Manchester Clubs Move Closer to Two-Horse Race, Spurs Slip Again in EPL
The Premier League continues to entertain as we near the hectic Christmas schedule, but it now seems likely the title will be heading to Manchester after another weekend of enthralling action.
Manchester City maintained its eight point lead with a late win over an admirably resistant West Ham, while local rival United pulled off a tactical masterclass to triumph in north London, beating Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Here are our best moments from a weekend filled with goals, saves and moments of mayhem:
Best Save
No prizes for guessing this one. Just how good is David de Gea?
The Spaniard was in impeccable form on Saturday, making a mammoth total of 14 saves to deny an Arsenal side that seemingly tried everything to make their dominance in possession count.
De Gea's best moment was his iconic double save, getting down quickly to squeeze Alexandre Lacazette's effort out before outrageously stretching out a boot to deny Alexis Sanchez.
Best goalkeeper in the world? Right now, there's no clear competitor.
Best Return to Management
Jan Kruger/GettyImages
You know what you're getting with Sam Allardyce as your manager but even so, to win your first game at a new club is no mean feat.
Everton are now up to 10th thanks to the victory over Huddersfield, with goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin wrapping up a seemingly comfortable win.
Commiserations must be extended to the likes of Crystal Palace, Swansea and West Ham, as it seems Everton is pretty much assured of Premier League survival this season thanks to the presence of Allardyce.
Best Unexpected Spat
Steve Bardens/GettyImages
Speaking of Allardyce, his feud with Watford Marco Silva seems to have come out of nowhere.
Silva was previously linked with the Toffees before Allardyce was appointed and the former England manager did not hold back after being asked about his Watford counterpart.
He said, as quoted by Sky Sports: "His track record has got no comparison whatsoever with mine."
Silva responded, quipping: "Go and see what he [Allardyce] was doing when he was 40 years old, or see what he was doing in his first seven seasons as a coach.
"Then look at what I am doing at the same age - or you can wait until I am 63-years-old, and then we can compare what I have done."
Everton play Watford again on Feb. 24. Stick that one in your calendar!
Best Assist
OLI SCARFF/GettyImages
We're all going to run out of superlatives to describe Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne with soon.
Showing unerring accuracy and composure as the match against West Ham neared its conclusion, the Belgian midfielder clipped a delightful cross into David Silva, who finished expertly to ensure City preserved their healthy lead at the top of the table.
Not only have City got the best squad in the Premier League, they're all buying into Pep Guardiola's tactics and are a bunch who fight until the bitter end. Put that all together and you've got a team capable of winning the Premier League.
Best Goal
Liverpool are just a different animal playing on the counter-attack, as demonstrated by Roberto Firmino's second against Brighton.
Mohamed Salah broke with frightening pace and slid in his Brazilian teammate, who took his Premier League tally to five goals for the season.
With Tottenham struggling recently and Arsenal losing to Manchester United, Liverpool look a good bet for a top four finish, although we'll see in the near future whether they can keep up their excellent form.
Best Match
Arsenal's game with Manchester United had everything. Early goals, a half decent atmosphere and a red card.
Jesse Lingard continued his good recent form with a brace, but it was just a pleasure to watch a match between two of the Premier League's best teams be so open and there for the taking.
Then again, you can thank Arsenal's defense for that. For those of you who think Laurent Koscielny is one of the best center backs in Europe, look up his defending against Paul Pogba for United's third goal. Ridiculous stuff.
