Liverpool and Chelsea continue to lead the way at the top of the Premiership table as Hull's meteoric rise continued, the newly promoted Tigers finishing the round in third after dispatching a dismal Tottenham.
At Stamford Bridge, many expected the flying Aston Villa to present an injury-hit Chelsea with its sternest test yet, but the Blues buckled down and still came away with a solid 2-0 win.
Joe Cole gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute as he finished off a well-worked move before Nicolas Anelka doubled the advantage just before the break, despite being in doubt before the match after suffering back spasms early on Sunday morning.
The result sees Chelsea maintain top spot on the Premiership table through a superior goal difference to second-placed Liverpool as Villa slips down to fifth on the table.
The Reds certainly didn't have an easy time of it however, coming from two goals down at the break to record a dramatic 3-2 victory over Manchester City (11th) at Eastlands.
Stephen Ireland gave City the lead in the 19th minute through an unstoppable shot past Pepe Reina before Javier Garrido extended the advantage through a 20 metre curling free kick.
But that just set the stage for a trademark Liverpool comeback as the revitalised Fernando Torres, fresh from scoring his first two goals of the season last weekend in the Merseyside derby, quickly added goals three and four to draw the Reds level by the 73rd minute.
And in a dramatic finish, Dirk Kuyt scored his first Premiership goal since last November, slipping the ball past Joe Hart deep into injury time to give Liverpool the win.
Hull has done the unthinkable in its first season, breaking into the top four to be sitting in third after doing away with a disjointed Tottenham (last) 1-0.
Brazilian playmaker Geovanni curled a 20-metre free kick around the wall in the ninth minute to give the Tigers a lead they never looked like relinquishing as a valiant Spurs side struggled to make any impression on the scorecard, leaving manager Juande Ramos' future at White Hart Lane hanging by a thread.
Gianfranco Zola has lost his first match at home since taking over at West Ham (sixth) as his goalkeeper Robert Green made two terrible blunders in the Hammers' 3-1 loss to Bolton (16th).
In sodden conditions following a massive downpour across London early on Sunday, Green dropped a regulation catch on the half hour allowing Trotter Kevin Davies to lash in the opener.
Four minutes later, Green did well to block Gretar Steinsson's volley but couldn't hang onto the ball, allowing Gary Cahill to tap it home.
The Hammers pulled one back through Carlton Cole in the 68th minute but any thoughts of a comeback were stalled when Matthew Taylor buried a trademark free kick four minutes from time.
Goals to Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe have helped Portsmouth (seventh) to a regulation 2-1 victory over Stoke (19th), with former Pompey man Ricardo Fuller's scoring for the newly promoted club as Newcastle (18th) gave its beleaguered fans a faint sense of hope through a 2-2 away draw with a disappointing Everton (15th).
Interim Magpies boss Joe Kinnear delivered a bizarre rant at various media outlets during the week, using his first official press conference at Tyneside to attack all and sundry, using 52 expletives during his remarkable spiel.
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