Holders Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City while Aston Villa joined them after coming from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at Reading with a John Carew hat-trick on Sunday.
Chelsea's on-loan Brazilian international Alexandre Pato scored on his debut to help push pathetic Aston Villa to the verge of inevitable relegation with a seventh successive Premier League defeat on Saturday. Pato, the former Milan starlet who has been kicking his heels since joining from Corinthians two months ago, came on as a 25th-minute substitute and was immediately involved in the move which led to Ruben Loftus-Cheek netting his first league goal.
Defender Filipe Luis has rejoined Atletico Madrid from Chelsea in a reported 16 million euro ($17.66 million) deal, the Spanish club said.
Reading enjoyed a memorable first taste of the top flight when they beat Middlesbrough 3-2.
Chelsea rode their luck to emerge with a second win in as many English Premier League games on Wednesday after Branislav Ivanovic escaped a red card and then his marker to head them to a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Arsenal maintained a searing pace at the top of the Premier League with a straightforward 2-0 win at Burnley, while Liverpool snapped a dreadful four-match losing run with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa to climb provisionally to third.
A summary of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
The race for Premier League places in next season's Europa League warmed up on Sunday when Aston Villa and Everton fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw and Fulham came from behind to win 3-1 at Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United both sealed comeback victories to boost their European qualification hopes.
Arsenal took a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a scoreless draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Second-string Liverpool were thumped 3-0 by Crystal Palace as Ismaila Sarr struck twice for the visitors in the League Cup on Wednesday, booking the London side's spot in the quarter-finals and piling more misery on Arne Slot's struggling side.
Tottenham were booed off at the final whistle as defeat left them in fifth place
Manchester City clinched a 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur, while Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Aston Villa.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
The central defender has been without a club since leaving Championship (second-tier) side Aston Villa following their playoff defeat by Fulham at Wembley Stadium last season.
Bournemouth won away at Arsenal for the first time in the Premier League on Saturday, and completed a memorable double to boost their chances of playing in Europe next season, thanks to a second-half fightback en route to a thrilling 2-1 win.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played across England, on Sunday.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim would have enjoyed some relative calm during the international break after backing from club co-owner Jim Ratcliffe but will find himself in the Premier League maelstrom once again at Liverpool on Sunday.
The win moved Liverpool level with City on 86 points in the standings
Mohamed Salah had already clinched the Premier League Player of the Season award, the Golden Boot for most goals scored and the Playmaker award for most assists, making him the first player to win all three awards in the same season.
Spain face Ronald Koeman's Netherlands away on Thursday before returning home for the second-leg on March 23.
Manchester United take on Everton at home in the last match of Saturday's programme.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Leicester City's Jamie Vardy ended his long scoring drought with two goals after coming off the bench as they returned to winning ways with a 4-0 drubbing of Premier League strugglers Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium on Monday.
Aston Villa took full advantage of the absence of the other Premier League high-fliers on Saturday, winning 1-0 at West Ham United to climb to third. A deflected James Milner shot 12 minutes from time gave Villa 34 points from 18 games and pushed them above Manchester United (32).
Manchester City thrashed West Ham United 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday to claim their first back-to-back wins since October.
Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has been charged with multiple driving violations after being involved in a car crash during the COVID-19 lockdown in March, police said on Thursday. British media had reported that police had opened an investigation after the Villa midfielder was pictured leaving an estate in Birmingham following a traffic accident on March 29.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
A Kamil Zayatte own goal two minutes from time gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win at Hull City on Tuesday and lifted them to fourth place in the Premier League.
Aston Villa blew a chance to go eight points clear of Arsenal in the race for England's fourth Champions League berth Sunday after conceding two late goals against relegation-threatened Stoke City. The 2-2 draw, with Stoke cancelling out their hosts' 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, left fourth-placed Villa six points ahead of Arsenal and three adrift of second-placed Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Chelsea's hopes of catching leaders Arsenal suffered a setback after a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa in the premier league.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is in contention to start against Southampton this weekend, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday after the Norwegian striker recovered from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for nearly six weeks.
Key stats from Liverpool's season after they won their second Premier League title on Sunday and a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title...
Sixth-placed Arsenal slumped to a 3-2 home defeat by West Ham United.\n
City midfielder Phil Foden was not named in England coach Thomas Tuchel's squad for a pair of upcoming games, after requesting to be omitted. Foden said this week he was nursing an ankle injury.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
The defending champions beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 to move to fourth place in the Premier League.
Newcastle United's clash with AFC Wimbledon was postponed after flooding damaged the Wimbledon pitch on Monday.
