We take a look at the best images from a Premier League weekend in which Leicester pulled seven points clear at the top, and Newcastle were left reeling after a late winner for Norwich.
1. Captain Morgan: Leicester centre-back Wes Morgan put fans and players in seventh heaven after 38 minutes of a nerve-jangling clash with Southampton. Tottenham’s draw at Anfield had opened the door for Claudio Ranieri’s men to put some clear daylight between them and Spurs – and Morgan’s goal got them nearer to the finishing line.
2. Martial matters: Manchester United may have coughed up £36.7million to sign 20-year-old striker Anthony Martial – but that will seem money well spent if he secures a Champions League place for Louis van Gaal’s troops in the run-in, and it will taste even sweeter if they deny Manchester City a place in Europe’s elite competition.
3. Pato banter: Alexandre Pato has had to be patient while waiting for his chance to show Chelsea what he can do – and although making his debut against a hapless Aston Villa made life a little easier for the on-loan forward, he looked the real deal, scoring and playing a further part in two more goals.
4. Young gun: Arsenal may be ruing a missed opportunity in the title race – but fans have reason to cheer following the emergence of Alex Owobi as a force in their first team. The 19-year-old has taken the Premier League by storm, and proved too hot for the Hornets to handle, scoring and setting a goal up in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Watford.
5. We need to talk about Kevin: And what a difference he might have made had he been fit over the last few months. The Belgium playmaker gives Manchester City so much more balance when he is in the team, and a goals return of six in 18 league games is not too shabby either.
6. Ruddy hell for Newcastle: Rafa Benitez’s men came within a whisker of winning their crucial relegation clash at Norwich, only for John Ruddy to superbly claw away Papiss Cisse’s header. Within seconds, Norwich had worked the ball down to the opposite end, where Martin Olsson fired in the goal that makes the Magpies’ survival task all the more difficult.
8. Hammer blow from Clattenburg: Having already recovered from the concession of an early goal, West Ham looked all set to continue their push for the top four by beating London rivals Crystal Palace at Upton Park. But referee Mark Clattenburg dished out a red card for a challenge by Cheikhou Kouyate on Dwight Gayle that Slaven Bilic doubted was worthy even of a caution. Gayle levelled up the game seven minutes later, leaving Bilic thoroughly fed up.
9. Baggies’ cat denies Black Cats: West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster denied relegation-haunted Sunderland as a first clean sheet in 18 games for Sam Allardyce’s side claimed just a single point. Foster made important saves from Lee Cattermole, Jan Kirchhoff, two from Fabio Borini and another from Jermain Defoe at the death.
10. Kane’s Klopp critique: “He just said three words – ‘What a strike’ – which is nice to hear from an opposition manager.” That is what Kane claims Klopp told the Spurs striker after Liverpool were denied victory over title-chasing Tottenham. With a seven-point gap now between Leicester and Spurs, Kane admitted it was two points dropped at Anfield.
