10 Premier League talking points: Liverpool lose title ground to Man City

Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Bournemouth, coupled with Liverpool's goalless draw with Everton, means Pep Guardiola are the outright table toppers [Courtesy]

Was this the weekend the Premier League title took its final twist?

Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Bournemouth, coupled with Liverpool's goalless draw with Everton, means Pep Guardiola are the outright table toppers.

Just below them Arsenal held Tottenham in the north London derby - with Harry Kane's penalty cancelling out Aaron Ramsey's early striker, with late drama coming in the shape of a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing a spot kick and Lucas Torreira seeing red.

Manchester United needed a Romelu Lukaku double to see off Southampton, while Chelsea's hopes of finishing in the top four were boosted again as they beat west London neighbours Fulham.

At the other end of the table, Huddersfield, the Cottagers and Cardiff all lost to plunge them all into more trouble.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Watford, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and West Ham.

1. Untested Man City back on top

Manchester City are now a point clear of Liverpool at the top of the table and have their own destiny in their own hands.

They were not overly troubled by Bournemouth - who would already be on the beach if they were not always on the beach.

The Cherries mustered an embarrassing 18 per cent possession at the Vitality Stadium and became the first home Premier League side to fail to notch a shot in a match.

Riyad Mahrez's goal was the difference in Dorset.

One negative though, Kevin De Bruyne's injury, yet another in a season frequently interrupted by health problems, is a worry.

2. Liverpool held again

Although it was another game without a goal for Liverpool, this was not Old Trafford all over again.

Mohamed Salah's afternoon was poor [Courtesy]

Klopp's team created four clear-cut chances - they were just wasteful with them.

They mainly fell to the right man, but Mohamed Salah's afternoon was poor - with his one-on-one effort hit straight at Jordan Pickford a notable low for the Egyptian.

Will his misses prove costly at the end of the season? Four draws in the last six Premier League games have seen Liverpool surrender top spot and the title is now out of their hands.

3. Solskjaer's striker dilemma

Ole Gunnar Solskajer is facing a dilemma not too dissimilar to Nelly's in his titular 2002 hit.

Romelu Lukaku has bounded into form with four goals in his last two outings [Courtesy]

The Norwegian has two in form strikers and only one position to fill at the head of his Manchester United front line.

Romelu Lukaku has bounded into form with four goals in his last two outings, with a brace against Southampton this weekend the crucial difference between the two sides in a topsy-turvy match.

Marcus Rashford may have only netted once in February, but has still been Solskjaer's No.1 option since arriving in the Old Trafford dugout.

Both will be expecting a start vs Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

At least the caretaker boss knows a thing or two about being frustrated on the bench at the Theatre of Dreams.

4. Mustafi is NOT a right back

The north London derby had plenty of talking points - not least the debate over the legality of the decision to award Tottenham a penalty, from which they equalised, and whether Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have been allowed to re-take his scuffed spot kick, with Jan Vertonghen encroaching a long way into the area.

It was not a surprise when he clumsily pulled down Harry Kane [Courtesy]

But Shkodran Mustafi's error strewn display at Wembley was on every Gunners fans minds as they walked away with a point.

The German has not exactly inspired confidence at centre back, his so called best position, but at right back he was a disaster.

It was not a surprise when he clumsily pulled down Harry Kane, who may or may not have been offside, to help the red half of north London throw away a point.

Hector Bellerin can't rush back to fitness soon enough - in fact many Arsenal fans might be a better option now.

5. Kepa saga behind Blues now

Last Sunday, Kepa Arrizabalaga was headline news after his refusal to be substituted during the Carabao Cup final.

Kepa Arrizabalaga was headline news after his refusal to be substituted during the Carabao Cup final [Courtesy]

This Sunday, the Spaniard was back between the posts for the Blues, having been left out of the midweek clash with Tottenham. against Fulham.

After almost presenting Fulham with a goal by dropping a straightforward cross, the Spaniard went on to justify his selection by making a string of fine saves to help Chelsea to a 2-1 victory over their neighbours and keep the Blues in the hunt for a top-four finish.

6. Rodgers stung by Hornets

New Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers received an early reminder of how competitive the Premier League can be when his first match at the helm ended in defeat at Watford.

His first match at the helm ended in defeat at Watford [Courtesy]

Rodgers, who left Celtic in pole position to claim an eighth successive Scottish League title last week - much to the consternation of many of a green and white persuasion.

And the fans in Glasgow would have enjoy a spot of schadenfreude when Andre Gray snatch a 2-1 win for the home side in stoppage time to leave the 2016 champions significantly closer to the bottom three than the top six.

7. Fulham and Huddersfield doomed?

It's starting to look bleak at the foot of the table with the bottom three in danger of being cast adrift.

Huddersfield appear to be all but down as they face the prospect of having to close a 13-point gap with just nine games remaining and Fulham are not much better off.

The Terriers were undone by Florian Andone at the Amex Stadium, while the Cottagers - who were under Scott Parker's stewardship for the first time - bravely went down 2-1 to Chelsea.

Cardiff have lost three on the trot since giving themselves hope with back-to-back victories over Bournemouth and Southampton - their most recent defeat coming with Wolves downing them 2-0.

8. Saints alive?

On the other hand it was a positive weekend for Southampton - despite losing.

Despite seeing a couple of penalty decisions go against them, responded to goals from Andreas Pereira and Romelu Lukaku to level through James Ward-Prowse's fine free-kick [Courtesy]

Saints may only be two points better off than Cardiff heading into the run-in, but if they continue to play as they did in defeat at Manchester United on Saturday, they will be confident of avoiding the drop.

They took the lead courtesy of Yan Valery's stunning strike and, despite seeing a couple of penalty decisions go against them, responded to goals from Andreas Pereira and Romelu Lukaku to level through James Ward-Prowse's fine free-kick before Lukaku dashed their hopes at the death.

Ralph Hasenhuttl might not have guided the south coast side away from danger but the feel good factor is sky high despite results.

9. West Ham Academy strikes

The West Ham academy might not be churning out Rio Ferdinands, Joe Coles, Frank Lampards and Jermain Defoes quite as regularly anymore.

Declan Rice, who joined the Hammers' youth set-up as a 14-year-old, opened the scoring at the London Stadium with a bullet header [Courtesy]

But Saturday evening's clash with Newcastle was a proper good east London love-in for the 'Academy of Football'.

Declan Rice, who joined the Hammers' youth set-up as a 14-year-old, opened the scoring at the London Stadium with a bullet header.

Mark Noble, approaching 20 years at the Hammers, doubled up their lead with an emphatic penalty.

It all felt fitting in front of Billy 'Bonzo' Bonds - who played a club record 799 times for West Ham and managed them.

Bonds wiped away tears as he was presented to the crowd before the match - with the Hammers naming a stand after the bone fide legend.

10. Tottenham fought to save their season

Mauricio Pochettino could have been forced to worry more about what was happening over Spurs' shoulders rather than on Liverpool and City had they lost.

But they dug in, did not play well and yet you could not argue that they were worthy of their point [Courtesy]

Three straight defeats would have left their top four place in jeopardy - with United rampant, Arsenal grinding out results and Chelsea threatening a return to form.

But they dug in, did not play well and yet you could not argue that they were worthy of their point.

Now top four looks secure, they should reach the Champions League quarter finals - and that is a good season, trophy or not.