The Premier League delivered plenty of parting gifts heading into the third international break of the season, as Manchester City maintained their position at the top of the table despite being haunted by an old flame in an exhilarating 4-4 draw with Chelsea.
Liverpool and Arsenal now only have a one-point gap to make up to the champions, as the Reds eased past Brentford 3-0 while the Gunners survived the final 10 minutes against Burnley with 10 men in a 3-1 triumph.
Tottenham Hotspur were condemned to back-to-back defeats as Wolverhampton Wanderers incredibly came from behind to prevail 2-1 at Molineux, while Aston Villa made it 13 top-flight home wins on the trot with a 3-1 beating of Fulham to remain in the Champions League mix.
Manchester United were unconvincing yet again, but one goal was all that was needed to send Luton Town home empty-handed, while Newcastle United's injuries finally caught up to them in a 2-0 loss at Bournemouth.
Elsewhere, West Ham United were involved in another five-goal thriller with Nottingham Forest and came out on the correct end of a 3-2 scoreline this time around, Everton put Crystal Palace to the sword in an identical victory, while Sheffield United earned a creditable point in a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the 12th round of fixtures.
DEFENCE
© Reuters
While he arguably could have done better with Dominic Solanke's opening goal at his near post, Nick Pope was the only Newcastle player who emerged from the Vitality Stadium with his head held high, coming up with a whopping eight stops to ensure that the Magpies' defeat did not turn into a dismantling.
The form of Takehiro Tomiyasu has stolen most of the full-back related headlines at the Emirates Stadium, but Oleksandr Zinchenko was back to his best when Burnley made the journey to North London, scoring a sumptuous scissor kick that Paolo Di Canio would have been proud of while also winning seven of his eight ground duels and an identical number of aerial battles in a monstrous display.
Speaking of players getting back to their best, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has returned to his imperious ways in the Reds backline; good thing too, as the Dutchman needed to come up with four clearances, three tackles and two blocks to keep Brentford at bay, while also registering a remarkable 100% success rate from 10 long passes.
While Man United's attackers flatter to deceive in the Premier League, another unlikely source propelled the Red Devils to a crucial win over Luton Town, as Victor Lindelof reacted quickest in the box to fire the ball into the roof of the net, in addition to making one block, one tackle, one interception and a 95% pass accuracy in an assured performance.
Needing to make amends after his dreadful error gifted Toulouse a goal in their midweek Europa League loss, Kostas Tsimikas certainly got back into the Kop's good books with a pair of assists in the battering of Brentford, just about keeping the ball in play and crossing for Mohamed Salah before laying off Diogo Jota for his fierce second-half drive.
MIDFIELD
© Reuters
Before Mohamed Salah nonchalantly headed home his second of the afternoon from Tsimikas's delivery - which marked his 200th goal in English football - the Egypt international had written yet another page of history by calmly finishing into the bottom corner in the first half, becoming the first Reds player in history to score in each of their first six home games of a season, while stretching his run of direct involvements at Anfield to a staggering 15 top-flight games.
Astonishing home streaks are not limited to Liverpool, as Villa made it 13 wins on the trot in front of their own fans thanks in no small part to John McGinn, who gave Joao Palhinha the slip before picking out the bottom corner to open the scoring against Fulham, and as well as completing a spectacular seven dribbles, the skipper played a huge part in his side's third goal, slipping through Leon Bailey to pick out Ollie Watkins inside the box.
James Ward-Prowse may not have been as elusive as McGinn on the dribbling front at the weekend, but Forest felt the full force of the Englishman's dead-ball mastery. With the Irons staring down the barrel of defeat at 2-1, Ward-Prowse - fresh from another England snub - delivered two brilliant corners for Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek to propel West Ham to an enthralling success.
West Ham's turnaround pales into insignificance when compared to Wolves' breathtaking comeback versus Tottenham, which was sparked by the 87th-minute introduction of Pablo Sarabia, who beat Guglielmo Vicario at his near post with a sublime volley before playing in Mario Lemina for a last-gasp winner, and no player has scored and assisted in a Premier League game after being brought on as late as the Spaniard.
ATTACK
© Reuters
Following up his stellar showing against Sevilla with a landmark goal against Burnley, astute January acquisition Leandro Trossard courageously headed home at the back stick - injuring his forearm in the process as he clattered into the post - for the Gunners' 1,000th goal at the Emirates, before providing a pinpoint corner for William Saliba to restore Arsenal's advantage.
While it would have been easy to select Team of the Week regular Erling Haaland owing to his brace against Chelsea, a penalty and fortuitous goal off of his backside does not justify a spot over Bournemouth's two-goal hero Dominic Solanke, who lashed home at the near post before an improvised flick doubled the Cherries' advantage in their standout result of the season to date.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (4-4-2): Pope; Zinchenko, Van Dijk, Lindelof, Tsimikas; Salah, Ward-Prowse, McGinn, Sarabia; Trossard, Solanke
Ben Knapton
