The Premier League is entering the crucial final third of the campaign and it promises to be a fascinating climax after a weekend of fixtures in the top flight.
While Chelsea and Liverpool duelled in a thrilling Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, the domestic league was in full swing with eight matches played.
Manchester City restored their six-point gap at the top with a narrow 1-0 win over Everton, but their rivals Manchester United experienced frustration at the hands of Watford after being held to a goalless draw.
West Ham benefitted from the Red Devils’ slip-up with a slender win over Wolves, while Tottenham thrashed Leeds United 4-0 at Elland Road as the race for the top four intensified.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa condemned Brighton to only their fourth defeat of the season, while Southampton eased to a 2-0 victory over rock-bottom side Norwich City.
Newcastle United overcame Brentford to boost their relegation survival bid, as Crystal Palace shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Burnley at Selhurst Park.
Here are Mirror Football's 10 talking points from this weekend's action.
Bruno Fernandes’ quest for glory costs Man Utd
Cristiano Ronaldo is usually singled out for his narrow-minded, individual focus. But on Saturday, it was the other Portuguese star, Bruno Fernandes, who was guilty of prioritising his own glory over the team’s.
The playmaker was set up by the ever-impressive teenager Anthony Elanga with a darting run but, instead of squaring it to Ronaldo for a simple tap-in, Fernandes went for goal instead.
Ben Foster made a great stop to deny Fernandes, leading Ronaldo to throw his arms up in fury at his team-mate’s apparent refusal to pass the ball to him. And while Ronaldo is never far away from throwing a tantrum, this one was justified given the circumstances.
United did everything they could to break down the Watford goal but could not find a way through, with interim coach Ralf Rangnick aiming a swipe at his wasteful stars.
“Sometimes we were unlucky like when Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post but we had one-on-one opportunities," he said.
"This is not luck, this is sharpness, efficiency and being clinical.”
Have Your Say! Should VAR have given Everton a penalty for Rodri's handball? Comment below.
Rodri handball controversy poses more questions for VAR
Frank Lampard’s jibe that his three-year-old daughter could have done better in spotting the handball from Manchester City midfielder Rodri than the on-duty VAR official was humorous, but it pointed to how the controversial system is still not being used consistently across the Premier League.
The Everton boss was livid with the decision not to award his side a late penalty when the Spaniard appeared to control the ball with his arm inside his own area. The laws have changed to establish which part of the arm the ball can touch, although he did appear to control it with his lower arm.
Despite that, VAR insisted it could not be entirely sure that the incident warranted a penalty kick being given. But the majority of football fans watching at home knew — and the expression painted across Rodri’s face echoed that sentiment.
It was a shame for the Toffees, who were more than deserving of a point after a battling display at Goodison Park in which they kept leaders Manchester City out for 81 minutes. Now Lampard will need to use the pain from their latest loss to inspire his side to get away from the relegation battle.
More to Kane’s game than just goals
Harry Kane is seen by many as an out and out striker, given his impressive Premier League scoring record, but there is so much more to his game than just goals.
The England captain is more than adept at playing the creator too, with his pass for Son Heung-min's goal in Tottenham Hotspur's rampant 4-0 win at Leeds United on Saturday sublime in the extreme.
The assist means that Kane and Son are now the most productive partnership in the Premier League's history, with 36 contributions between each other.
Kane's all-round display earned special praise from his coach, Antonio Conte, who said: "Today on the ball Harry Kane was incredible, with his goals and assists.
"But off the ball I want to highlight his running and following the defenders of Leeds. When your best player is doing this it's an example to others.”
Leeds choose survival over style as Bielsa bids farewell
After watching his side concede four goals at home to Tottenham on Saturday, a disconsolate Marcelo Bielsa bowed his head as his translator conducted his post-match interview. Hours later, news emerged that the club had decided to part ways with their iconic head coach.
The Argentinian knew his days were numbered after watching his Leeds side go from one of the most entertaining sides to the frailest in defensive terms. Conceding 20 goals in five games is relegation form and a man of Bielsa’s experience knew it was unacceptable.
Some pundits criticised his stubbornness in sticking with the high intensity, man-to-man style that he has carried with him his entire career, especially with key players Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford out injured.
But a principled manager like Bielsa is hard to come by these days — and asking him to change his ways is not what Leeds fans wanted. They would rather go down with him than stay up without him, but that scenario would be dangerous for owner Andrea Radriazzani.
Bielsa brought entertainment, style and a likability to Leeds, and did what no other manager could by bringing top-flight football back to Elland Road. For that, he will forever be a legend in the supporters’ eyes — and a forthcoming statue is a fitting monument to his achievements with the Yorkshire club.
