Liverpool sent another stark reminder to those who doubted their staying power in this title race by blowing away Tottenham in a match where they could potentially have scored 10.
Arne Slot's team is the showpiece of the competition this season and they look like a runaway train led by the undisputed Player of the Season Mohamed Salah.
Meanwhile, it was a tale of familiar woe for Manchester City and Manchester United, both of whom suffered defeats that are becoming less and less surprising by the week.
It was a missed opportunity for Chelsea as he went to an Everton side that is increasingly difficult to break down, while Aaron Ramsdale and his four-fingered gloves gave new Southampton boss Ivan Juric a platform to build on after a more patchy clean sheet at the flank. away for the saints.
Elsewhere, there have been major talking points surrounding Sandro Tonali and Newcastle, the form of Gabriel Jesus and whether Bournemouth are legitimate Champions League contenders.
In the latest installment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks five of the most interesting talking points from the Premier League this weekend.
CITY WATCHES MENTAL SHOT
Okay, there's no Rodri. Okay, Erling Haaland is a shadow of his former self at the moment. Okay, Manchester City loses games.
What is most striking about this version of Manchester City, and this was on full display in the defeat to Aston Villa, is how mentally fragile they look. This side looks mental.
Villa's deserved win in Saturday's early kick-off means City have already lost nine games in all competitions this season.
Only in 2019/20 (12) and 2016/17 (10) did a side led by Pep Guardiola lose more games in a season (both with Manchester City).
It is now five consecutive away games in the league without a win (one draw and four defeats), which is a new low under Guardiola.
I've been writing in this column for weeks that they are still in the title race, they will probably find out. Forget that. It is now a real battle to finish in the top four.
Since November, City have been the worst performing team in the Premier League, with just four points from eight games.
Even Southampton, who took a point at Fulham on Sunday, have scored more with five points from their eight games.
“Step by step,” Guardiola said at Villa Park.
“We have nice personalities in the team and sooner or later we will find them.”
But in reality, they give in and drop heads where they never would in seasons past.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL IS REALISTIC FOR CHERRIES
There will come a time, if it hasn't already, when the message in the Bournemouth dressing room will be that the Champions League is a realistic goal and not a pipe dream.
This season alone, Andoni Iraola has been the mastermind behind victories over Arsenal (2-0), Manchester City (2-1), Tottenham (1-0) and Manchester United (3-0).
They also went on the road to impressive draws at Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, two of their challengers for European football next season.
Bournemouth's blows to the so-called Big Six are no fluke. Each and every one of them has earned those 'scalps', if we can call them that these days.
Expanding the data you see that Bournemouth's 280 shots in the Premier League this season is second only to Manchester City, while their expected goals of 34.59 xG is only third behind Liverpool and Chelsea.
Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Bournemouth owner Bill Foley ditched Gary O'Neil and focused entirely on Iraola. No one doubts that now.
The Spaniard found his feet last season, but still guided the Cherries to the highest ever points total in the Premier League (48).
Now the aim is to crack Europe – and anyone who doubts its credentials is, quite frankly, a fool.
“It feels great, back-to-back wins at Old Trafford – my second time here and my second win,” Antoine Semenyo told BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday.
'We know we have a good team and we are taking it game by game. I'm not going to say too much and I don't want to jinx it either.'
Bournemouth know people won't really buy into it at this point in the season… maybe that's exactly how they want it.
BOOM-OR-BUST WILL LAND THE BAG
If you're looking for entertainment value, buy a Tottenham ticket.
In the past three games they scored five goals against Southampton (5-0), seven goals against Manchester United (4-3) and nine goals against Liverpool (3-6). Double figures at the City Ground next time?
To a neutral person, it's the Great Entertainers with their staunch boom-or-bust style that prevents them from making any tangible progress.
“Within five minutes of this game starting we all knew Liverpool were going to win this comfortably,” Sky pundit Jamie Carragher moaned about Tottenham's style on Sunday.
'It was so easy for Liverpool, no matter how many injuries they had [Spurs] have been given, it shouldn't have been that easy, and that comes down to the manager not admitting how he wants his team to line up.'
