Tottenham climbed to third place in the Premier League after Aaron Lennon's strike capped his side's fightback in their 2-1 win against Sunderland on Saturday.
Andre Villas-Boas's team trailed when John O'Shea notched his first goal for Sunderland late in the first half at the Stadium of Light. But the north Londoners hit back with two goals in three minutes early in the second half as Carlos Cuellar's own goal was followed by the winner from England winger Lennon.
That double blast was enough to seal Tottenham's sixth win in their last eight league matches and lift them one point above Chelsea, who travel to Everton on Sunday.
The only dark cloud for Spurs was the latest diving controversy involving Wales winger Bale. Not for the first time this season, Bale fell theatrically after a slight tug from Craig Gardner in the penalty area, earning a booking that rules him out of Tottenham's next match against Reading.
Aston Villa's season went from bad to worse with a crushing 3-0 defeat by relegation rivals Wigan on Saturday that left the future of under-fire coach Paul Lambert in further doubt.
Goals from Ivan Ramis, Emmerson Boyce and Arouna Kone ensured Villa went scoreless in a third consecutive defeat, a run in which they have conceded 15 goals after losing 8-0 to Chelsea and 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa would have slipped into the relegation zone had third-bottom Southampton not been denied victory in a 3-3 draw at Stoke City, and they now sit behind Wigan, level on 20 points, in 16 and 17th positions respectively.
The victory was a boost for Wigan, the northern club having lost five and drawn one of their last six Premier League games.
A last-minute goal from Cameron Jerome allowed Stoke City to take their unbeaten run to 10 games following a pulsating 3-3 draw with Southampton at the Britannia Stadium.
Jerome had barely had time to vent his frustration at an effort being ruled out for offside when he buried a sumptuous 90th-minute strike.
Guly do Prado cut in from the left and found Rickie Lambert, who fired home his eighth goal of the season. Kenwyne Jones, who had already missed a sitter, flicked in a neat equaliser on 16 minutes following a Ryan Shotton cross.
But Lambert then turned provider to set up Jay Rodriguez for a simple tap in on 24 minutes with the home defence all at sea. And nine minutes before before the break it was 3-1 as Andy Wilkinson turned the ball into his own net after Jason Puncheon's cross created confusion.
Defender Matthew Upson pulled one back for Stoke midway through the second half before Jerome came up with his blistering leveller. The drama didn't end there as, no sooner had the Potters hauled themselves back into the game through Upson, the hosts found themselves down to 10 men as referee Mark Clattenburg red carded Steven Nzonzi for a foul on Jack Cork.
Fulham's alarming slide towards the Premier League's relegation zone continued on Saturday when they lost 2-1 at home to Swansea City.
Goals either side of half-time from Danny Graham and Jonathan de Guzman put the visitors 2-0 up before Bryan Ruiz replied for Fulham, who have won only one of their last 12 league matches.
Defeat left Fulham just four points above the relegation places in 14th place, while Swansea remain ninth after extending their unbeaten run to three matches.
Pavel Pogrebnyak boosted Reading's bid for Premier League survival as the Russian forward clinched a 1-0 win over West Ham on Saturday.
Pogrebnyak struck early in the first half to give Brian McDermott's side just their second league victory of the season. The second bottom Royals had halted a run of seven defeats with a draw at home to Swansea on Boxing Day and continued their momentum with a win that moved them within five points of safety.
It was a horrible mistake from James Collins that presented Pogrebnyak with a late Christmas gift after only five minutes at the Madejski Stadium. Hammers defender Collins looked to play a simple ball back to goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, but made a hash of his pass and Pogrebnyak stole in to slot past the Finn.
Alex Ferguson had no cause for complaint as Manchester United ended the year seven points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. For the full match report, click on this link.
Meanwhile, Manchester City maintained their own title challenge with a thrilling 4-3 win at Norwich City. For the full match report, click on this link.
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