The biggest Premier League talking points this weekend

The 10 Premier League fixtures were split across two weekends thanks to the newly introduced winter break, with Storms Ciara and Dennis playing a major role in proceedings.

The race for European qualification is very much on, too – now opened up to 5th in light of Manchester City's European ban – with only six points between Chelsea in 4th and Manchester United in 9th. The heat is on...

Manchester City dominated the football news despite not playing, after being handed a two-year ban from European club competition.

With City expected to secure a top-four position, it means that 5th could now qualify for the Champions League in their place – with Tottenham currently occupying the spot. Poetic justice for Spurs' 2011-12 campaign, perhaps?

Liverpool were made to fight for it, but maintained their astonishing run of form in the Premier League this season with a 1-0 win at Norwich City. Sadio Mané scored the only goal of the game in the 78th minute, moving the Reds a colossal 25 points ahead of 2nd-placed defending champions, Man City.

Tottenham left it late, but Son Heung-min’s 94th-minute goal secured them a 3-2 win at Aston Villa. Son scored a brace after also netting from the rebound of a penalty that was saved by Villa goalkeeper Pepe Reina, making him the first Asian player to score 50 Premier League goals. The result moves Spurs up to 5th and a point behind Chelsea.

Arsenal moved back into the top ten with only their seventh league win of the season, beating Newcastle United 4-0. After a goalless first half, two goals in three minutes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe set things going, before Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette rounded the result off late on.

Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers played out a nervy 0-0 draw at Molineux, but the biggest talking point was Willy Boly’s disallowed goal. Boly thought he'd given Wolves the lead, but his header was ruled out by VAR because Diogo Jota was offside in the build-up.

Burnley made the most of difficult weather conditions at St Mary’s to beat Southampton 2-1. Ashley Westwood scored directly from a corner after just 93 seconds, as the ball swirled in strong winds. The Clarets are only two points behind 8th-placed Everton, which could now offer Europa League qualification if Man City’s ban is upheld.

Everton extended their unbeaten run to five games as they beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Goodison Park. Two months ago the Toffees were in the relegation zone but are now up to 8th, with only leaders Liverpool picking up more than their 17 points since Carlo Ancelotti was named manager.

Mané came off the bench to score the winner for Liverpool in their 1-0 victory at Norwich, having missed their past two league matches through injury. The Senegal international expertly took down Jordan Henderson’s pass before finishing what was the 100th goal of his English club career.

Aston Villa manager, Dean Smith, was unhappy with the intervention of VAR during his side’s 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham. Spurs were awarded a penalty by the system in a decision that Smith described as “farcical”, with Son Heung-min scoring the rebound. Villa remain one place and one point outside the relegation zone.

Only Crystal Palace have scored fewer than Newcastle’s 24 goals this season, following their 4-0 loss at Arsenal. Their club record £40m signing, Joelinton, joined from Hoffenheim in the summer but the striker has scored just once since and has now not netted in his last 22 games.

Southampton may have lost 2-1 to Burnley, but in Danny Ings they have one of the most prolific marksmen in the country. Of English Premier League players, only Marcus Rashford (19) and Raheem Sterling (20) have scored more goals in all competitions this season, following his strike against the Clarets.

Jamie Vardy became only the second player to make 200 Premier League appearances for Leicester after Muzzy Izzet, during their 0-0 draw with Wolves. Yet Vardy failed to score for the sixth successive league match – his longest run without a goal in the top flight since February 2017.

The fixture between Manchester City and West Ham United was postponed due to Storm Ciara. It was one of many sporting events disrupted by the weather, although the only Premier League game affected. It will now be played this Wednesday instead, meaning both teams had to cut their winter break short.

Sheffield United came from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 2-1 and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for Europe. Storm Ciara brough strong winds and heavy rain, but that couldn’t dampen the Blades who came back from an early Callum Wilson strike to win through Billy Sharp and John Lundstram goals.

Watford were pegged back by Brighton and Hove Albion in a 1-1 draw and failed to secure the win that would have moved them out of the relegation zone. Abdoulaye Doucoure put the Hornets ahead, but Brighton - who are only three points above the drop zone themselves - were rescued by an Adrian Mariappa own goal.

