Tottenham boss Antonio Conte remains unbeaten but they were denied victory by 10-man Southampton, while Crystal Palace and West Ham thrashed Norwich and Watford respectively.
Southampton 1-1 Tottenham
Infogol xG: 0.41-3.00
Tottenham were frustrated by VAR as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw at 10-man Southampton.
Spurs had two second-half goals controversially ruled out as they chased the three points at St Mary’s after Harry Kane’s penalty had earlier cancelled out James Ward-Prowse’s stunning opener for Saints.
Ward-Prowse found the far corner with a first-time effort in the 25th minute but Kane rifled in from the spot after Son Heung-min was chopped down by Mohammed Salisu, who was shown a red card.
It was all Spurs after the break and Kane saw a goal cancelled out for offside which did not look obvious on VAR and then referee Anthony Taylor adjudged Fraser Forster to have been fouled when he dropped the ball under an innocuous challenge from Matt Doherty.
Spurs had other chances through Doherty and Bryan Gil but they had to settle for a draw which sees them miss the chance to close the gap on fourth-placed Arsenal.
Still, avoiding defeat means that Antonio Conte becomes the first manager in Tottenham’s history not to lose any of his first seven league games and they are undoubtedly heading in the right direction under the Italian.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl will be proud of his side’s rearguard effort and they have lost just one of their last six games.
Crystal Palace 3-0 Norwich
Infogol xG: 2.55-0.82
First-half goals from Odsonne Edouard, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jeffrey Schlupp helped Crystal Palace secure a 3-0 win over Norwich despite the continued absence of boss Patrick Vieira.
Eagles manager Vieira tested positive for Covid-19 last week and was one of several missing for the hosts, including Conor Gallagher and Wilfried Zaha, but they were still too strong for the Canaries.
It was another painful defeat for the visitors, a fifth in a row, and means Dean Smith’s side end the year at the bottom of the Premier League with the signs suggesting that is where they will remain.
Watford 1-4 West Ham
Infogol xG: 1.29-2.70
West Ham returned to winning ways after coming from behind to secure a dominant 4-1 victory over a depleted Watford at Vicarage Road.
David Moyes’ side clinched their first league away victory since October 31 and ended a five-match winless run in all competitions.
Despite having only one full training session in two weeks, Claudio Ranieri’s men started on the front foot, with Emmanuel Dennis giving the home side the lead in only the fourth minute.
However, West Ham’s match fitness and sharpness was evident as they grew into the game, hitting an equaliser in the 27th minute through Tomas Soucek.
Two minutes later the visitors had the lead, with Said Benrahma’s effort taking a deflection off Adam Masina and landing in the back of the net.
Mark Noble scored his first Premier League goal since January 2020 when he sent Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann the wrong way from the penalty spot for the Hammers’ third in the second half.
In added time substitute Nikola Vlasic scored his first club goal for West Ham’s fourth.
