As the festive period gets rolling, the Premier League is intensifying and with the 11th round of games now over it’s clear that this year will be one of the tightest seasons in recent memory.
By far the biggest match of the weekend saw the league’s best double act, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, light up the north London derby as Tottenham beat Arsenal 2-0.
Son opened the scoring with a superb finish, assisted by Kane, and then the roles reversed for the second as the Englishman rifled home past Bernd Leno.
Fans returned to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for the first time since March to see a Jose Mourinho masterclass against their rivals, with a perfect defensive performance seeing Spurs return to the top of the table.
Liverpool also kept chase with the leaders, beating Wolves 4-0 on Sunday night despite their ongoing injury troubles.
Mohamed Salah, Gini Wijnaldum and Joel Matip all netted for the Reds on top of a Nelson Semedo own goal as 2,000 supporters were welcomed back to Anfield.
The win means they’re joint top with Spurs – and only below them due to an inferior goal difference.
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea also continued their fine form, coming from behind to brush aside Leeds United.
Former Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford put Leeds ahead, but goals from Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic saw the Blues win 3-1.
Perhaps the most bizarre moment of the weekend also came in this game, as Timo Werner attempted to turn in Giroud’s goalbound effort but ended up hitting the crossbar from two yards out.
Wherever Manchester United go controversy and huge talking points are almost certain to follow – and it was no different in their 3-1 win at West Ham.
Tomas Soucek put the London club ahead, but United equalised in the second half with a fantastic long-range goal from Paul Pogba.
The controversy arises from the build-up to his strike though, as Dean Henderson had appeared to have kicked the ball out of play – yet nothing was given which left David Moyes furious.
Despite questions surrounding their first goal, there was nothing to dispute about Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford’s fine finishes as United moved back into the top six.
Elsewhere, it looked like Leicester were heading for their first draw of the season against Sheffield United until Jamie Vardy popped up in the 90th minute to secure all three points for the Foxes.
Oli McBurnie had put the Blades in front, but Ayoze Perez and Vardy both netted as Leicester won 2-1 and held on to their spot in fourth place.
Meanwhile, Sheffield United are still the only side without a win in the league and they remain bottom of the table.
Manchester City also picked up a win against Fulham, comfortably coming out as 2-0 victors thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne.
Surprisingly, Pep Guardiola’s team are a point behind their rivals United and sit seventh in the table, six points off top spot with a game in hand.
The league’s bottom sides struggled this week – particularly West Brom who were on the wrong side of a 5-1 thrashing by Crystal Palace.
Darnell Furlong scored an own goal early on, and despite an equaliser from Conor Gallagher, the Baggies went on to concede four more times after Matheus Pereira was dismissed for violent conduct.
Wilfred Zaha and Christian Benteke got a brace each, as pressure mounts on Slaven Bilic’s position in charge of West Brom.
Burnley picked up an impressive point against Everton, drawing 1-1 with Carlo Ancelotti’s side as they finally start to pick up points in the league.
Robbie Brady beat Jordan Pickford from range just three minutes into the game, but the league’s top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled things just before half time.
A point each means that Burnley are now just one point from safety with a game in hand, while Everton are now just a point away from the top six.
Danny Ings scored a late penalty to win the game for Southampton as they beat Brighton 2-1 away from home.
Pascal Gross had put the home side ahead, but Jannik Vestergaard equalised on the stroke of half-time before Ings returned from a month out injured to seal all three points for his side.
Finally, Newcastle United were due to play Aston Villa on Friday night, however that game was postponed due to an outbreak of Covid-19 among the Magpies squad.
By Ali Pollock
