Football writer Ben Bloom analyses an incredible weekend of Matchweek 16 action in which there were big wins at the top and bottom of the table.
In a weekend packed with late drama, Manchester United stunned reigning champions Manchester City in a spectacular derby victory, while Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest also snatched wins at the death.
Meanwhile, fast-starting Tottenham Hotspur took control much earlier in their match, scoring five times in the first half at struggling Southampton. The hosts then joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in parting company with their manager after a demoralising defeat.
At the top of the table, Liverpool, playing with 10 men for most of their meeting with Fulham, ceded ground to Chelsea, who notched another win to continue leading the way for the chasing pack.
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Another match of domination, but another draw for Arsenal as the title hopefuls were the latest side to be thwarted by the Everton defensive wall.
Mikel Arteta’s team had 77 per cent possession and largely ran the show at Emirates Stadium, but could not beat an inspired Jordan Pickford, six days after they were also held by Fulham.
Perhaps the stalemate could have been anticipated, with Arsenal (17) and Everton (13) notching the most Premier League shutouts in 2024. The visitors have now kept a remarkable six clean sheets in their last nine league matches.
Arsenal remain third but, after reaching points tallies of 43 and 39 at this stage of the past two seasons, they have only 30 to their name in this campaign.
Everton’s attacking troubles are the reason for their lowly league position and theirs was the fifth instance of a side failing to have a shot on target in the top flight this season – Arsenal have twice provided the opposition (also against Nottingham Forest).
Sean Dyche’s team have now attempted 44 shots since last scoring away from home and have failed to find the net in eight of their 15 Premier League matches.
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Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table narrowed after this draw at home to Fulham, but Arne Slot was left praising his side’s resilience for surviving the 17th-minute sending off of Andy Robertson and twice coming from behind to salvage a point.
Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz looked to have given the visitors victory after Robertson’s game ended early when he was shown red for denying Harry Wilson a goalscoring opportunity.
But Diogo Jota, in his first appearance since picking up an injury in October, scored a late equaliser.
Cody Gakpo’s earlier header came from a beautiful Mohamed Salah cross, which was the Egyptian’s 13th assist in all competitions this season, to go with his 16 goals.
He now has 101 assists for Liverpool in all competitions, becoming only the club's second player to reach the century milestone in the Premier League era after Steven Gerrard (144).
No team has scored the opening goal in more different Premier League matches this season than Fulham (12), but Marco Silva’s side have also dropped a league-high 17 points from winning positions.
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After a run of four Premier League matches without victory, Newcastle United got back on track in some style with a crushing victory over Leicester City – only their fourth league win since mid-September.
Having failed to find the net in the Premier League this season, Jacob Murphy broke his duck with two goals for the hosts, ending his own barren run at St James’ Park that dated back to October 2023.
Murphy’s first was Newcastle’s only goal in a dominant first half, and the hosts added three more after the break, with Alexander Isak scoring in three consecutive Premier League matches for the second time this season.
The Swedish striker has now directly contributed to 17 goals (scored 13 and assisted four) in his 14 league matches at St James’ Park in 2024.
Isak also has 20 total Premier League goals in 2024 – he's the third Newcastle United player to reach the landmark in a calendar year after Alan Shearer (22 in 1999, 27 in 2002) and Andrew Cole (24 in 1994).
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first defeat as Leicester boss leaves his side one spot above the relegation zone with a massive clash against second-bottom Wolves next up.
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A last-gasp winner provided Ipswich a much-needed second league win of the season and ultimately cost Wolves manager Gary O’Neil his job.
O’Neil’s time at the helm ended following defeat to their fellow relegation-threatened opponents, which left Wolves five points from safety after four straight losses.
They have conceded a league-high 40 goals this season, including shipping two or more in 13 of their 16 matches.
A concerning 16 of those goals have come from set-pieces (excluding penalties) – exactly double the tally of the next highest team.
Ipswich had taken an early lead thanks to Matt Doherty’s own goal, which was Wolves’ third of the season.
Matheus Cunha then equalised with his eighth Premier League goal of the season, which moved him level with Steven Fletcher (22) and behind only Raul Jimenez (40) in the top flight for Wolves.
But Ipswich had the last laugh when Jack Taylor grabbed a winner deep in stoppage time. Like his team-mate Sam Szmodics, Taylor has now scored in England's top five divisions - including the National League - for various sides in his career.
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Staring at defeat in the final few minutes of normal time, Forest completed a dramatic late turnaround to climb back into the Premier League’s top four.
Goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga mean Forest now have 28 points – already just four shy of their final total last season and their best points return at this stage of a Premier League campaign since 1994/95, when they went on to finish third.
Defeat continued a worrying trend for Aston Villa, who are now winless in their last five league matches after a UEFA Champions League fixture.
While they are sixth in the Premier League table, Unai Emery’s side have lost four consecutive away matches for the first time since Gerrard’s tenure in August 2022.
Their goal came from Jhon Duran, who has scored in all five of his starts for Villa in all competitions this season – the first player to do so in five successive starts for the club since Ollie Watkins in February 2023.
Only Erling Haaland (one every 88 minutes) has a better minutes-to-goal ratio in the competition’s history (among players to score 5+ goals) than Duran (one every 97 minutes).
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Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten run to five matches as they continue their climb up the table and away from danger.
Oliver Glasner’s side went winless in their opening eight matches of the campaign, but inflicted a first home defeat of the season on Brighton & Hove Albion to move four points clear of the relegation zone.
It was Palace’s first win against Brighton since February 2021.
Ismaila Sarr was the standout player, scoring twice and assisting another – the second time he has both scored and assisted in a Premier League match this campaign.
Trevoh Chalobah scored Palace’s other goal, while Brighton had only a late Marc Guehi own goal to show for their troubles.
Brighton’s Expected Goals (xG) total of 0.81 was their lowest in a Premier League fixture this season, and lowest at home since facing Man City in April (0.62).
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An Amad-inspired Man Utd snatched a sensational late win at the Etihad Stadium to compound Man City’s current woes.
City were leading until the 88th minute – the latest into a match that any Premier League champions have led in a top-flight fixture and lost.
Amad won the penalty that Bruno Fernandes (21 goals from 25 penalties) converted to become United’s most successful Premier League penalty taker, ahead of Wayne Rooney (20 from 28).
Amad then struck from a tight angle two minutes later to secure a first Manchester derby victory for new boss Ruben Amorim, who had dropped Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from the matchday squad.
It was a far cry from the tedium of a mostly low-quality match, which took 21 minutes until the first shot was attempted – the longest wait on record (since 2006/07) in a Manchester derby in the Premier League.
Josko Gvardiol’s 36th-minute opener was the match’s first shot on target and took his tally of Premier League goals to eight in 2024 – more than any other defender.
None of those have been with his stronger left foot (three headers and five right-footed).
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As much as manager Enzo Maresca continues to downplay his side’s title credentials, the table tells a different story, with Chelsea now just two points behind league leaders Liverpool after this seventh consecutive win in all competitions.
Indeed, since the start of May, Chelsea have scored more goals (51), won more matches (15) and earned more points (49) in the Premier League than any other side.
They took the lead through Marc Cucurella’s first Premier League goal for the club in his 60th appearance. The Spaniard was later sent off after an altercation following the final whistle.
Nicolas Jackson continued his fine season by netting Chelsea’s second strike, to take his tally of goal involvements to 12 (scored nine, assisted three) in his last 14 matches.
Jackson's goal v Brentford
NJ. 🇸🇳🔵#CFC | #CHEBRE pic.twitter.com/KMteOPXUEt
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 16, 2024
Defeat continues Brentford’s dismal away form this season. No side has earned fewer points than their solitary one, while only Southampton (four) and Everton (five) have scored fewer than the Bees' six goals on the road.
Bryan Mbeumo’s goal in the 90th minute was his 10th in the league this season, the first time he has reached double figures in the competition.
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Spurs ran riot in a rampant first-half performance that sent home fans heading for an extremely premature exit and resulted in the post-match departure of Southampton manager Russell Martin.
James Maddison put the visitors ahead after just 36 seconds, and Spurs went on to score five goals in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match for the first time.
Maddison finished with two goals, while Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr all added their names to the scoresheet.
Son’s goal was his 125th in the Premier League and he also provided his 68th Premier League assist, the joint-most of any Spurs player alongside Darren Anderton.
While they kept the second half goalless with a spirited display, Southampton remain adrift at the bottom of the table.
Their five points is the second-worst of any side at this stage of a Premier League campaign, above only Sheffield United’s two in 2020/21.
Only Derby County (-32 in 07/08), Sheff Utd (-29 in 23/24), Barnsley (-29 in 97/98) and Sheffield Wednesday (-26 in 99/00) had a worse goal difference after 16 Premier League matches than Southampton’s current -25.
AFC Bournemouth host West Ham United at 20:00 BST tonight (Monday).
