The highlight of an uneventful Premier League weekend was Sadio Mane's excellent performance as Liverpool finally put an end to their nightmare start to 2017.
Jurgen Klopp, like Jose Mourinho, will expect a strong showing from now until May.
Leicester City's meek defeat at Swansea City confirms that the reigning champions are in a relegation dog fight, but – after all of the bottom four lost – they remain just above the dotted line.
The league title might be over but those relegation spots won't be decided for some time.
Here are three things we learnt from the weekend action:
1) Burnley's performance with an out-of-fashion 4-4-2 shows Chelsea are not invulnerable
Attempts to stunt Chelsea's 3-4-2-1 have centred on formation mirroring over the past couple of months, and so Sean Dyche deserves credit for bravely continuing with his usual 4-4-2 shape.
Burnley's point, earned through a superb Robbie Brady free-kick, offers the Premier League a new way to approach the champions-elect.
The partnership of Andre Gray and Ashley Barnes – a little-and-large throwback to 90s English football – was difficult to handle. Gray's darting runs in-behind distracted Chelsea's centre-backs, which in turn forced the visitors to leave Barnes with too much room. He won six headers and was fouled five times, helping his team to move up the pitch with some excellent hold-up play.
Very few clubs have attempted a two-striker system against Chelsea's three-man defence, but after Burnley's success we might see it more often. Joey Barton deserves plaudits for his work-rate in central midfield (five tackles, five interceptions) but it was good-old-fashioned forward play that prevented Burnley from being penned in their own half.
2) Juan Mata's incisive passing is the key feature of Manchester United's revival
United have won 32 points from 14 league games in which Juan Mata has started (2.3 points per match) and just 16 points from the other 11 (1.5 points per match).
This is not a coincidence. The Spaniard is the sharpest passer and, crucially, the quickest mover in the United ranks; he is constantly on the prowl, floating into space and searching for the ball in the final third.
The biggest problem with Mourinho's squad is that too many of his players are either slow or tend to amble around the pitch. Their possession football lacks urgency and few players take the necessary risks – with the ball or with their runs – to disrupt the opposition. This is why they have failed to win seven of their 19 games against teams below them in the table (37%).
Mata was the outstanding performer against Watford on Saturday. It is about time Mourinho considers the 28-year-old to be the first name on his team sheet.
3) Pochettino's tactical blunder suggests Spurs aren't ready for a title challenge
Tottenham Hotspur played with four at the back for their visit to Anfield on Saturday despite having recently enjoyed successes against Manchester City and Chelsea in a 3-4-3 formation.
The latter, which is heavily inspired by Conte's system, provides greater defensive solidity than their somewhat stale 4-2-3-1. Liverpool's victory came as little surprise.
Spurs' back line was simply too high, while their adventurous full-backs Kyle Walker and Ban Davies gave Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier too much ground to cover.
Consequently, the gap between these two players was very wide, as was the gap between them and Hugo Lloris; Pochettino should have shown more respect to Mane.
The visitors lacked sharpness and tactical know-how here, suggesting that – as legs tire during the winter months – Spurs' high-energy strategy is too demanding to be maintained over a 38-game season.
Best of the Week – Manolo Gabbiadini
Southampton's new £15million striker has made a flying start to life in English football.
His goals could provide Claude Puel's team with the platform they need to challenge for European places again.
Saints have struggled to score consistently since Graziano Pelle left for China in the summer (they averaged one goal per game before Saturday, down from 1.55 in 2015/16), but in Gabbiadini they have found an excellent replacement.
His brace helped them hit four against Sunderland on Saturday – their highest tally in a single game since May.
Worst of the Week – Kasper Schmeichel
It is widely believed that Schmeichel is one of the key figures to have lost faith in manager Claudio Ranieri, and is actively hoping that the Italian will soon be leaving his role at the King Power.
It is unsurprising, then, that the Denmark international was dreadful on Sunday.
There was nothing he could have done to prevent the opener (although a more vocal goalkeeper perhaps would have ensured all opposition players were adequately marked from set-pieces) but he should have saved Martin Olsson's low drive on the stroke of half-time.
Supposedly leading a dressing room revolt, his terrible attempt to stop the shot was a tad suspicious.
