Football writer Adrian Kajumba looks at the standout players and moments from Matchweek 33 so far.
Best individual performance - Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford)
In the latest match-winning display from Brentford’s 34-goal double act, it was Bryan Mbeumo’s turn to be the standout performer of the pair against 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion.
Mbeumo’s two goals, and an assist to set up his partner Yoane Wissa, helped Brentford to a 4-2 win that kept their hopes of European qualification alive.
Mbeumo being on the scoresheet was nothing new - his brace took him to joint-fourth in the race for the Golden Boot. He now has 18 Premier League goals this season, double his previous-best tally of nine.
But his opener against Brighton was a first for the forward on his weaker foot.
Watch Mbeumo's opener v Brighton
While finding a solution to counter the threat has not proven easy, Brentford’s opponents are at least familiar with the threat he poses on his favoured left foot.
Before Saturday, Mbeumo was one of just two players into double figures for league goals this season to have scored their entire tally via one method - in his case, with his left foot.
But defenders may now be equally wary of showing him onto his weaker side too, after he showed what he can do given the chance by emphatically opening the scoring against Brighton with his first right-footed Premier League goal of the season.
PL players scoring all their goals by one method before Matchweek 33
| Players | Goals | Right foot | Left foot | Header |
| Bryan Mbeumo | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Palmer | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Jacob Murphy | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Dejan Kulusevski | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Phil Foden | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Omar Marmoush | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Callum Hudson-Odoi | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Mateo Kovacic | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Best celebration - Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Precisely what it meant, if anything, was unclear.
However, that did not stop Trent Alexander Arnold’s celebration of his winning goal at Leicester City joining the long list of memorable moments from Liverpool’s season.
On his return from injury and five minutes after coming on for his 350th Liverpool appearance, substitute Alexander-Arnold volleyed in the goal which finally broke the Foxes' resolve.
Watch Alexander-Arnold's winner v Leicester
The goal earned the Reds a 1-0 victory to ensure that they now only need one more win to be crowned champions.
Emotion poured out of Alexander-Arnold. He ripped off his shirt and slapped the corner flag en route to an arms-outstretched pose in front of the away fans, while his retrieved top hung on the corner flag, creating a potentially-iconic image of the moment.
Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk signing their new contracts recently has left Alexander-Arnold in the spotlight as the last of Liverpool’s big three stars with an unresolved future, making it natural to ponder if there was any significance to his passionate response to scoring.
"I don’t know if it was just that real joy and sensation of getting such a vital goal or if it was a bit of anger in there with the criticism that he has taken because of the contract situation," former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said. Alexander-Arnold himself was not giving much away.
But, if it is to be one of his last goals, his wild celebration will not be forgotten and neither will the nature of it - the first he has ever scored with his left foot.
Young player of the weekend - Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City)
Nico O’Reilly has proved to be an impressive stand-in for Manchester City in more ways than one.
In the continued absence of Erling Haaland - joint-top scorer of the most goals that have either given his side the lead or levelled the score (14) - O’Reilly stepped up and netted a hugely important strike in Man City’s 2-0 win at Everton.
Below-par Man City were in danger of suffering a major setback, and dropping two points in their pursuit of a top-five finish until O’Reilly broke the deadlock in the 84th minute.
It was a strike that made O’Reilly, aged 20 years, the fourth youngest player to score in successive Premier League appearances for Man City.
Watch O'Reilly's goal v Everton
And he showed the sort of movement Haaland would be proud of to find space in a packed box and score, in another display of his attacking instincts.
O’Reilly is naturally an attacking midfielder who has been filling in at left-back for Man City but his defensive role has not prevented him making an impact at the other end.
O’Reilly now has five goals and two assists in all competitions this season, giving him the highest goals and assists per-90 figure (0.7) among all Premier League defenders.
Chelsea’s 19-year-old attacker Tyrique George deserves a special mention too, after he came off the bench to kickstart the late turnaround in their 2-1 comeback win at Fulham with the equaliser, his first Premier League goal.
