Man Utd all at sea vs Leicester and Chelsea implode - things we learned from EPL

After briefly being put on hold for international football, the Premier League returned over the weekend and conjured up some fascinating results in the process.

There was a colossal upset over at Stamford Bridge, where Brentford ran out shock 4-1 winners against Chelsea after blitzing their west London rivals on Saturday.

Liverpool and Manchester City both claimed 2-0 victories over Watford and Burnley to keep the title race simmering, while Wolves handed Aston Villa a third straight defeat at Molineux.

Manchester United flattered to deceive once again in a frustrating 1-1 draw with Leicester, denting their chances of finishing in the top four this season.

West Ham also kept their faint hopes of Champions League qualification alive in a 2-1 win over Everton, who remain very much in the relegation dogfight.

Here are 10 things we learned from the weekend's Premier League action.

Title race going to the wire

The reason Manchester City and Liverpool have enjoyed a stranglehold on the Premier League title over the last five seasons is they are by far the most consistent sides the top flight has to offer.

Both of them make winning Premier League matches look like a walk in the park, and on Saturday they picked up routine victories over Burnley and Watford to keep their latest title battle hanging in the balance.

In their last 20 games, City have recorded 17 wins and Liverpool are only one short of that tally on 16. The Reds are also boasting a 10-match win streak and are yet to taste defeat in 2022.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp know they must reach robot-like levels of consistency to pip the other one to the crown and that's what is playing out again this season.

Their joust to become champions will likely go down to the wire simply because of how relentless they are, making next weekend's showdown at the Etihad all the more crucial.

Given they could be separated by the smallest of margins come the end of the season, neither team can afford to lose ground when they collide in Manchester.

It is therefore bound to be a pivotal outing as the title race nears its conclusion, and with City leading at the summit by a point the pressure will be on Liverpool to go for the jugular and edge their noses in front.

Seagulls sleepwalking into disarray

Brighton drew blank once again in a drab 0-0 stalemate with rock-bottom Norwich at the Amex, which was their goalless run to over 300 minutes.

Graham Potter's men have now failed to score in each of their last three matches, yet perhaps more damningly they have only found the back of the net ONCE in their last seven.

Neal Maupay had the chance to end that from the penalty spot on Saturday, only to send his effort from 12 yards flying over the crossbar. It pretty much summed up the Seagulls' woes in front of goal over the past couple of months.

Between now and the end of the season they have an extremely difficult run-in; three successive trips to Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City, home fixtures against Southampton, Man United and West Ham, as well as more away outings against high-flyers Wolves and relegation-battling Leeds.

If Potter doesn't address their offensive problems and come up with a solution sooner or later, Brighton could soon find themselves drifting closer and closer towards the relegation zone.

While it is still highly unlikely they will finish below Watford or Burnley, who are at least 12 points away, it would be a major disappointment if the Seagulls finished the campaign hovering directly above them.

Burnley staring relegation in the face

It wasn't exactly a surprise given the calibre of opposition, yet Burnley sank closer towards the dreaded threat of relegation in their 2-0 loss against Man City on Saturday.

The Clarets have typically been hard to beat at home under Sean Dyche over the years, which has often been enough to keep them afloat despite inferior funds to the majority of their Premier League rivals.

But they have now slumped to 10 defeats out of 14 at Turf Moor this season, an alarming return which could well send them packing to the Championship.

With 10 games still to play, Burnley trail 17th-place Everton by four points in the table, meaning they cannot afford to drop points when Frank Lampard's Toffees visit them on Wednesday night.

A victory would boost their chances of pulling off a great escape and maintaining their top-flight status for at least another season.

Anything less, however, will leave them staring the grim prospect of demotion to the second tier directly in the face.

Ward-Prowse eyeing Becks record

Many herald him as the greatest free-kick specialist the Premier League has ever seen, and over the weekend James Ward-Prowse justified such a billing with yet another expert set-piece.

The Southampton midfielder, labelled the best free-kick taker in world football by Pep Guardiola earlier this year, curled a dead ball straight into the top-left corner to earn Ralph Hasenhuttl's men a 1-1 draw at Leeds on Saturday.

It was the 13th free-kick he has scored in the Premier League, with only Manchester United legend David Beckham producing more (18).

The numbers do not suggest Ward-Prowse is a more talented free-kick taker than Beckham, as his 13 goals have come in 297 appearances compared to the former England captain's 265.

Nevertheless, Beckham was plying his trade for United, the top side in English football at the time, where free-kick opportunities in dangerous areas were likely more frequent.

And at the age of 27, Ward-Prowse certainly has enough time to go on and break his long-standing set-piece record.

De ja vu for Chelsea

On April 3, 2021, Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea were torn apart by relegation candidates West Brom, imploding dramatically in an astonishing 5-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

And Tuchel may well be thinking the start of April is cursed for him in SW6, as almost exactly one year on his Blues side were beaten to a pulp by west London rivals Brentford.

In one of the most surprising results of the season, the Bees became the first Premier League side ever to go on and win by three goals after going behind in the second half, fighting back from 1-0 down to pick up a stunning 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were ripped to shreds on the counter by the likes of Bryan Mbuemo, Christian Eriksen and Vitaly Janelt, with Tuchel's shift to a 4-3-3 setup exposed in emphatic fashion on the day.

