A goal down and Harry Kane injured, Tottenham's campaign for a third consecutive Premier League top-four finish looked to be taking a serious hit.
But Mauricio Pochettino's team had other ideas, delivering a stirring comeback to defeat Bournemouth 4-1 on Sunday.
Dele Alli equalized, before Son Heung-min struck twice and Serge Aurier nodded in to show Tottenham is far more than the "Harry Kane team," as it was described by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola earlier this season.
Sometimes it looks that in football, the only ones important are the 11 players that play every week. But for me it’s so important the squad, because with a greater squad, with everyone fighting for the same objective, you can achieve all that you want.Mauricio Pochettino
Spurs moved into third, a point above Liverpool, and five points clear of fifth-place Chelsea. Eight rounds remain in the race for the four Champions League spots.
Earlier on Sunday, Arsenal defeated Watford 3-0 as Petr Cech became the first goalkeeper to reach 200 Premier League clean sheets.
Here’s a look at the big matches that took place in the last gameweek.
Chelsea Defeat Crystal Palace
Chelsea survived a late scare to secure a 2-1 Premier League win over struggling Crystal Palace on Saturday, with a Willian strike and an own goal earning them three points after successive defeats in Manchester.
Brazilian forward Willian picked up the ball on the left, cut inside and fired it along the ground, taking a deflection on the way past a diving Wayne Hennessey and off the post in the 25th minute.
Six minutes later, a mix up between defender Martin Kelly and Hennessey earned the champions their second when a shot from Davide Zappacosta ricocheted off both Palace players into the goal, with Kelly getting the final touch. Chelsea, fifth in the standings, were in control.
Palace, however, looked livelier in the second half after Wilfried Zaha replaced Christian Benteke and Alexander Sorloth hit the post. They halved the deficit late on through former Chelsea player Patrick van Aanholt to make it a nervy finish at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal Thrash Watford
Arsenal eased their way past Watford 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, marking their first clean sheet in 12 league matches and settling nerves at the Emirates after a string of losses in 2018.
A first-half header from Shkodran Mustafi and second-half strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan sealed the win for the Gunners.
Watford won a penalty when Arsenal's Ainsley Maitland-Niles was deemed to have brought down Roberto Pereyra, but Petr Cech got his fingertips to Troy Deeney's spot kick, nudging the ball onto the post and back out to roars of approval from the home crowd.
The win leaves Arsenal 10 points off Champions League qualification in sixth place in the standings, while Watford stay at the 10th place.
Manchester United Take Down Liverpool
Marcus Rashford struck twice as Manchester United won the North West derby with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday to open up a five-point gap on their fourth-placed rivals.
A long ball from goalkeeper David De Gea was headed on by target-man Romelu Lukaku into the path of Rashford. He then outdid Trent Alexander-Arnold, cut inside on to his right foot and confidently buried the ball in the far corner to open the scoring in the 14th minute.
Ten minutes later, Lukaku was again instrumental. He won another challenge with Dejan Lovren before his pass towards Juan Mata was deflected into the path of Rashford who, again, showed great confidence and technique as he beat Loris Karius to make it 2-0.
Liverpool, who had been well below-par, got themselves back into the game in the 66th minute when United defender Eric Bailly, who had returned to the side after over three months out with injury, made a complete hash of a Sadio Mane cross from the left, his mis-struck clearance flying past De Gea and into his own goal.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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