Liverpool moved an English top flight record 22 points clear at the top of the table after they won and Manchester City lost, while the relegation battle at the bottom of the table now involves several teams following a mix of results...

Steven Bergwijn scored a goal on his Tottenham debut as the north Londoners beat Manchester City 2-0 to move up to 5th in the table. Bergwijn joined Spurs in a £27m transfer from PSV Eindhoven last week and opened the scoring with a superb volley. Tottenham are now just four points behind Chelsea in fourth.

Liverpool opened up the biggest lead by a team in English top-flight history by going 22 points ahead of 2nd-placed Manchester City. Their emphatic 4-0 win against Southampton means the Reds also equalled City’s record of 20 consecutive home victories in the Premier League.

Manchester United’s new £47m signing, Bruno Fernandes, couldn’t help them to a win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on his debut as they drew 0-0 in a dull encounter at Old Trafford. Fernandes was solid enough, but United have now not scored in their past three league matches.

West Ham are into the bottom three after twice being pegged back by Brighton in a 3-3 draw at the London Stadium. The Hammers let 2-0 and 3-1 leads slip and have now won just once in all competitions since David Moyes returned as manager on December 30.

Momentum swung both ways as Champions League hopefuls Leicester City and Chelsea played out a 2-2 draw. Antonio Rudiger gave the visitors the lead at the King Power Stadium, before Leicester came back through goals from Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell. A second Rudiger header salvaged a point for Frank Lampard’s side.

Arsenal extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches, and also their unbeaten run in away games in Premier League to seven. In truth, though, the Gunners were poor in their goalless draw with Burnley and remain 10 points off fourth-placed Chelsea and the Champions League places.

Nick Pope’s clean sheet for Burnley in their 0-0 home draw at home to Arsenal was his ninth of the season. No goalkeeper has kept more shutouts than Pope this season, with Liverpool’s Alisson and Dean Henderson of Sheffield United having also kept nine after their own clean sheets on Saturday.

A second successive win for Bournemouth against fellow strugglers Aston Villa moved them out of the relegation zone and into the dizzy heights of 16th. Goals from Philip Billing and Nathan Ake gave them a 2-0 first-half lead, before Jefferson Lerma was sent off and Mbwana Samatta pulled one back for Villa – his first goal for the club.

Theo Walcott hit an injury-time winner as Everton came from 2-0 down at Watford to win 3-2. There had already been drama in the first half when Yerry Mina scored twice in stoppage time to level the scores, before Walcott netted a dramatic winner in spite of Fabian Delph's second-half red card for the visitors.

Sheffield United are only five points behind 4th-placed Chelsea after a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace. Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita gifted the Blades their winner when he mishandled an Oliver Norwood corner over his line.

Pep Guardiola has admitted defeat in Man City's Premier League title defence following their 2-0 defeat at Tottenham. City – who have now gone consecutive games without scoring for the first time under Guardiola – had Oleksandr Zincheko sent off for two yellow cards, before Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min scored for Spurs.

“Liverpool are unstoppable,” Guardiola said post-match. “They have a lot of points, we dropped points in the games that we played quite similar to today. Even when we played Anfield. Now it’s to try to qualify for the Champions League next season.”

Both managers said they were “disappointed” after Newcastle United and Norwich City played out a 0-0 draw in the North East. Bottom side Norwich had the better of the chances, but Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was in fine form while his team-mates in attack were poor.

Having become the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League – making them the 117th different nation to be represented in the competition – Mbwana Samatta then became the first from Tanzania to score in the division, when he netted a consolation for Aston Villa in their 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth.

Frank Lampard made the surprising decision to drop Kepa Arrizabalaga for Chelsea’s trip to Leicester City, with Willy Caballero starting in goal instead. At 38 years and 126 days, Caballero became the oldest player to feature in the Premier League so far this season.

Andros Townsend made his 200th Premier League appearance – but unfortunately for the winger, his Crystal Palace side lost 1-0 to Sheffield United at Selhurst Park. Townsend has played 125 times for Palace, 50 for Tottenham, 13 for Newcastle and 12 for QPR.

