With four teams vying for glory in the FA Cup semi-finals, sixteen clubs took to the pitch for another enthralling round of Premier League action, which started and began with two of the most memorable games of the season.
Arsenal's hopes of title glory were damaged once again in a pulsating 3-3 draw with Southampton, but their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur fared far worse, being blown away in an embarrassing 6-1 loss to top-four rivals Newcastle United.
Aston Villa's Champions League dream also suffered a blow in a 1-1 draw at Brentford, but Liverpool are not waving the white flag in the top-four race and ran out unconvincing 3-2 winners at home to Nottingham Forest.
Fulham remain on the coat-tails of the European-chasing pack thanks to a 2-1 win over a hapless Leeds United, while West Ham United propelled themselves further away from the dotted line with a 4-0 crushing of Bournemouth.
Finally, Leicester City secured their first win of the Dean Smith era by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1, while Crystal Palace's golden touch was extinguished in a goalless stalemate with Everton.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures.
DEFENCE
© Reuters
Despite the 0-0 scoreline, there was no shortage of action for Jordan Pickford or Sam Johnstone at Selhurst Park, and the latter's contributions proved particularly telling. With five saves, three punches and two successful run-outs to keep Everton at bay, Johnstone may have played his way into a few more starts over Vicente Guaita for Palace in the final few weeks of the season.
After conceding 11 goals in two defeats to Palace and Liverpool, only shipping two to Fulham was somewhat of an improvement for Leeds, who had Liam Cooper to thank for the respectable scoreline - the Scotsman made six tackles (including one last-man challenge), three interceptions, two blocks and won four of his five aerial duels, and his return to the backline could yet prove crucial in the Whites' attempts to shut up shop and stay up.
One of Smith's first tasks upon taking the reins at Leicester was to bring Caglar Soyuncu back in from the cold, and the Turkey international rolled back the years with a complete showing against Wolves. Winning all six of his aerial battles and making seven clearances, Soyuncu's revival is a sight for sore eyes, no matter how long he may have left in a Leicester shirt.
In truth, it would have been easy to select a full team of Newcastle players given the way that they tore Tottenham apart, and there just had to be a place for Fabian Schar. Taking the term deep-lying playmaker to a new level, Schar's long ball over the top found Joelinton for the hosts' second only a few minutes before he stole in to intercept Eric Dier's pass, poking the ball to Jacob Murphy for his side's third in a monstrous display.
MIDFIELD
© Reuters
The outright shock on Jacob Murphy's face said it all as he enjoyed the finest nine minutes that he ever will in a Newcastle jersey, firing home the opener against Tottenham from a tight angle before letting fly with a 25-yard stunner into the far corner, as his unexpected hero arc continues.
The Magpies' drubbing of Tottenham was not the only goal-laden contest to take place on Sunday, as West Ham convincingly put Bournemouth to the sword thanks to the engine room excellence of Lucas Paqueta. The Brazilian has not always showcased his best qualities in claret, but after shining against Gent in the Europa League, he kept that momentum going and then some at the Vitality, towering above Jack Stephens to head home his side's second while also making five tackles and completing 87% of his passes in a fine performance.
While his namesake continues to make waves in the tennis world, Southampton's Carlos Alcaraz proved that he is also a force to be reckoned with thanks to a sensational first-half display against Arsenal. It took the Argentine just 27 seconds to break the deadlock thanks to Aaron Ramsdale's error, while he also provided an inch-perfect through ball for Theo Walcott to double the visitors' lead and cleared a Ben White header off the line before being controversially taken off at the break.
Speaking of relegation-threatened sides giving Big Six teams quite the scare away from home, Morgan Gibbs-White was at the heart of Forest's valiant - but ultimately fruitless - efforts at Anfield, setting up Neco Williams before rivalling Diogo Jota for the best volley of the day with a sublime acrobatic effort in front of the away end.
ATTACK
© Reuters
The first 20 minutes at the Emirates belonged to Southampton and ex-Arsenal man Walcott, but the Gunners' current star on the right wing Bukayo Saka sparked one of his side's customary late comebacks. Having already picked out Gabriel Martinelli in the first half, Saka rounded off the scoring in the dying embers, slotting home after Gavin Bazunu had spilled Reiss Nelson's shot into his path to rescue a point - albeit an underwhelming point - for the Gunners.
Over at Anfield, Diogo Jota replicated his two-goal showing at Leeds with another well-taken brace in the Reds' nervy win over Forest, once again redeeming himself in the second half after a poor opening 45. Having squandered a gilt-edged chance before the break, Jota could not miss with a close-range header to break the deadlock before a smartly-taken volley into the corner, which was hailed as "exceptional" by Jurgen Klopp.
Speaking of exceptional displays, Newcastle boss Howe was rewarded for keeping faith with Alexander Isak in the final third, as the Swede added another two goals to his collection in the demolition job of Spurs. Firstly speeding away from Eric Dier like he was not even there before finding the corner, Isak then beat Hugo Lloris from a tight angle - although the Frenchman arguably should have done better - in an individual display worthy of the bright lights of the Champions League.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Johnstone; Cooper, Schar, Soyuncu; Murphy, Alcaraz, Paqueta, Gibbs-White; Saka, Isak, Jota
Ben Knapton