Cash sends heartfelt message to Polish team-mate in Ukraine
Defender Matty Cash went against the rules while celebrating his second goal for Aston Villa in their 2-0 home win over Brighton and Hove Albion to send a message of support to Poland team-mate Tomasz Kedziora who is stuck in Ukraine.
Cash was booked for removing his shirt to reveal a hand-written message saying: "Tomasz Kedziora + family - stay strong my bro" for the Dynamo Kyiv player, who has not been able to leave the country following Russia's invasion this week.
Cash's thoughts were with his team-mate, but his focus was on the pitch as he controlled a pass from the left and fired a low shot past Robert Sanchez in the 17th minute.
It was a much-needed victory for Villa to stay in the race for a top-10 finish after one win in seven games for Steven Gerrard, but that paled in importance for Cash in comparison to the events happening elsewhere.
Eriksen return proves anything is possible
There was nothing quite like the unbridled joy of seeing Christian Eriksen back on a football pitch playing professional football just eight months after suffering a cardiac arrest during Euro 2020.
The football world watched on with tears in their eyes as Denmark’s team huddled around their stricken team-mate while he received emergency medical attention on the pitch in Copenhagen.
Eriksen has been able to return thanks to the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) he had fitted a few days after his collapse. Players are not able to play with an ICD in Italy, which led to the mutual termination of his contract with Inter Milan, but the Dane was determined to get back to playing.
Having signed on a six-month deal with Brentford in January, the 30-year-old was beaming at the final whistle — and who could blame him. “If you take away the result, I’m one happy man,” said Eriksen.
“To go through what I’ve been through, being back is a wonderful feeling. It’s been very special since day one. Brentford have taken good care of me. Everyone’s been really happy about it and everyone’s been really helpful.”
Hammers put pressure on top-four rivals
West Ham boss David Moyes will not be getting carried away with his side’s progress towards Champions League qualification after moving into fifth spot and just two points behind Manchester United.
The reality is that Arsenal are more likely to go toe-to-toe with Man United in the final third of the season for a top-four spot, with three games in hand over West Ham and Mikel Arteta’s side have the same points tally.
But securing a morale-boosting victory on the same weekend that Spurs won and Manchester United drew was crucial for West Ham, as well as beating a fellow rival for the European places in Wolves to record only their second win in six games.
Their 1-0 win over Wolves was crucial in sending a message that the east London outfit very much remain in the hunt. Given their limited squad options and lack of spending in comparison to their rivals, pulling off such a feat would unquestionably go down as the Scot’s finest career achievement.
Newcastle led by born-again Joelinton
If Eddie Howe can point to one aspect of his management that has transformed Newcastle’s fortunes since his appointment, Joelinton’s miraculous turnaround is a shining example.
The Brazilian scored just six goals in 79 Premier League appearances in his first two seasons, despite costing £36m from Hoffenheim to become the club's record signing. As it turned out, the 26-year-old was merely being utilised in the wrong position.
Steve Bruce put him through the centre and out wide, but Howe’s decision to mould the towering attacker into a box-to-box midfielder is reaping the rewards. He is keeping £33m signing Bruno Guimaraes out of the team at present and on merit too.
It was a poignant moment for Joelinton as he headed Newcastle in front against Brentford on their way to sealing a 2-0 win over their 10-man opponents, sprinting the entire length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the away end.
It seems that Toon supporters have a new cult hero to worship.
Dyche’s Burnley trudge towards safety
Burnley's bid to escape the Premier League relegation zone continued when they scraped to a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace to move within a point of the safety zone.
Jeffrey Schlupp's early opener was cancelled out by a Luka Milivojevic own goal, meaning the Clarets have now lost just one of their last seven league games, with Burnley manager Sean Dyche hailing his side's mentality.
"I wasn't too disappointed with the first half. We just didn't find the true rhythm and the tempo of our game. It was a little bit lacklustre, and we took a bit of time to settle down," Dyche said.
"But in the second half, I thought that we put in a real strong display to go and get a result. The response at half-time was terrific and to go about it with such a clear mentality and get the goal, set the tone for us.”
Saints marching on under Hasenhuttl
A man who has overseen not one but two games where his side have conceded nine goals, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has a tremendous sense of resilience.
The Austrian has revitalised his squad and they have quietly crept into the top half in ninth spot after an assured 2-0 victory over Norwich City. That win means the Saints will finish February unbeaten and have only lost once this year, with impressive displays in their draws against both Manchester clubs.
The leadership of local favourite James Ward-Prowse, combined with the exuberance of young players such as Armando Broja and Tino Livramento, has energised the club and they are making a late charge towards an unlikely Europa League spot.
Hasenhuttl’s name is rarely mentioned when top clubs are searching for a new manager, but the 54-year-old’s work with limited resources at St Mary’s should mean he won’t go unnoticed for too long.
