Football writer Adrian Kajumba looks at the standout players and moments from Matchweek 26.
Best assist - Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford)
Yoane Wissa called Mikkel Damsgaard "the magician" while head coach Thomas Frank hailed him as the player who gets Brentford’s attack going.
Damsgaard showed exactly why in Brentford's thumping 4-0 win at Leicester City.
His first assist of the game was a moment of magic - a scooped, flicked pass which dissected Leicester’s defence as Wissa latched onto it to score.
Damsgaard's first assist v Leicester
There was some doubt about the intended target but it summed up Damsgaard's form that, regardless of who the pass was meant for - Wissa or Kevin Schade - it still led to a goal.
Damsgaard later set up Bryan Mbeumo’s stunning strike to record his 10th Premier League assist this season, a new club record which underlines the Dane’s influence.
"He was at the heart of everything good for Brentford," said Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s record goalscorer.
Damsgaard's performance at Leicester was in keeping with his contribution all season.
He has been involved in 89 attacking sequences for Brentford during the current campaign, second only to Mbeumo's 118.
Best performance - Liverpool
Even with Manchester City’s inconsistent form, a trip to the Etihad Stadium carried potential danger for Liverpool.
It is not a ground where they had experienced much joy in the last decade, with their previous Premier League victory there coming in 2015, in former manager Jurgen Klopp’s first visit.
Yet Arne Slot's side handled the occasion with minimal fuss to secure a first league win at the Etihad against Pep Guardiola and take a big step towards a second Premier League title.
Their performance was voted the most impressive of the weekend by fans on our Premier League WhatsApp channel.
Man City started encouragingly but Liverpool stopped them in their tracks with a brilliantly-worked set-piece opener, converted by the unstoppable Salah.
The result was then never really in doubt after Dominik Szoboszlai doubled Liverpool's lead before half-time.
Man City dominated the ball and Liverpool’s total of 33.9 per cent possession was their lowest in a Premier League victory on record.
But as they successfully protected their lead and kept out Man City, albeit one lacking the injured Erling Haaland, Liverpool looked again like what they have for most of this season - a class above everyone else.
Biggest surprise - West Ham
As Jarrod Bowen revealed, West Ham United were well aware that they were being written off ahead of their trip to an Arsenal side that were previously unbeaten at home in the Premier League this season.
But the Hammers upset the odds to claim a big win, and first clean sheet, under Graham Potter while denting Arsenal’s fading title hopes in the process.
Bowen’s 50th Premier League goal for West Ham won the match but also crucial to their victory was wing-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Bowen's goal v Arsenal
In a disciplined display, West Ham defended deep to frustrate Arsenal. Wan-Bissaka was essential to their plan to relieve some of the pressure and get up the pitch from their deep starting position to threaten on the counter-attack.
The tactic made perfect sense with Wan-Bissaka attempting the most dribbles among Premier League defenders, with 74, and completing the second-most with 40 this season.
The best example of Wan-Bissaka’s ball-carrying qualities and ability to beat opponents at Arsenal came in West Ham’s winning goal.
Wan-Bissaka led a West Ham raid down the right and clipped in an inch-perfect cross that Bowen nodded in. "It was a beautiful ball," said Bowen, who had also been presented with an earlier opportunity by the defender.
Wan-Bissaka finished the match with the joint-most chances created of any West Ham player and a team-high three dribbles out of five completed.
Best game-changer - Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa)
"I’m sure there are directors of football with their heads in their hands, thinking 'why didn’t I get Marcus Rashford?,'" former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp said after Aston Villa’s 2-1 win against Chelsea.
A transformative performance off the bench from Rashford against Chelsea had Redknapp wondering if some of Villa’s rivals might regret not signing him from Manchester United themselves.
Rashford assisted both goals for fellow loan signing Marco Asensio as he inspired Villa’s comeback from 1-0 down.
It was the first time Rashford had set up two goals in a Premier League match since October 2020.
He provided the energy Unai Emery wanted from his players in the second half. In doing so, he played a key role in Villa forcing Chelsea back following a first half the visitors had the better of.
Chelsea initially enjoyed success down their right flank with full-back Malo Gusto a regular outlet.
But Gusto had more defending to worry about after half-time once Rashford entered the fray, looking to repeatedly threaten in behind Chelsea’s defence.
Despite playing just one half, Rashford created the most chances for Villa, with three, and attempted the most dribbles, with four, as he once again proved the impact he can have as a substitute, following a previous lively cameo on his Premier League debut for Emery's side against Ipswich Town.
Best game - Newcastle United 4-3 Nottingham Forest
Eddie Howe saw the best and worst of his Newcastle United side against Nottingham Forest as their contrasting performance in this match of two halves contributed to a rollercoaster seven-goal thriller at St James’ Park.
Callum Hudson-Odoi fired Forest ahead with a trademark strike, his seventh goal from outside the box since the start of last season, more than any other player.
Forest have had an impressive record this season when going ahead so might have been optimistic at this point. Going into the weekend, they had only lost once in the 20 Premier League matches when they had taken the lead.
That was against Newcastle in November, though, and history eventually repeated itself in the return fixture between the sides.
Four goals in 11 devastating first-half minutes, including two which took Alexander Isak to 50 Premier League goals for Newcastle and made him the competition’s top-scoring Swede, meant Howe’s side led 4-1 at half-time.
Isak's brace v Forest
For reasons that left Howe scratching his head, though, Newcastle were unable to get going in the second half, giving Nuno Espirito Santo’s side encouragement as it wore on.
When Ryan Yates scored for Forest in the 90th minute to make it 4-3, the prospect of St James’ Park staging another incredible 4-4 draw, after one against Arsenal in 2011, was momentarily real.
But Newcastle held on to claim a win that looked like being far more comfortable earlier in the afternoon than it ultimately proved to be.
Best set-piece routine - Liverpool
The sense that Liverpool are a step ahead of the rest this season was further enhanced by the goal that set them on their way to their statement win at Man City.
While most anticipated a delivery into the box from a 14th-minute corner, the Premier League leaders caught Man City off guard with a clever, pre-planned routine.
Alexis Mac Allister’s low ball into the near-post area was turned around the corner by Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah applied the finishing touch, with the aid of a deflection.
Liverpool's first goal v Man City
With such invention and quality in their ranks, plus the aerial threat that they pose with the height of their players, it is surprising that Slot’s side have scored the joint-fewest Premier League set-piece goals, excluding penalties, with four.
Not that it has stopped them streaking clear at the top of the table.
Salah is a major reason why Liverpool’s lead now stands at 11 points and his latest inspired display at Man City saw him reach more remarkable landmarks.
After scoring the first goal, the unplayable Egyptian repaid the favour by setting up Szoboszlai to make it 2-0.
That means he has now both scored and assisted in 11 different league matches in 2024/25 - extending his Premier League record for a single season.
It also made him the first player to achieve 40+ goal involvements in two Premier League campaigns, and the first player in Europe's top five leagues to reach 50 goal involvements in all competitions in 2024/25.