The Premier League was back with a bang this weekend as domestic duties resumed following the first international break of the year.
Manchester City beat third-placed Leicester City to move to within four wins of the title, while Manchester United boosted their top-four chances with victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Indeed, it proved to be an important weekend in the top-four race with Leicester, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton all dropping points.
A previously watertight Chelsea defence was incredibly hit for five by goal-shy West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge, Spurs were somewhat fortunate to escape with a point against Newcastle United and Everton were held by Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Those results allowed West Ham United to move into the final Champions League spot with victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, while it was also a good weekend for Liverpool, who dominated Arsenal in a 3-0 win at the Emirates.
Fulham remain in the relegation zone after losing at Aston Villa, while Southampton beat Burnley and Leeds United overcame Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 30.
There was no standout candidate for the gloves in this week's team, so we have gone for Crystal Palace's Vicente Guaita, who made a string of good saves to earn his side a point at Goodison Park.
Emiliano Martinez, Nick Pope and Sam Johnstone, the latter of whom provided an assist, were also in contention, but in general the contenders for positions in this team were very top-heavy, leading us to a rather unorthodox and perhaps unbalanced selection.
Indeed, the number of must-haves further up the field mean that this week we have had to prioritise personnel over positions, leaving a dubious back three which includes two usually-marauding wing-backs due to the lack of outstanding centre-back options.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold fired a reminder of his quality in the comfortable win over Arsenal, providing a fine assist for the opening goal and creating much more besides that in his first outing since being left out of the England squad.
It was Fabinho who was the man of the match at the Emirates, though, and while his performances since returning to midfield have left nobody in any doubt as to his favoured position, this week his versatility forces him back into defence once again for us.
Making up the back three is Benjamin Mendy, who got himself on the scoresheet for only the second time in the Premier League, and did so in style with an accomplished finish.
Mendy is joined in the XI by Man City clubmate Kevin De Bruyne, who may not have added to his assists or goals tally against Leicester, but who was still the outstanding player on the pitch. The Belgian thundered an effort against the crossbar and also played a huge role in their second goal with a delicious through-ball in the buildup.
It is in midfield where the competition really starts to grow, though, and Stuart Armstrong, James Rodriguez and Bruno Fernandes were among those in contention in the middle of the park.
Jesse Lingard pips all of them with his performance in the final match of the gameweek, though, having opened the scoring with a stunning solo effort, played a big role in the second courtesy of a Dimitar Berbatov-esque piece of skill and then assisted the third.
Strangely, there are three substitutes who make this week's team, with all of them coming off the bench to score twice, and the first of those is Trezeguet. The Egyptian inspired Villa's comeback against Fulham, scoring twice in three minutes as Dean Smith's side turned things around in the closing stages of the game.
Another of the subs to make this XI is Callum Robinson, who came on after just 37 minutes in place of Branislav Ivanovic, who himself had been brought on against his former club earlier in the half.
It may not have been in Sam Allardyce's plan, then, but the introduction worked wonders as Robinson helped himself to a brace in West Brom's remarkable rout at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's chief tormentor, and the first name on this week's teamsheet, was Matheus Pereira, who scored twice in first-half stoppage time to turn the game around and then assisted the final two goals as the Baggies found themselves in dreamland.
The level of competition for the forward places forces Pereira into a slightly deeper role in this XI, largely to make room for Diogo Jota, who once again underlined his importance to Liverpool with a brace off the bench. The Reds had dominated the game without creating too much before Jota's introduction, but his impact was immediate and he was ultimately the difference-maker in the final third.
Raphinha and Adama Traore also deserve mentions in the wide areas, while up front the likes of Danny Ings, Chris Wood and Nathan Redmond all miss out despite helping themselves to a goal and an assist apiece.
Gabriel Jesus and Mbaye Diagne also deserve mentions, but it is Harry Kane who leads the line for us this week courtesy of his well-taken brace against Newcastle.
Spurs ultimately dropped points in that game despite the best efforts of Kane, who also hit the woodwork in another example of why he remains the Premier League's top centre-forward. body check tags ::
