Manchester City displayed the attacking power that could drive the team to the Premier League title by brushing aside Southampton 4-1 on Saturday.

The 2012 champions are now just a point behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand ahead of their meeting next Sunday. Liverpool plays at West Ham this Sunday.

Mohamed Salah scored one goal and played a part in the other two as Chelsea strolled to a 3-0 victory over Stoke to recover from back-to-back losses and reclaim the provisional Premier League lead Saturday.

Even though Jose Mourinho downplays Chelsea's title prospects, his team remain in the mix with a relatively undemanding run-in, apart from a trip to Liverpool.

And it's Liverpool that can ensure Chelsea's stay at the top this weekend is short-lived by winning Sunday at West Ham.

This was a routine victory for Chelsea against a Stoke side that presented little attacking threat, and Salah profited on his first start since joining from Basel in January.

Salah was left unmarked when he netted the opener in the 32nd minute, and after the break the Egypt winger won the penalty that Frank Lampard first saw saved before netting the rebound.

Salah set up Willian to curl in Chelsea's third in the 72nd to wrap up a fifth consecutive home win, with the team scoring 17 unanswered goals during a formidable period at Stamford Bridge.

 

Manchester United has paid the price this season for its poor home form. Away, it's a different story, with David Moyes' sixth-place side claiming a league-leading 10th away win by beating Newcastle 4-0 with Juan Mata scoring twice.

Fulham climbed off the bottom with a 2-1 win at Aston Villa to 18th place, five points from Norwich, which lost 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion.

Crystal Palace's recovery continued with a 3-0 win at Cardiff that moved the London club seven points clear of danger above Swansea, which lost 1-0 at Hull.

At the Etihad Stadium, it was the perfect start for the hosts when Edin Dzeko was adjudged to have been fouled by Jose Fonte and Yaya Toure scored from the penalty spot in the third minute.

But City couldn't extend its lead and defender Pablo Zabaleta tripped Jack Cork in the area, allowing Rickie Lambert to score a 34th straight penalty for Southampton in the 37th.

Stung by conceding, City produced a rapid response, with Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko both scoring in first-half injury time.

But it took until the 81st for City to score again, with Stevan Jovetic tapping into the net from Jesus Navas' cross.

"In the first 45 minutes we didn't play well," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. "We didn't recover the ball against a team that plays very well, has a lot of possession and has very good technical players.

"But in our worst moment, we scored three goals and I don't remember many clear chances for Southampton, only an unnecessary penalty."

At St. James' Park, United scored four goals for the second successive league match, though the team has little hope of capturing any of the four Champions League qualification places.

Mata made it three goals in two games, with the 25-year-old Spaniard's first at Newcastle coming directly from a free kick.

Showing that United can cope without injured striker Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and substitute Adnan Januzaj added further goals in the second half to hand Newcastle a fourth loss in five league games.