LONDON: John Terry grabbed a stoppage-time winner as leaders Chelsea showed their Premier League title mettle by snatching a 1-0 victory over Everton on Saturday having looked set to suffer another damaging blow.

The Chelsea captain strained every sinew to get a faint touch to a Frank Lampard free kick in the 93rd minute and keep his team a point clear of Arsenal who thrashed Sunderland 4-1 and three ahead of Manchester City who beat Stoke City 1-0.

After drawing their last league game against West Bromwich Albion and suffering a chastening FA Cup defeat to rivals Manchester City, Jose Mourinho’s side were looking for a morale-boosting return to form.

Yet they looked sluggish for most of the match and after finally sparking into life they came up against a stubborn Everton rearguard that only crumbled deep into added time.

West Brom’s Matej Vydra snatched an 86th-minute equalizer to earn a 1-1 draw against Fulham, denying the London club a win that would have moved them off the foot of the table.

Fulham stay a point behind Cardiff City whose sorry season hit a new low after a 4-0 home defeat by Hull City.

Hull are now six points clear of trouble and one point behind West Ham United who continued their recent resurgence with a 3-1 win over Southampton.

Bale rocket helps Real to Elche win

A fierce 30-yard drive from Gareth Bale helped give sluggish Real Madrid a 3-0 victory over Elche on Saturday and sent them three points clear of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Asier Illarramendi, who was in the side for the suspended Luka Modric, broke the deadlock with a shot that clipped off Manu del Moral and wrong-footed keeper Manu Herrera after 34 minutes.

Real were again without Cristiano Ronaldo as he missed the final game in his three-match ban and they lacked spark in front of goal against an Elche side who concentrated on defending solidly.

Karim Benzema forced Herrera into a save early on and he along with Angel Di Maria looked the most dangerous Real players but they still needed a slice of fortune with Illarramendi’s effort to give them the lead.

Real continued to lack intensity in the middle of the pitch. Bale was having a quiet game on the right wing but came to life with a powerful shot midway through the second half which went in off the crossbar.

With Elche’s resistance broken, substitute Isco slotted in the third with 10 minutes to go.

After a slow start to the season under coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real have now won 15 of their last 16 games in all competitions and lead the way at the top of the table on 63 points.

Barcelona return to La Liga action later against Real Sociedad after their Champions League first leg win at Manchester City on Tuesday. They have 60 points as do Atletico Madrid who face Osasuna on Sunday.

Hamburg ends seven-match losing run

Hamburg SV gave new coach Mirko Slomka a memorable debut as they ended a seven-match losing streak in the Bundesliga by beating Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on Saturday.

Hakan Calhanoglu capped the day by scoring with an astonishing 40-meter free kick as Hamburg, the only ever-present team in the 51-year history of the league, moved out of the relegation zone.

Nuremberg, playing for almost an hour with 10 men after Per Nilsson was sent off, came from behind to beat bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 in a game of three missed penalties while Augsburg grabbed three late goals to win 4-2 at relegation-threatened Freiburg.

VfB Stuttgart’s misery continued when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Hertha Berlin, their seventh league defeat in a row, although they stayed ahead of Hamburg on goal difference.