After 21 round of fixtures, Chelsea held their top spot in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win over reigning champions, Leicester City. All eyes this weekend were in two major cities – Merseyside and Manchester – where Everton hosted Manchester City and Manchester United played Liverpool.
Everton humiliated City 4-0 at Goodison Park with the Toffees' youngsters humbling Pep's men. The honour were shared at Old Trafford as United salvaged a draw in the final quarter of the game to extend Chelsea's lead at the top to seven points. Spurs rounded off a routine victory as Harry Kane scored a well-deserved hat-trick to take his side into the top three. Their bitter rivals, Arsenal too had an easy game as they overcame Swansea City with a 4-0 scoreline.
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Hull City managed a much-needed win over Bournemouth in managers Marco Silva's first game in charge. Hull are now just one point away from being out of the relegation zone. After Crystal Palace's 3-0 loss to West Ham United, the difference between the bottom four sides in the league table is down to just one point. The race to the league crown and also the one to safety is getting exciting with each passing gameweek.
Let's take a look at the ten things that we learned from this gameweek:
#1 No Costa, No problem
With all the speculation surrounding Diego Costa's absence in Chelsea's squad that travelled to face Leicester, the Blues responded in the perfect way possible to keep their title run going.
Marcos Alonso was the star of the evening along with Pedro, who has found his stride under Antonio Conte. Eden Hazard played as the striker and the Italian manager was pleased with the performance and said that he was pleased to see his team play so well without their main striker.
#2 Pep Guardiola's bad day at the office
A 4-0 loss in his first visit to Goodison Park was Guardiola's biggest league defeat in his managerial career. Everton outplayed City in every department and though the visitors created more chances in the game, it was Everton who took complete advantage of their hard earned opportunities and converted them with precision.
It was heartening to see the likes of Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman getting on the score sheet, two youngsters who are rated highly. City have fallen out of the top four and Guardiola must get his act together before it gets tougher for him to salvage his first season in England.
#3 Direct football rescues a point for Manchester United
James Milner gave Liverpool the lead from the spot kick after Paul Pogba handled the ball in his penalty area. Jose Mourinho brought on Marouane Fellaini in the second half which prompted the Red Devils to go direct when in possession to give the likes of Ibrahimovic and Fellaini a chance.
This tactic paid dividends as the Swede equalised with six minutes to go with Fellaini's header hitting the post before Ibrahimovic headed the ball home. The draw meant that the London sides in the title race – Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal – were the big winners of this weekend.
#4 Alexis Sanchez sulks his way to the bench
The Chilean was at his explosive best yet again as he tore apart Swansea's defence and capped his impressive showing with a well-deserved goal. With a scoreline at 4-0 and the Gunners cruising to a routine victory, Sanchez was understandably substituted to avoid any unnecessary injury.
It was then that Sanchez threw a sulk as he huffed and puffed towards his bench and threw his gloves down as he did against after the draw against Bournemouth. Many have said that this behaviour of his is his desire to play the full 90 minutes and score more goals for his team but his antics after being taken off were not in the spirit of the game.
#5 Spurs look unstoppable at the moment
After a blip, Tottenham are back on track and are now second in the league table after an impressive 4-0 rout of West Bromwich Albion. The architect of this victory was Harry Kane who scored a stunning hat-trick to help his side leapfrog the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal in the table.
The striker, who became a father last week, dedicated his goals to his newly born child as the Lilywhites continued their surge to the top of the table. Pochettino's change in the system is working wonders as the three-man defence has helped his attackers and full-backs to penetrate more.
#6 David Moyes looks like a man with no hope left
When Sunderland brought in former Everton and Manchester United manager, David Moyes, it was believed that the Scotsman would bring stability to the side that needed a calm presence at the helm. It is now emerging that Moyes has not got any money to spend in the January transfer window and had been lured to accept the Black Cats job on false promises.
His squad is paper thin and is crying out for quality additions to at least fight till the end. Moyes is the captain of a sinking ship that has no chance of being saved, with the manager still doing the job with all his heart.
#7 Joey Barton is back with a bang
Joey Barton scored the winner 12 minutes after coming on in his second stint with the Clarets. The former Manchester City midfielder scored a free kick to beat Fraser Forster at his near post and earn his team all three points.
The English midfielder had started this season with Scottish club Rangers before falling out with manager Mark Warburton which made his exit easier from the club. Barton made an appearance in the Premier League after 601 days and his arrival could help Burnley maintain their first division status for the first time since 1975.
#8 West Ham showed their worth without Dimitri Payet
Dimitri Payet started unnecessary drama by not turning up to training which prompted manager Slaven Bilic to berate the player in front of the press after his transfer request. The supporters followed that as they made their opinions clear before the start of the game as they chanted against their talismanic player.
An Andy Carroll stunning goal and an all-round display from Michael Antonio helped the Hammers to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Lanzini also scored a beautiful goal to round off a convincing win.
#9 Marco Silva could save Hull from likely relegation
After Mike Phelan's sacking, many experienced English managers were in the fray to take over the Hull City job. But the board decided to bring in a completely new face to take them out of the danger zone and the initial signs look good as Marco Silva started his Premier League campaign with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
Abel Hernandez scored a brilliant brace to secure all three points for the Tigers and the difference between the last team in the league table now and the fourth bottom side is down to just one point.
#10 Fans pay their tributes to the late Graham Taylor at Vicarage Road
Graham Taylor, former Watford and England manager, who passed away on Thursday was a colossal figure for the Hornets and was the man in charge of Watford's rise to the first division. The supporters paid homage to the former Three Lions manager as Watford and Middlesbrough fans came together to pay their respects.
Every game in the Premier League witnessed one-minute applause for the late Taylor.
The action on the field was rather poor in the game between Watford and Middlesbrough as both sides played out a boring draw.
