Chelsea tightened their grip on the Premier League title on Tuesday evening despite having dropped points for the second time in January.
Liverpool's failure to grab a second goal at Anfield, Tottenham Hotspur's frustration at the Stadium of Light, and Arsenal's defeat to Watford has all but assured Antonio Conte will lift the trophy in May.
At the bottom end of the table things look increasingly ominous for Leicester City, whose last-gasp defeat to Burnley puts them just two points above 18th – and with Crystal Palace, Swansea City and Hull City all on an upswing.
Here are three things we learnt from the weekend action:
1) Liverpool's second half tactic show us where Chelsea's weaknesses lie
Though ultimately unsuccessful, there were several aspects of Liverpool's strategy that - building on the precedent set by Spurs at the beginning of January – revealed how to beat Chelsea's 3-4-3 system.
Firstly, Liverpool had a lot more success with long balls pumped forward than when cycling possession. This is partly because Chelsea's narrow 5-4 blockade is too strictly organised to pass through, but partly because there is a gap to be exploited between N'Golo Kante and the back three.
Though difficult to capture in statistics, when teams play long, vertical balls that drop over the Kante/Nemanja Matic region, a pocket of space between the lines of defence and midfield briefly appears.
Roberto Firmino looked dangerous in the first half, collecting the second balls in plenty of room. Peter Crouch caused similar problems when Stoke City nearly earned points at Stamford Bridge.
Secondly, the hosts' goal came via a diagonally clipped cross from the corner of the penalty area, where both Spurs goals were created at White Hart Lane. Here is a slight chink in the armour; either side of Matic and Kante there is space, and Victor Moses is not adept at covering the back post.
2) Arsenal's flimsy midfield will let them down time and time again
Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin played together as central midfielders against Watford thanks to the injuries, suspensions, and international commitments of Arsene Wenger's other options.
Unsurprisingly, these two were roughed up too easily by the Watford midfield, who exposed a familiar weakness in the Arsenal team.
Ramsey and Coquelin (and then Ramsey's replacement Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) made just two tackles and zero interceptions across the match – a woeful record against a team that had ten shots on goal.
Their meekness was highlighted, somewhat embarrassingly, by the determination and strength of their counterparts; Etienne Capoue and Valon Behrami. They made 12 tackles and four interceptions between them.
More than anything else, we learnt this week that Arsenal's tactical problems run in annual cycles, and that Wenger will never again win the league.
3) Allardyce goes back to basics to get things going for Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce's switch to three at the back allowed Palace to do the simple things defensively, while dropping Andros Townsend for new arrival Patrick van Aanholt made a big difference to their structure.
Palace focused on long balls into the flanks (for van Aanholt and Wilfried Zaha to chase), no-nonsense clearing of the lines, and plenty of crosses thrown in towards Christian Benteke.
It was a typical 'Big Sam' performance, and one made possible by the omission of the lazy Townsend and the addition of his old Sunderland favourite at left wing-back.
Surely now Allardyce's side will start moving up the table.
Best of the Week – Chelsea's Mourinho-esque conservative display
Conte has wowed the Premier League with his innovative tactics and creative attacking football, but with the end in sight he is beginning to show us a different skillset – the ability to grind out wins and get over the finishing line.
Earlier mentioned was Liverpool's ability to find a chink in Chelsea's armour, but the Blues only needed to avoid defeat at Anfield to maintain their dominance on the rest of the competition.
Chelsea were notably more defensive than usual at Anfield, constantly backing off into a deep formation and rarely attempting to retain possession after making a tackle.
Moses and Marcus Alonso essentially played in a flat back five for much of the match, with only Diego Costa and Eden Hazard venturing forward when counterattacking opportunities emerged.
It may be boring to watch, but Conte once again deserves credit for his tactical sophistication.
Worst of the Week – Man Utd's Mourinho-esque conservative display
Jose Mourinho's tactical consistency has been a source of frustration this season, with the Portuguese too frequently picking midfielders that are cautious in their approach.
Against Hull City, he continued with the static and defensively resilient trio of Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, and Paul Pogba, despite the pattern of the match - United held 67% possession - being obvious before a ball had been kicked.
This is not the first time United have been held at Old Trafford; draws against Stoke City and Burnley followed a similar rhythm.
Mourinho will not win the league title in the North West unless he learns to be braver in his approach when the smaller teams visit.