( CNN ) -- A late strike from Samir Nasri , set up by the returning Carlos Tevez , helped Manchester City maintain their quest for a first English league title in 44 years with a 2-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday . The France international collected a clever reverse pass from Tevez , making his first appearance in five months after falling out with manager Roberto Mancini , to score an 86th-minute winner . City had trailed to Gary Cahill 's deflected strike until Sergio Aguero leveled the match from the penalty spot with 12 minutes remaining . The victory maintains City 's 100 % record in home league matches this season and draws them within a point of Premier League leaders and bitter rivals Manchester United . The buildup to the match was dominated by the return of Tevez , who had n't featured for City since refusing to warm up during a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich back in September . He took his place on the bench to a mixture of boos and applause , and he was called upon in the 66th minute after Cahill had pounced on a loose ball in the area to fire a shot into the net via an inadvertent flick from Yaya Toure . But when Pablo Zabaleta 's shot hit the arm of Chelsea substitute Michael Essien , City were handed a lifeline and Argentina striker Aguero slotted home the spot kick . Then Tevez played a cute one-two with Nasri , and the midfielder dinked the ball over Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to secure a vital win . On a dramatic night in England 's top flight , Tottenham surrendered third place to Arsenal after being held 1-1 at home by Stoke . Taking to the field for the first time since Saturday 's FA Cup quarterfinal clash with Bolton was abandoned due to Fabrice Muamba 's cardiac arrest , Tottenham 's poor form continued . The London side had to rely on an injury-time goal from Netherlands international Rafael Van der Vaart to salvage a draw after striker Cameron Jerome had put City in front . Arsenal leapfrogged their north London rivals with a 1-0 win at Everton , as defender Thomas Vermaelen 's eighth-minute goal put the Gunners a point clear . Chelsea stayed fifth , losing ground on both Tottenham and Arsenal in the race to finish in the fourth and final European Champions League qualification spot . Liverpool 's hopes of finishing fourth are all but over after squandering a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to relegation threatened Queens Park Rangers . Uruguay international Sebastian Coates put Liverpool ahead with a superb volley early on before Dirk Kuyt made it 2-0 on 72 minutes . But Rangers hit back with three goals in the last 14 minutes , from Shaun Derry , former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie . The result kept Liverpool seven points behind Chelsea , while QPR moved out of the relegation zone , moving one point clear of Bolton .
Samir Nasri 's late goal helps Manchester City to a dramatic 2-1 win over Chelsea . Carlos Tevez sets up winning goal as City move within one point of leaders Man Utd . Arsenal move into third after beating Everton 1-0 while Tottenham and Stoke drew 1-1 . Liverpool squander two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Queens Park Rangers .