Liverpool moved back to 16 points clear at the top of the table, Spurs scored their first goal of 2020 and things are unravelling at Manchester United. Elsewhere, there were red cards and dramatic late goals, while at the bottom there were vital wins for Bournemouth and Aston Villa...

Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was named permanent Manchester United manager in March, the Norwegian has lost 12 league games and won just 11. Solskjaer’s latest defeat came at home against Burnley, with the players booed off at both half-time and full-time as they lost further ground in the race for Champions League qualification.

Two injury-time strikes rescued a point for Newcastle United at Everton. Florian Lejeune scored his first Magpies goal in the 94th minute, and 102 seconds had his second as Newcastle earned a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Goodison Park. It came just three days after they scored a 94th-minute winner against Chelsea.

Bournemouth ended a sorry run of results in the Premier League with a much-needed 3-1 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion. Going into this game, the Cherries had picked up just four points from their last 36 and hadn't scored in the league since Boxing Day. The win moves them up to 18th, two points behind Brighton.

Tyrone Mings scored a 95th-minute winner as Aston Villa moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Watford. Ezri Konsa’s late shot deflected in off Mings – who admitted he feared he might be sent off prior to that, when a free-kick was given against him for handball... already on a yellow card.

Wolverhampton Wanderers became the first team to score against Liverpool in the Premier League for nine games – an impressive run that stretched 50 days. Unfortunately for Wolves, Raul Jimenez’s goal wasn’t enough to earn them a point at Molineux, as Liverpool went 16 points clear at the top with a 2-1 win.

Arsenal came from behind twice at Stamford Bridge with 10 men to earn a 2-2 draw with Chelsea. Hector Bellerin marked his return from injury with a great strike in the 87th minute, after Cesar Azpilicueta thought he'd snatched a late winner for the Blues four minutes earlier. The Gunners remain 10 points off the top four, though.

Leicester City avoided three successive defeats in the Premier League by brushing aside West Ham 4-1 with a ferocious display. The Foxes have now scored 52 league goals after 24 matches – their highest total at this stage of the season since the 1930/31 campaign. They are 14 points clear of 5th-placed Manchester United.

Tottenham Hotspur scored their first Premier League goals of 2020 – and secured a maiden league win of the calendar year – in beating Norwich 2-1. Dele Alli netted Spurs' first goal in open play since Boxing Day, before Son Heung-min bagged the winner after Teemu Pukki equalised from the penalty spot.

Aymeric Laporte made a surprise return for Manchester City in their 1-0 win at Sheffield United. Laporte hadn't played for five months because of a knee injury, but was named in the starting XI as City kept their first clean sheet for six matches in all competitions.

A 2-0 win at Crystal Palace maintained Southampton’s excellent turnaround in form under manager Ralph Hassenhuttl. The result was the Saints’ fourth successive away Premier League win and moved them into the top half of the table for the first time this season. On December 14 they were in the relegation zone following a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham.

When David Luiz is involved, things are generally eventful – and the defender didn't disappoint on his first return to Chelsea as an Arsenal player. Luiz shoved Tammy Abraham to concede a penalty following a terrible backpass from Shkodran Mustafi, and was shown a straight red card in the 2-2 draw.

The new manager bounce of David Moyes’s appointment looks to be well and truly over for West Ham following their 4-1 defeat to Leicester. The Hammers now haven't won for three Premier League matches and are level on points with second-bottom Watford – only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.

Manchester United hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Burnley, but they left Old Trafford with a win for the first time in 58 years after a 2-0 triumph. It is also the first time Sean Dyche has won at United as manager, with Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez goals securing all three points.

Moise Kean netted his first goal for Everton, opening the scoring in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle. It has been a difficult time on Merseyside for the 19-year-old following his summer move from Juventus – the worst moment perhaps being when he was a substituted substitute – but this was a big moment for the striker.

Callum Wilson ended a barren spell of 1,319 minutes without a Premier League goal when he netted Bournemouth’s third in a 3-1 win against Brighton. It looked like he'd scored the second as well, although it turned out it had flicked in off Pascal Gross for an own goal.

