EPL round-up: Chelsea rampant, Manchester clubs on the rise and the losers

That Saturday was in many ways a classic six-pointer between two of London's fiercest rivals made Chelsea's clash with Arsenal a bigger affair than normal.

Win, and Arsenal would overcome the Blues lead. Lose, and you're vanquished ahead of the title challenge.

The 3-0 Arsenal win earlier in the season has been touted by many as the turning point for Antonio Conte's side. It is amazing that the Italian's skils were called into question on the back of two successive defeats with his side lying in the eighth position, as they have taken 46 of the 51 points available since.

Marcos Alonso made his Chelsea debut as his front shifted to the three-man defence that has been the catalyst for its sparkling success, and he rose the highest after Costa's header crashed to give Chelsea the lead.

It just got worse for the away side as their lack of quality was punished. Man-of-the-match Hazard scored a goal with a sizzling run from the halfway line, beating three red shirts before clipping the ball over Cech.

There was more humiliation in store for the Gunners after a howler from Cech gifted Cesc Fabregas the ball in front of an open goal.

Another afternoon to forget for Wenger, best summed up by Jim Beglin's assessment of the game as a fight between "the ruthless and the toothless".

Forget the title, Liverpool not worthy of the top four

Where has it gone wrong for Liverpool? One win in their last 10 makes it their worst start to a calendar year in 54 years. Mane's return to the starting XI made the travelling Kop hopeful but with Hull upbeat and in dire need of points under new manager Marco Silva, this was going to be far from straightforward.

As has so often been the case against "small" sides, the Reds were undone again by a side sitting deep, soaking up the pressure and looking to take chances on the counter.

That, and their weakness to set plays were exploited by the home side who looked like they had done their homework, and were handsomely rewarded when Alfred N'Diaye reached the ball ahead of Simon Mignolet, who was left flapping his hands.

Fellow loanee Oumar Niasse prodded home to pile more misery on Klopp who has seen his side go from a blip to a slump to a crisis at an alarming rate.

The side that once looked like Chelsea's closest rival now looks like it would be lucky to finish in the top four.

Around the grounds

Goodison park went goal-crazy on Saturday with Everton's 6-3 win over Bournemouth. Romelu Lukaku was in destructive form, opening the scoring in the first minute and proving impossible to deal with for the Cherries defence as the home side raced to a 3-0 lead within half an hour.

To their credit, Bournemouth did pull it back to 3-2 but Lukaku wasn't done yet, scoring his third and fourth goals in a topsy-turvy end to the game that kept Koeman's side's fantastic run going.

Spurs marched on with an expected 1-0 home win against Middlesbrough via a second-half spot-kick from Kane.

After failing to capitalise on a glut of great chances in the first half thanks in equal measure to minor heroics from Victor Valdes and the home side's generous finishing, the nerves around White Hart Lane were settled by their leading man soon after the break.

This means that while Chelsea did away with one of their North London rivals in the title race, the other showed no signs of rolling over.

Bottom six, a game of musical chairs

Are we witnessing another great escape at Sunderland? The league's survival experts got a shot in the arm with their best and biggest display this season in their 4-0 thrashing away to Crystal Palace. All of their strikes came in a dream first half, capped off by Jermain Defoe's stoppage-time brace.

More important than the manner and margin of their win was the timing, which gives Moyes hope despite the Black Cats. Palace were fumbling that afternoon and now keep them company.

Hull meanwhile continued to save their fortune under a new manager. Their home form has been excellent so far under Silva and it will hold the key as they gear up for an epic battle over the next few weeks.

Leicester's season fell to greater depths when United became the latest side to beat the Champions. With no away wins yet this season, the Foxes have, of late, not found much comfort at home and what was before a distant possibility is now a threat looming large over the club.

A couple of losses alone would firmly place their season in the last chance saloon.

Away losses for Middlesbrough and Swansea mean that the bottom six is as congested as ever, the sides separated by just two points.

With such fine margins between success and disaster, expect changes by the game for the sides staring down the barrel of relegation.