Postecoglou has faced criticism from the likes of Carragher over his playing style, but there is something in the stubbornness that means he won't lean towards a more pragmatic game plan.
'I get the feeling that it's not about a playing style. Every manager that comes in has a different way of doing things,” Carragher added.
'You have to have your idea, you have to have something that is a little bit different and that makes you special. But when you have your best team, not when you're all up.
“No one has ever won anything by playing this way.”
With eight defeats from their first seventeen league games this season, it constantly feels like one step forward and two steps back for Postecoglou and his team.
They lost 4-3 at home to Chelsea, lost 6-3 at home to Liverpool, while they also lost the opening North London derby at home to Arsenal.
They led 2-0 against Brighton earlier this season but lost 3-2. Add to that the leads they have thrown away, such as the one against Fulham, which was eventually reduced to ten men, and it is an endless cycle of boom and bust.
Focusing specifically on the month of December, Tottenham rank last in terms of goals conceded in the Premier League (12), last in terms of shots on target (85), last in terms of shots on target (37), and last in expected goals against (13.5), and last in big chances (25).
“Aren't you entertained?” Postecoglou said this after the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United last week.
Everyone, especially the opposition managers, is – and that's the problem.
TACTICAL TWEAK HAS UNLOCKED TONALI
It would have been easy for Sandro Tonali to question everything after a cantankerous first year in English football, which included a ban on gambling offences.
But with attention focused solely on his football, a small but important adjustment to his positioning will allow him to show his class.
Eddie Howe has the Italian at number 6, while Bruno Guimaraes has moved up the pitch at number 8. The results are paying off.
“It has certainly helped both players and, more importantly, the team has benefited from it,” said former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer on Match of the Day.
'Tonali will sit there in midfield, he is very good at that and I think he feels very important in that role. He's definitely a better player for it because he has the skills to do that.
'When he gets the ball he often likes it and wants to play the ball forward within one or two touches. That is much better for the forwards.'
Against Ipswich it was his teammate Alexander Isak who stole the headlines with an impressive hat-trick.
But it was Tonali who led the game and he was a player that Ipswich simply couldn't nullify or get close to.
Against the Tractor Boys he went 59/68 with accurate passing, recovering ten times, dribbling past just once.
“The understanding of both Tonali and Guimaraes in their roles was absolutely fantastic,” Shearer added.
With Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham an unknown quantity every week – and more often than not a disappointing one these days – Newcastle appear to have finally found their wings with the top four firmly in sight again.
CAN ARSENAL REALLY TRUST JESUS?
When Gabriel Jesus backed up his hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup with another against the Eagles in the Premier League two days later, it seemed he had finally found the formula for success.
“I always work hard,” Jesus said. 'If a player plays consistently, it's different, [in terms of] self-confidence and physicality.
'I'm happy that I'm getting more opportunities. I try to keep my mind strong and help the team.
'I'm happy that I can score again. I want to keep scoring.'
Jesus became the first player to score five consecutive goals in all competitions for Arsenal since February 2011, when Robin van Persie achieved the feat.
Also keep in mind that Jesus' five goals this week came from just ten attempts on goal.
At the weekend, no Arsenal player had more shots than him, or shots on target, and only Gabriel Martinelli had more touches in Palace's penalty area than him. He was the center of everything.
But prior to Palace's double header, Jesus had just one goal to his name this season.
The 27-year-old's run of goals is exciting, but there's also a reluctance to get too excited in case it's a flash in the pan.
Number 9 has been a problem position for Arsenal and in recent weeks they have struggled to sustain a major goal threat from open play.
Arsenal will no doubt still be scouring the market for a striker as they look to be the team to take on Liverpool in the title race, but their best option may be right there under their noses.
“I'm happy to get more chances, but it's up to me to put myself in a good position to score,” Jesus added.
'I know I can score. I just have to put myself in a good position to finish the action, like today. I understand that I have to be in the box more to complete the action.'
Now it's up to Jesus to prove that his formula can work week in, week out… and not just against Crystal Palace.
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