Chelsea made light of striker Diego Costa's absence to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points on Saturday with a 3-0 win at champions Leicester City.
After a Harry Kane-inspired Tottenham Hotspur and a ruthless Arsenal side kept up the pressure at the top with 4-0 victories, Chelsea found an unlikely hero in wing back Marcos Alonso, who scored their first two goals at the King Power Stadium.
All the pre-match ballyhoo had been about Costa, the league's leading marksman, having been dropped from Antonio Conte's squad amid reports of a fall-out over his fitness.
Before the game, though, Chelsea released quotes from Conte on their official Twitter site saying that Costa had not trained since Tuesday because of "a pain in his back".
"We played without Diego against Bournemouth and we have had time to prepare for this. We've prepared very well," Conte said.
That preparation was shown swiftly as Spaniard Alonso struck early in both halves and Pedro completed a rout of the feeble champions as Chelsea moved to 52 points, seven clear of Spurs.
Liverpool, on 44 with third-placed Arsenal, could regain second spot and cut the gap at the top back to five points if they win at Manchester United, who are fifth, on Sunday.
Tottenham striker Kane had a special day with a brilliant hat-trick in the 4-0 demolition of West Bromwich Albion that saw Mauricio Pochettino's ever-improving contenders move into second with a seventh straight win in all competitions.
It was Kane's first match since he became a father last Sunday. "It's amazing. The week has been a whirlwind having a little daughter - to finish it off like this is the best way possible," he said, after taking his season's tally to 13 league goals.
OWN GOALS
Arsenal went up to third on goal difference after Olivier Giroud struck his fifth goal in as many games to set them on the way to a 4-0 trouncing of Swansea City, who are now bottom.
Between Giroud's opener and Alexis Sanchez's 73rd minute effort, Paul Clement, in his first league game in charge of the Swans, also had to watch miserably as Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton deflected Alex Iwobi shots past their own keeper.
Hull City recovered to beat Bournemouth 3-1 with a double from Abel Hernandez giving new manager Marco Silva the ideal league debut as they leapt from last place above Swansea and Sunderland, who were beaten 3-1 at home by Stoke City.
Peter Crouch scored his 99th league goal for the Potters - a header, naturally - while Marko Arnautovic netted twice, but the goal of the day came from West Ham's Andy Carroll who struck an astonishing mid-air volley in a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.
"It's been a while in the making. I've been trying for a couple of years. It's got to be the best goal I've scored," the striker, who has suffered from a string of injuries, said.
Joey Barton made a remarkable return for his old club Burnley, coming on as a substitute and scoring with a free-kick in the 1-0 win over Southampton.
"It was an incredible thing for him to bring me back with the circus that goes on around me," said Barton, paying tribute to Burnley boss Sean Dyche, who signed the midfielder after his stormy spell with Scottish club Rangers.
It was an emotional afternoon at Vicarage Road as Watford fans paid a lovely tribute to Graham Taylor, the former England manager who died on Thursday, before facing Middlesbrough.
At the club he took from the old fourth division into the top flight, the chant of "One Graham Taylor" rang around the ground, fans in the stand named after him held up cards that spelt out "Love G.T" and others were reduced to tears.
However, after a long round of applause for their old manager, the Hornets could not deliver the result the supporters craved as they missed chances and were held to a 0-0 draw.
Reuters
Sun Jan 15 2017
Tottenham's Harry Kane scores their fourth goal to complete his hat trick during the Premier League between Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane, Jan 14, 2017. Action Images via Reuters / Paul Childs Livepic
Malaysia kecam serangan di Rafah yang membunuh 19 orang
Wisma Putra menegaskan serangan ini jelas menunjukkan keengganan Israel untuk bekerjasama bagi tujuan keamanan.
Penambahbaikan tadbir urus, tata kelola pengurusan kewangan bola sepak tempatan
Mencari solusi komprehensif kepada ketirisan, kelemahan tadbir urus dan tatakelola dalam pengurusan kewangan sukan bola sepak tempatan yang kini semakin meruncing.
Kurangkan import minyak, gas, segerakan dasar tenaga lestari
Rafizi berkata pada tahun lepas Malaysia mengimport kira-kira 25 peratus gas bagi memenuhi keperluan negara ekoran kekurangan pengeluaran sumber asli seperti minyak dan gas.