The European champions looked to have distanced themselves from the battle for top four by brushing off controversy surrounding the club to record five straight wins, but Saturday's defeat has left them anxiously looking over their shoulder with Arsenal and Tottenham breathing down their neck.

The Gunners can move to within two points of Tuchel and Co by beating Crystal Palace on Monday night, while Spurs are only five points behind albeit having played a game more.

If their disaster against Brentford is a sign of things to come amid their impending takeover, Chelsea could find themselves scrapping for fourth come the end of the season.

Wolves this season's surprise package

Bruno Lage has slowly but surely built Wolves back into a European level side this season and on Saturday they kept their hunt for Europa League qualification alive with a 2-1 win over neighbours Aston Villa.

Since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo at Molineux Lage has brought a newfound defensive stability to Wolves. Their tally of 27 goals conceded is the fourth highest in the Premier League - only beaten by top three Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea -  and at home to Villa they again proved a tough nut to crack.

After taking a 2-0 lead in at the break, only a late Ollie Watkins penalty gave the visitors a glimmer of hope, but Wolves held firm to claim their 15th win of the season and remain in contention for a European spot.

West Ham and Manchester United are only two points clear of the West Midlands outfit, yet it is the latter who arguably have the easiest run-in between now and the end of the season with Burnley, Brighton, Norwich and Newcastle still to come.

Sixth place is therefore not out of the question, and Lage's men would go down as the surprise package of the season by clinching it.

United all at sea against Leicester

It was another frustrating weekend for Manchester United, who lost more ground in their faltering bid to secure Champions League qualification in a 1-1 draw at home to Leicester.

Kelechi Iheanacho fired the visitors ahead at Old Trafford after 63 minutes, before Fred salvaged a point for United by equalising three minutes later.

Despite avoiding defeat, Ralf Rangnick's men were in desperate need of three points to keep their faint hopes of a top-four finish alive. After Saturday's latest setback, they are now three points behind Tottenham and Arsenal, having played two more games than the latter.

An unwanted return to the Europa League next season, or demotion to the Europa Conference League, could very well be on the cards for United next season - and they can have no complaints given the lethargic nature of so many performances this term.

When asked if his former club will miss out on Champions League qualification, Gary Neville said on Sky Sports at the weekend: 'I think so. That was really bad out there today.

'I thought it (international break) might work for Manchester United, give them a little break from the club, come back and just have a right go in this last nine games.

'This is going to be a long two months for those Manchester United players and those Manchester United fans if they are going to play like that because it was really poor out there today.'

Hammers hanging in there

Another team whose Champions League ambitions look all but over is West Ham, however David Moyes' men are still very much hanging in there when it comes to securing European football.

With Wolves and Leicester also hoping to sneak into the top seven, the Hammers could not afford to slip up against an out-of-sorts Everton side on Sunday after losing at Tottenham in their previous contest.

It certainly didn't prove straightforward for them at the London Stadium, with the visitors squandering a host of glorious early opportunities and then cancelling out Aaron Cresswell's free-kick opener through Mason Holgate.

Yet five minutes after Holgate smashed home to level proceedings, Jarrod Bowen pounced on a rebound in the box to earn West Ham a vital win.

Amid their historic Europa League run, which continues when they face Lyon in the quarter-final on Thursday, it would be easy for the east London outfit to take their eye off the ball domestically and drift outside of the top seven.

Though while Sunday's victory was by no means a masterclass, West Ham got over the line with an impressive doggedness to show their famous Europa League campaign may not be a one-season wonder.

Conte bullish

Tottenham very much look like a team on the up after cruising past Newcastle in a commanding 5-1 victory on Sunday.

Antonio Conte's side initially fell a goal behind when Fabian Schar opened the scoring in the 39th minute, but Ben Davies only needed two minutes to cancel it out and ensure they went in at the break level pegging.

The second half was a completely different story, with Conte's words at the interval clearly working a treat as goals from Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn sealing a five-goal win.

Spurs have now won three consecutive Premier League games to propel themselves back into the top-four race, and Conte is delighted with the improvements his squad are making week by week.

‘Everyone is improving their level and for this reason Tottenham is going up and up,' the Italian said after Sunday's victory.

‘This league is very, very difficult but I’m happy because hard work is paying off and this is very important for the players.

‘I have found a group of players giving me great availability, commitment and behaviours. They give me credit for my past, I think, for my career but I think now they understand that this is the right way, they trust me and I trust them.’

Can Vieira shock Arsenal?

The weekend may be over, but there is still one more Premier League match to come in the latest round of fixtures at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira will aim to dent his former club's Champions League hopes as manager of Crystal Palace, who can move into 11th place by taking three points.

Yet to do so the Eagles will have to be at their absolute best in south London, as Mikel Arteta's Gunners are flying right now after six of their last seven matches.

Arteta is finally delivering consistent results at the club and now has a strong grip on fourth place as a result, with Spurs only above them on goal difference despite playing two games more.

Victory over Palace on Monday night will increase optimism that Champions League football could return to the Emirates next season after a five-year absence, but in a strange turn of events Vieira could hand bitter rivals Spurs a boost in their bid to catch them by springing an upset.