A great weekend of action saw the chasing pack gain ground on Chelsea but a notable performance from the Liverpool and England captain against Manchester United stood out
Just when you thought Jose Mourinho was steering Chelsea towards the Premier League title, one topsy turvy weekend ruins the lot.
The Blues unexpectedly lost away at Aston Villa, while there were vital wins for the chasing pack of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, meaning a few familiar faces are back in our Team of the Week.
We start at lowly Fulham though, where David Stockdale (4) produced a string of fine saves to give the Cottagers a platform on which to build from. Felix Magath’s side beat Newcastle 1-0 thanks to Ashkan Dejagah’s strike but the German will feel indebted to his goalkeeper.
In front of Stockdale is another Fulham man – January signing John Heitinga (4). The Dutchman led by example at the heartt of the defence, guiding the west Londoners to their first clean sheet in 10 games.
Also forming our three-man defence is the Arsenal duo of Per Mertesacker (4) and Laurent Koscielny (4) who were a pair of colossuses for the Gunners as they defeated local rivals Tottenham 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
The German made a telling impact, prodding a dangerous cross away and wide from the onrushing Emmanuel Adebayor, while almost scoring at the other end with a sharp volley.
Koscielny had the unenviable task of marshalling an in-form and happy Emmanuel Adebayor but stuck to his guns impressively as he guided the Togolese man down blind alleys rather than allowing him to thrive in dangerous spot.
Our four-man midfield is led by the captain of England and Liverpool, Steven Gerrard (4.5), who converted two of three penalties at Old Trafford in an outstanding 3-0 win and he is joined by club-mate Jordan Henderson (4), who was heavily involved throughout.
Alongside Gerrard in the middle of midfield is Fabian Delph (4) of Aston Villa. Not only did the Englishman play his part in a stunning 1-0 win over Chelsea, Delph showed ingenuity to turn home the late winner with the inside of his heel.
Finally on the left of midfield is the little maestro – David Silva (4). With Vincent Kompany sent off, the onus fell on the big-game players to find a way to overcome Hull City, leading the playmaker to smash a 25-yard effort inside the near post. It got better as Silva slipped a perfectly weighted through ball to Edin Dzeko to seal the 2-0 rout in Hull.
Up front we turn back to Old Trafford where the SAS were in cracking form once again – Daniel Sturridge (4) picked up an assist while Luis Suarez (4) instictively pounded on a mishit shot to slot home Liverpool’s 4.
The final selection focuses on Peter Odemwingie (4) who helped himself to a double against West Ham. Though the first was a case of right place, right time, the second shook the goal nets to the core as his rising near-post strike put the game out of reach for West Ham.