Apakah yang perlu dilakukan dengan segera untuk mempercepat peralihan kepada tenaga lebih lestari? Kupasan bersama Pengarah, BowerGroupAsia (Malaysia), Arinah Najwa Ahmad Said.
Apakah yang perlu dilakukan dengan segera untuk mempercepat peralihan kepada tenaga lebih lestari? Kupasan bersama Pengarah, BowerGroupAsia (Malaysia), Arinah Najwa Ahmad Said.
Peranan Maritim Malaysia diiktiraf dunia
Peranan serta tanggungjawab Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (Maritim Malaysia) diterima baik dan diiktiraf dunia.
AKPK: Tingkah laku pengguna belia & literasi Kewangan
Ketua, Jabatan Pembangunan Penyelidikan, AKPK, Mafrukhin Mokhtar berkongsi pandangan beliau berkenaan tingkah laku pengguna dalam kalangan belia serta tahap literasi kewangan mereka.
AWANI Pagi: Masalah Haid: Jangan Ambil Mudah
Diskusi bersama Dr Haliza Kamarudin, Pakar Perunding Obstetrik dan Ginekologi, Hospital Pakar Damansara 2 mengenai masalah haid, yang dialami wanita.
TH sedia penginapan bertaraf lima bintang untuk jemaah di Madinah
Tiga hotel yang dipilih terletak antara 50 hingga 200 meter dari Masjid Nabawi, selesa dan mesra OKU.
Permodalan pasaran saham Malaysia catat sejarah tertinggi - melepasi RM2 trilion
Indeks penanda aras FBM KLCI meningkat untuk hari keempat berturut-turut kepada 1,605.68, penutup tertinggi sejak 8 April 2022, diterajui oleh saham pengguna dan perbankan.
Lapangan terbang antarabangsa UK alami masalah sistem E-gate
Isu teknikal yang dialami di lapangan terbang terbesar di UK seperti di Heathrow itu turut menjejaskan kawalan pasport.
Isteri curang, malas masak ditikam dengan berus gigi hingga mati
Siasatan awal mendapati suspek bertindak menikam leher Risma Fatmawati dengan berus gigi kerana berasa sakit hati.
EPL: Manchester City himpit Arsenal
Gawang The Seagulls robek lagi kali ini menerusi bintang meningkat naik Phil Foden dengan gol pada minit ke-26 dan 34.
EPL: Kai Havertz pastikan Arsenal menang bergaya tewaskan Chelsea
Kemenangan itu meletakkan Arsenal tiga mata di hadapan Liverpool yang kini berada di tangga kedua dengan bermain lebih satu perlawanan.
Bayern, Real akhiri cabaran Eropah Arsenal, City
Anak buah Thomas Tuchel mara ke pusingan empat terbaik, selepas menang 1-0 ke atas skuad kendalian Mikel Arteta.
EPL: Arsenal perlu pamer karakter sebenar - Arteta
Arteta berkata, para pemain perlu bangkit mempamerkan karakter sebenar kerana perjuangan mereka masih belum berakhir.
EPL: Manchester City terus bagi ancaman kepada Arsenal
Manchester City kekal di atas dalam saingan Liga Perdana Inggeris (EPL), dengan perbezaan dua mata di hadapan Arsenal dan Liverpool.
EPL: Arsenal kembali rampas kedudukan teratas liga
Arsenal berjaya merampas semula kedudukan teratas Liga Perdana Inggeris (EPL) apabila cemerlang ketika menewaskan Brighton 3-0.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
EPL: Arsenal rosakkan rekod gah City di Etihad
Ini kali pertama Arsenal berjaya mencatat aksi tanpa bolos atau 'cleen sheet' di kubu keramat City sejak 2015.
UCL: Arsenal tak gentar hadapi sebarang lawan -- Odegaard
Odegaard percaya Arsenal tidak perlu gentar untuk menghadapi Real Madrid, Bayern Munich atau Manchester City dalam pusingan UCL seterusnya.
UCL: Arsenal tamatkan badi 14 tahun ke suku akhir
David Raya menyelamatkan dua sepakan penalti ketika Arsenal menewaskan Porto 4-2 untuk mara ke suku akhir Liga Juara-Juara (UCL) dalam tempoh 14 tahun.