Chelsea regained their dominant place in the Premier League title race with a 3-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday that restored their five-point lead over Manchester United.
Discarded striker Danny Welbeck returned to demolish Manchester United's hopes of silverware by netting the winner in Arsenal's 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory at Old Trafford on Monday.
Chelsea and Manchester City offered compelling evidence that they will lead the pursuit of leaders Arsenal and champions Manchester United lost further ground on a Sunday that brought the third managerial casualty of the Premier League season.
Striker Wayne Rooney made his long-awaited return for Manchester United on Saturday when they took advantage of defeats for title rivals Chelsea and Arsenal with a 2-0 home victory over nine-man Wigan Athletic.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Manchester City climbed back to the top of the table with a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of West Ham United on Saturday, as Erling Haaland bagged a double to top Cristiano Ronaldo's Premier League goals tally in less than half the time.
Antonio Valencia's early thunderbolt put Manchester United en route to a 4-0 Premier League victory over Everton on Sunday, but they needed a flurry of late goals to finally subdue their unfortunate visitors.
Manchester United delivered a devastating statement of Premier League intent Sunday when they beat title rivals Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester City took another decisive step toward an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title with a 4-0 demolition of Fulham.
LATE MILEY GOAL SENDS NEWCASTLE THROUGH
Watford climbed into the top four of the Premier League after Tom Cleverley's 92nd-minute goal gave them a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta's team are third with 61 points after 27 games, a point behind Manchester City
Leandro Trossard transformed the mood at Arsenal with the winning goal as they recovered from an early setback to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at home.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Lewis-Skelly gets England call-up; Recalls Rashford, Henderson return.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
Liverpool booked their berth in the League Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Southampton
Reigning champions City are also involved in a separate independent hearing into the club's alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations which began in September, with a verdict expected some time before the end of the current season.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo made it two goals from two games for his new club and Rayan Cherki struck in stoppage time as Pep Guardiola's side beat holders Newcastle United 2-0 away in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
Arsenal suffered a shock Europa League exit to Olympiakos Piraeus on away goals after a 2-1 extra-time home defeat, while Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers cruised into the last 16 with emphatic aggregate wins on Thursday.
Jack Wilshere's late strike gave Arsenal a 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay win over Swansea City and Wayne Rooney's first goal in over a month earned Manchester United a 1-0 victory over West Ham United on Wednesday.
Manchester United beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to go three points clear in the premier league.
Images from the English Premier League matches played at Old Trafford on Saturday
Liverpool's Slot not nervous ahead of Anfield debut
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday
'The boys will be pleased not to lose but also definitely not happy we didn't win.'
Manchester United returned to winning ways in ruthlessly emphatic fashion
The result leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United in 10th with nine points, their worst start after seven games for 30 years, and they have won just one of their last six league games.
Forward Rasmus Hojlund scored twice to allow Manchester United to come back from a goal down and get a 2-1 win at six-times Czech champions Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday.
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is fit to face Arsenal on Saturday, his manager Jose Mourinho said, after reportedly injuring his knee tripping over an energy drink bottle in the Wembley dressing room last week.
Arsenal swapped places with champions Manchester United at the top of the Premier League on Saturday after a 3-1 victory at Manchester City preceded United's 1-1 draw away at Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City beat Swansea 3-1 to make it a perfect 10 victories under Pep Guardiola, including six in the Premier League, as they recorded their best start to a top-flight campaign. City's victory was the perfect riposte to the Spaniard's old rival Jose Mourinho, who earlier saw his remodelled Manchester United sparkle without the dropped Wayne Rooney, thumping Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1. On a day of goals, both Manchester sides were outscored by Liverpool, who crushed Hull City 5-1 to take their tally to 24 in the past eight games.
Manchester United ended Arsenal's 15-game unbeaten away run in all competitions with a 1-0 Premier League win at Old Trafford. Unbeaten Barcelona moved three points clear in La Liga with a 4-1 victory at Real Betis, while Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 5-1 win over Real Sociedad. Bayern Munich extended their unbeaten record to 37 games with a 3-0 triumph over Augsburg in the Bundesliga.
Images from UEFA Europa League semi-finals played on Thursday.
Ivan Toney, once Brentford's lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million).
Arsenal delivered a brutal lesson in fast-paced Premier League football to beat Liverpool 4-1 on Saturday, maintaining their faint title aspirations and almost certainly dashing their opponents' hopes of a top-four finish.
Manchester United kept up the positive momentum of their pre-season tour with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Saturday in Santa Clara, California.
