Nottingham Forest and Everton did their Premier League survival chances the world of good on a remarkable day in the division, and one that could end up costing Leeds and Leicester.
As 21 goals were scored - a record for a day when there were only three matches - Forest and Everton secured superb victories to pull out of the bottom three.
Leicester, though, shipped five goals at Fulham in a result which has secured Premier League status for both Wolves and Crystal Palace, while Bournemouth are also all-but mathematically safe and West Ham, on 37 points, are on the cusp of safety themselves.
Meanwhile it is the opposite for rock-bottom Southampton, who sit on 24 points, now eight adrift of Everton, and face an almost certain relegation next weekend.
The Saints were well beaten by an impressive Forest side at the City Ground, where they raced into a two-goal lead thanks to a brace from Taiwo Awoniyi.
Carlos Alcaraz pulled one back, but when Morgan Gibbs-White made it 3-1 from the penalty spot things looked bleak for the visitors.
Defender Lyanco did give them brief hope, but then his fellow Brazilian Danilo snatched that away with a fine finish from a Gibbs-White flick to make it 4-2, before a late James Ward-Prowse penalty consolation.
Forest came into the game knowing that Everton had pulled off a remarkable 5-1 victory at Europe-chasing Brighton, where Sean Dyche's side raced into the lead after just 33 seconds when Abdoulaye Doucoure turned home after being found by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Doucoure then doubled Everton's lead with a smooth finish following a superb counter-attack, before Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele deflected Dwight McNeil's cross into his own net for the third just before half-time.
McNeil rounded Steele to walk in Everton's fourth in the second half, and after Alexis Mac Allister bundled one back for the hosts, McNeil blasted home another to complete a stunning victory.
The first game of the day had seen Leicester labelled "embarrassing" by fan Gary Lineker as they slumped to a 5-3 defeat at Fulham, who were 4-0 up by the start of the second half when Tom Cairney bagged his second of the game.
Harvey Barnes pulled one back for the Foxes, but after Jamie Vardy missed a penalty Fulham's scoring was rounded off by a superb effort from Willian, his second of the game.
James Maddison scored from the spot and Barnes added another to add some respectability to the scoreline, but Maddison laid into his teammates post-match when he said: “Big game for us and we were not at it. We were not hungry enough to want to win the game. We need to do the basics well. We were not aggressive enough.“
The England man later rowed back on his comments, although neither he or his teammates could hide from the fact that Monday could turn into a crucial day for them.
