QPR, Everton and Manchester United all claimed victories in yesterday’s Premier League games.

Bottom of the table QPR secured a vital 2-1 victory at fellow strugglers Southampton. The Hoops took the lead after just 14 minutes.

Loic Remy shot high towards goal and his effort took a deflection off Danny Fox and beat Artur Boruc in the Saints goal. The home side were back on level terms on the stroke of half-time.

Striker Jay Rodriguez’s shot was spilled by Julio Cesar and Gaston Ramirez produced a fantastic chipped effort over the Brazilian keeper.

The visitors took the lead on 77 minutes. Park Ji-Sung shrugged off the attention from Maya Yoshida and pulled the ball back to striker Jay Bothroyd who scored from close-range. The victory moved Rangers to within four points of safety.

Elsewhere, Manchester united eased to a 4-0 victory over Norwich at Old Trafford. United took the lead just before the break Shinji Kagawa stroking home from a Robin Van Persie flick-on. Kagawa fired home his second in the 76^th minutes after good work from Wayne Rooney.

The Japanese star completed his hat-trick with just three minutes remaining and again it was Rooney who was the creator. Rooney turned scorer in the last minute smashing an effort past Mark Bunn. The victory put United 15 points clear at the top of the table.

Everton defeated Reading 3-1 at Goodison Park to stay in the race for the Champions League spots. The home side took the lead three minutes before half-time. Seamus Coleman’s superb cross was headed home by Marouane Fellaini.

Steven Pienaar doubled the Toffees lead on 59 minutes, the South African scoring from 20 yards after a superb run. Kevin Mirallas made it three on 66 minutes, curling home an effort from a superb through-ball from Steven Pienaar.

Reading got a goal back in the 84^th minute through Hal Robson-Kanu finding the net but it was scant consolation for the Royals. Reading are now a point away from safety.

Other Premier League results:

Stoke 0-1 West Ham

Sunderland 2-2 Fulham

Chelsea 1-0 West Brom

Swansea 1-0 Newcastle

Wigan 0-4 Liverpool

Can QPR survive the drop this season?