EPL Boxing Day Football Was in full swing with a full slate of games, the second in this 10 period with two more to come.

English Premier League Preview Boxing Day 2012

After this period we will clearly see a separation in the league as we start to separate the legitimate candidates from the also rans.

At the top of the table Manchester United survive a 7 goal thriller versus Newcastle, winning 4-3 and picking up all 3 points. With goals coming from Johnny Evans, Patrice Evra, with Robin van Persie scoring the equalizer with a drive before Javier Hernandez slid in to score the winner in the final minute. Newcastle worked hard and were unfortunate not to come away with something.

The result lifts United to 7 points clear at the top as Manchester City lost 1-0 to Sunderland. City put in a solid performance where they were dominant in all phases of the game, other than on the scoreboard. The result is a minor setback as they made inroads after their win and Man Utd’s draw at the weekend.

Elsewhere, third place Chelsea kept their resurgence going with a hard-fought win over a overachieving Norwich side, 1-0 with Juan Mata’s scoring with a superb strike. The result moves Chelsea to within four points of Manchester City and condemns Norwich to a second successive defeat.

Other top 4 challengers Spurs and Everton both got wins. Everton beat Wigan 2-1, extending their unbeaten streak to seven EPL games with goals from Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka. Spurs were impressive in a fantastic 4-0 win over Aston Villa with Gareth Bale scoring a hat-trick, keeping them in 4th place, above Everton on goal difference. For Villa, the result makes it 12 goals conceded in 2 games following their 8-0 weekend loss to Chelsea. The loss drops them down to 16th, well into the relegation dog fight.

In the shock result of the day, Liverpool well beaten at Stoke, going down 3-1. With the win Stoke extend their unbeaten run to nine games as they overran Liverpool. Liverpool again showed moments of good possession, but overall they were just too lightweight and ineffective in crucial areas.

Elsewhere, QPR lost to West Brom, as West Brom pick up their 2 consecutive win, Fulham – Southampton split the points after a 1-1 draw, while Reading and Swansea drew 1-1.

At the bottom of the table Wigan, Reading and QPR all remain in the relegation zone, while Southampton and Aston Villa just above, but definitely in the fight. The biggest winner after yesterday games were Sunderland as there win pushed them up and out of relegation trouble.