Liverpool were the only side in the top five to win as they march on towards their first league title since 1990. Wolves, Newcastle, Burnley and Norwich were the only other teams to pick up victories on a weekend packed full of draws, while VAR was once again among the biggest talking points. Ah...

Defending champions Manchester City trail leaders Liverpool by 16 points following a 2-2 home draw with Crystal Palace. Pep Guardiola - on his 49th birthday - effectively admitted second-placed City are too far behind the Reds, claiming their priority now is to “try to secure our place for the Champions League next season”.

Liverpool are now 16 points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand, following their 2-0 win against rivals Manchester United. It seems a matter of when, rather than if, the Reds will win their first league title in 30 years as goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah sealed all three points at Anfield.

Referee Paul Tierney made history in the match between Norwich City and Bournemouth when he used a pitchside monitor for the first time in the Premier League. Referees can now refer to small screens for red card decisions and Tierney duly sent off Norwich’s Ben Godfrey in the 76th minute after looking at his.

Referee Mike Dean officiated his 500th Premier League game on Saturday, taking charge of the 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Sheffield United. Dean’s name was booed upon its airing over the loudspeaker at the Emirates Stadium, with the 51-year-old a notably unpopular figure among Gunners fans.

Pepe Reina made a superb late save on his Aston Villa debut to salvage a 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion. Reina joined Villa on loan from AC Milan last week and the goalkeeper was at full stretch to tip a Neal Maupay effort wide, after Jack Grealish cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s opener.

Newcastle United beat Chelsea 1-0 at St James’ Park thanks to a 94th-minute winner from Isaac Hayden. Newcastle moved seven points clear of the relegation zone as manager Steve Bruce secured only his second victory against the Blues, in his 23rd game in charge versus them.

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suspended, Arsenal handed 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli just his fourth Premier League start against Sheffield United. Aubameyang has netted 48% of the Gunners’ league goals this season, but Martinelli rewarded the faith shown in him by opening the scoring in the 1-1 draw with the Blades.

Wolverhampton Wanderers came from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Southampton 3-2 at St Mary’s. Raul Jimenez led the comeback in the second half with a brace - making the Mexican Wolves’ all-time leading Premier League goalscorer with 23 strikes. No team has picked up more points from a losing position (18) this season than Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

There are calls for Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin to be called up by England after scoring his 11th goal of the season, earning the Toffees a 1-1 draw against West Ham. With Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford injured, and Vardy retired, Calvert-Lewin is making a good case ahead of Euro 2020.

Hundreds of West Ham fans held a protest outside the London Stadium ahead of their Premier League match against Everton. They are unhappy with the running of their club by David Sullivan and David Gold, who bought the Hammers 10 years ago and were both in attendance to watch the 1-1 draw.

Although signed for his attacking talent, Ignacio Pussetto’s first touch as a Watford player was vital defensively. Pussetto, signed from Udinese, came off the bench to clear a stoppage-time shot from Erik Lamela off the line and earn a 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

David Silva made his 300th Premier League appearance for Manchester City in their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace - becoming the first player to achieve that feat for the club. Unfortunately for Silva, he couldn’t mark the occasion with a win as Fernandinho's 90th-minute own goal rescued a point for Palace.

Burnley stopped their poor run of defeats in the Premier League stretching to five games by beating Leicester City 2-1 at Turf Moor. They had to fight for the victory, though, coming from behind after Harvey Barnes had given his hometown club the lead. Chris Wood and Ashley Westwood scored for the Clarets, while Jamie Vardy missed a penalty which would have put the Foxes back in front.

Norwich City closed the gap between themselves and 19th-placed Bournemouth with a 1-0 win against the Cherries at Carrow Road. Teemu Pukki scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as Norwich kept their first home clean sheet in the Premier League this season. Bournemouth have now lost 10 of their last 12 league games.

Bournemouth had to play two thirds of their defeat at Norwich with 10 men after Steve Cook was shown a straight red card in the 31st minute for deliberate handball. With Aaron Ramsdale stranded after rushing out to block a Teemu Pukki shot, Cook dived at full stretch to tip Ondrej Duda’s goal-bound effort onto the post.