PL defenders' goals and assists compared 24/25
| Players | Matches | Goals | Assists | G + A |
| Matheus Nunes | 34 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 40 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| Rayan Ait-Nouri | 36 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| Daniel Munoz | 39 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| Antonee Robinson | 35 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Pedro Porro | 45 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Diogo Dalot | 51 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Nico O'Reilly | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
Best reaction - Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Ollie Watkins admitted he was “fuming” to be benched for Aston Villa’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final matches against Paris Saint-Germain.
He at least channelled that frustration in the right way on his return to Unai Emery’s starting line-up.
Watkins, a substitute in five of Villa’s previous six games in total, did not just produce a man-of-the-match display against Newcastle United.
In fact, it was one of his best performances of the entire season as he inspired Villa to a 4-1 win in the weekend’s big battle between two Champions League hopefuls.
Watkins scored Villa's opener, becoming the club's joint all-time top Premier League scorer in the process with 74 goals alongside Gabriel Agbonlahor.
He then set up Ian Maatsen’s goal to make it 2-1, the eighth time since the start of last season that Watkins has scored and assisted in the same game with only Salah doing so on more occasions.
Watch Watkins' opener v Newcastle
Watkins also had his joint-second highest number of shots in a Premier League game this season (five), including two attempts against the woodwork.
Watkins had his second most touches in a game (34), joint-third highest number of touches in the opponent's box (10) and joint-second most duel wins (five).
After making his unhappiness known to manager Emery, as he also revealed, Watkins made his point on the pitch against Newcastle too.
Best assist - Mikel Merino (Arsenal)
"We have a very short memory sometimes, and we see him as a No 9 and now it's almost strange to see him in midfield," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said of Mikel Merino.
That perception is testament to Merino’s adaptation to the No 9 role since being asked to deputise there for Arsenal this season.
He was starting in more familiar midfield territory at Ipswich Town and showing some of the qualities he was originally brought for - topping the charts at Portman Road for tackles (six), tackles won (four), duels (17) and duels won (10). All that, despite playing just 57 minutes.
What he also still did, and it has become a regular sight recently, was contribute to a goal in the 4-0 Arsenal win which delayed Liverpool’s coronation as champions.
Merino followed up his two assists in Arsenal’s stunning midweek Champions League win at Real Madrid with a brilliant back-heel assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal against 10-man Ipswich, the latest example of his attacking effectiveness.
Watch Merino's assist for Martinelli v Ipswich
Since he was first pressed into emergency striker duty at Leicester in February, only Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has more goals and assists in all competitions than Merino’s 10 (out of 13 overall this season), from six goals and four assists.
Most goals and assists in all competitions from PL players since February
| Players | Matches | Goals | Assists | G + A |
| Bruno Fernandes | 14 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikel Merino | 13 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Mohamed Salah | 12 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Marco Asensio | 14 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Jacob Murphy | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Morgan Rogers | 15 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Marcus Rashford | 15 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Ollie Watkins | 15 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
Best goal - Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
Head coach Enzo Maresca came to Chelsea with a reputation for his patient passing style and that is precisely what he has delivered.
Only Man City have bettered the Londoners in a host of categories including passes attempted, successful passes, passing accuracy, open-play sequences of 10 or more passes and average passes per sequence.
The approach may split opinion at times but Chelsea’s winning goal at Fulham - voted the "Goal of the Weekend" by fans on the Premier League WhatsApp channel - was one occasion when it paid off spectacularly.
In stoppage time, when it may have been tempting to lump the ball forward in pursuit of a late winner, Chelsea instead patiently kept the ball, going backwards to restart their move before quickening things up once they entered the Fulham half to create Pedro Neto’s eventual stunning finish.
Watch Neto's sublime finish v Fulham
Neto controlled Enzo Fernandez's cross before spinning and thumping the ball into the net to earn Chelsea a crucial 2-1 win that took them back up to fifth, the final UEFA Champions League qualifying spot.
There were 15 passes in the move for Neto’s strike, the second-highest number for a Chelsea Premier League goal this season, while it was also the Blues’ latest London derby winner on record, being scored after 92 minutes and 31 seconds.