Manchester United slowed the title charge of local rivals Manchester City in the headline fixture of gameweek 27, claiming bragging rights in the Manchester derby once again with a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
The gap to the leaders is still 11 points, but United's victory was arguably more important given that the three teams immediately behind them in the top-four race all picked up wins too.
Leicester City left it late to beat Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea continued their unbeaten start under Thomas Tuchel with victory over Everton and West Ham United capped off the gameweek by beating Leeds United.
Tottenham Hotspur are also still in the mix after beating Crystal Palace, but Liverpool's remarkable slide down the table continued, with a sixth successive home defeat leaving them eighth.
Fulham were the latest to inflict misery on the champions, leaving them now only inside the relegation zone on goal difference and behind Newcastle United by one point after the Magpies drew with West Bromwich Albion.
That was one of two goalless draws over the weekend, with Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers also playing out a stalemate, while Burnley and Arsenal shared the spoils and Southampton finally returned to winning ways against relegation-bound Sheffield United.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 27.
Winning at Anfield is no longer the holy grail as it was just a couple of months ago, but Fulham's performance against Liverpool nonetheless deserves great credit and they are rewarded with four players in this XI.
The first of those comes in goal as Alphonse Areola kept a clean sheet against the champions, including a particularly impressive stop to deny Diogo Jota's fierce volley. Emiliano Martinez, Sam Johnstone, Martin Dubravka and Dean Henderson all deserve mentions in a competitive week for the gloves, but Areola just pips them this week.
A lack of genuine right-back options forces us into a three-at-the-back system this week, with Joachim Andersen joining Fulham teammate Areola having expertly led his side to that famous triumph - although in truth any of the defensive line could have made the cut.
Craig Dawson continued to put his name forward as one of the signings of the season with vital contributions at both ends of the pitch for West Ham, scoring the second against Leeds and then clearing an effort off the line to keep the Hammers comfortable in the closing stage of the match.
Southampton's long-awaited return to winning ways is rewarded with two inclusions, with Jannik Vestergaard helping to keep Sheffield United at bay and Stuart Armstrong setting up the second goal which ultimately put the Saints out of sight.
There was much more competition on the opposite flank, with Conor Townsend, Ola Aina and Aaron Cresswell all worthy of mentions, but it was impossible to look past Luke Shaw's performance in the derby as the left-back not only nullified the considerable attacking threat of Man City, but also got on the scoresheet at the other end.
A Fulham duo make up the central midfield pairing, with Harrison Reed and goalscorer Mario Lemina helping to run the show at Anfield, particularly in the first half when Liverpool again struggled to get any sort of rhythm in their play.
Up front, Anthony Martial rivalled Shaw for man of the match in the Manchester derby with a fine centre-forward display, although he will be disappointed not to have marked it with a goal having squandered a fine chance when one on one with Ederson.
Martial is forced out wide in this XI due to the presence of Harry Kane, who was the first name on the team sheet courtesy of another superb individual performance, playing a direct role in all four of his side's goals.
Gareth Bale was the beneficiary of Kane's two assists to continue his own resurgence at the club, before Kane went on to score a stunner of his own and then finish off a slick team move to cap off the scoring, becoming the first Spurs player to score two and assist two in the same league game since 1998.
Barney Corkhill
