 3-3 draw at Eastlands. City could have applied pressure to rivals United ahead of Monday's trip to Blackburn had they maintained their 100 per cent home record, but goals from Sebastian Larsson(2) and Nicklas Bendtner put Sunderland 3-1 up, before Mario Balotelli and Aleksandar Kolarov rescued a point for the hosts - leaving them two points behind United.
Sunderland made much the better start at the Etihad Stadium and City were initially grateful for a crucial last-ditch tackle from Micah Richards, denying Stephane Sessegnon a clear goalscoring opportunity, before moments later Craig Gardner fired wastefully wide.
City then should have led when Balotelli missed a free header from four yards, but instead it was Sunderland who struck first through a classy strike from Larsson. Faced with a defender on the edge of the area, Larsson simply opened his body and curled a silky finish beyond the unsighted Joe Hart for 1-0.
City's leveller came via a controversial penalty as Edin Dzeko appeared to fall extremely easily inside the area, allowing Balotelli to send Simon Mignolet the wrong way from 12 yards. But by half-time they were behind again as Bendtner steered a superb header into the far corner from Sessegnon's cross.
An expected siege from City failed to materialise in the second half and it was Sunderland who scored again, Bendtner running into acres of space in a disjointed City rearguard, squaring perfectly for Larsson to tap home his second of the afternoon.
A despondent Roberto Mancini threw on Carlos Tevez for David Silva, and City found a lifeline when Balotelli sent a curler past Mignolet. Seconds later Kolarov smashed a fierce drive through a crowd of bodies for 3-3, but City could not find a dramatic winner in a frantic finish.