Arsenal ended a run of three successive draws to beat Portsmouth 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium after a late goal from William Gallas to pull level on points with Aston Villa and Manchester United, neither of whom were playing.
Liverpool lead the standings with 45 points from 20 matches, three ahead of Chelsea, followed by United, Villa and Arsenal, all on 35 points, although United have three games in hand on the leaders.
Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee told the BBC he was delighted with the performance, adding: "I hope we have not seen the best of Liverpool yet as we try to improve on each and every training session and each and every game.
"We are not conceited about anything we do, we do not blow our own trumpet -- but we are looking to improve between now and the end of the season."
"You have to take your hat off to Liverpool, they were far superior to us on the day. I think Steven Gerrard was just magnificent, he was the outstanding player on the pitch and it was a very difficult afternoon for us."
Liverpool's win at St James' Park was their biggest this season and followed a 3-0 demolition of Bolton on Friday.
However Babel restored Liverpool's two-goal advantage early in the second half before Gerrard added the fourth after 66 minutes. Alonso made it 5-1 in the 76th minute after Edgar fouled David Ngog.
While Chelsea's title hopes were dented by a late goal, Arsenal's were kept alive by one with Gallas heading
