Manchester City picked up from where they left off in 2021 by battling to a late 2-1 win over Arsenal, extending their lead at the Premier League summit.
A Riyad Mahrez penalty and a last-gasp strike from Rodri cancelled out Bukayo Saka's first-half opener after Gabriel Magalhaes received a needless red card for the Gunners in an action-packed game – the first top-flight match of 2022.
City's 11th league win in a row means they end New Year's Day with an 11-point advantage at the top, a tally bettered by only two clubs in the competition's history on January 1 – Manchester United in 1993-94 and City themselves in 2017-18 (both 12 points).
There were also victories for Tottenham and West Ham, the London pair seeing off Watford and Crystal Palace respectively to remain in firm contention for a top-four finish.
Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of Opta data from Saturday's action.
Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City: Leaders recover to stretch winning run against GunnersSaka's opening goal against City was only the second the Citizens have conceded in the first half of a Premier League game this season, and the first such goal they have shipped on their travels since May.
That was the England international's sixth league goal of the season and was the 36th goal scored by a player aged 21 or under for Arsenal in the English top flight since Mikel Arteta's first game on Boxing Day 2019 – eight more than any other team.
Mahrez converted a contentiously awarded penalty shortly before the hour mark at Emirates Stadium, the Algeria international scoring for a fifth game running in all competitions, and Gabriel's second yellow card – 78 seconds after his first – swung the game in City's favour.
That was Arsenal's 100th red card in the Premier League era, making them the first side to reach that milestone, with Everton (99), Newcastle United (90) and Chelsea (82) next on the list.
Rodri completed the turnaround with City's latest winning goal in a league game since May 2018 (92:28) as the Citizens made it 10 successive top-flight victories over the Gunners, an opponent Pep Guardiola has yet to lose against in the league in 12 encounters.
Watford 0-1 Tottenham: Sanchez stings Hornets in late Spurs win
Tottenham also left it late to overcome Watford and make it eight Premier League games without defeat under Antonio Conte, extending the longest unbeaten start by a Spurs boss in league competition.
Davinson Sanchez made the breakthrough with 95 minutes and 45 seconds played, with that the latest winning goal Spurs have scored in the top flight since Opta started recording such data from 2006-07.
Watford dug deep but could not quite hold on for a valuable point, meaning they have now lost more Premier League matches (nine) since Claudio Ranieri took charge in October than any other side in the division.
Sanchez's goal was his second in five Premier League matches for Spurs, which is more than he had netted in his first 108 in the competition (one), with the defender heading in from a Son Heung-min free-kick.
Watford boss Ranieri has now lost each of his last five Premier League games against Italian managers, whereas compatriot Conte has never lost against a fellow Italian in the competition in six meetings, winning all but one of those.
Crystal Palace 2-3 West Ham: Hammers survive Olise-inspired scare
Palace fell just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback as they lost a home league match on New Year's Day for the first time in their history, with this their 14th such match.
Michail Antonio's close-range finish and a Manuel Lanzini double gave West Ham a commanding three-goal lead, the latter having now scored 52 per cent of his 25 Premier League goals in London derbies (13) – the highest percentage of any player to have scored at least 20 times in the competition.
Michael Olise made a huge difference from the bench by setting up Odsonne Edouard and then scoring a second for Palace late on, making him the first Eagles player to score and assist as a substitute in the Premier League.
But the visitors held on to ensure boss David Moyes made it six straight away league wins against Palace as a manager, defeating a different coach on each occasion during that perfect run (Alan Smith, Iain Dowie, Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and now Patrick Vieira).
Messi to lead Argentina in Copa America, Dybala left out of squad
Argentina are aiming to defend their Copa America title as Lionel Scaloni names a 29-man provisional squad ahead of the tournament.
Lionel Messi will once again captain the side, with Scaloni also choosing the experienced Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi in the squad.
Enzo Fernandez is called up, despite missing the end of Chelsea's Premier League season due to having groin surgery in April. Lisandro Martinez is also recalled despite only recently returning from injury.
A surprise omission to the squad is Roma’s Paulo Dybala, who has scored 16 goals across all competitions this season and earned three player of the month awards in an impressive season.
However, the forward could not force his way back into the squad after being limited to just two substitute appearances for Argentina in 2023.
Scaloni will have to narrow his squad down to 26 men, meaning three will drop out of the squad by June 12 before their Copa America opener against Canada on June 20.
Before the tournament, Argentina will play friendlies against Ecuador and Guatemala.
Argentina squad
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas M. Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Valentin Barco (Brighton
Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham)
Forwards: Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Valentin Carboni (Monza), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Rodri suggests Arsenal's mentality cost them Premier League title
Rodri has suggested Arsenal's mentality cost them the Premier League title, after Manchester City became the first team to win four straight English top-flight crowns.
City edged out Arsenal by two points on the final day of the season, their 3-1 win over West Ham ensuring the Gunners' comeback victory over Everton was immaterial.
Rodri scored the crucial third goal just before the hour mark to settle nerves at the Etihad Stadium, after Mohammed Kudus had drawn West Ham within one goal.
City finished the season with nine straight wins after playing out a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in late March, while the Gunners dropped three points in a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in April.
Reflecting on that goalless draw, Rodri accused Arsenal of settling for a point and hinted a lack of bravery had cost them.
Asked by Optus Sport for the secret behind City's success, Rodri pointed to his head as he said: "To be honest, I think it's in here. It's the mentality.
"Arsenal, also they deserved [to win the league], they did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here.
"When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said, 'Ah, these guys, they don't want to beat us, they just want a draw.'
"That mentality… I don't think we would do it the same way. We caught them.
"At the end, if you give us one point, we will win the last seven, eight games even though it's so tough. So I think it comes down to mentality."
Rodri did not taste defeat in the Premier League throughout 2023-24, with all three of City's losses coming when the Spaniard was suspended.
He has now gone unbeaten through his last 50 Premier League matches, with only former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell enjoying a longer such streak (56 games between 2002 and 2004).
City's historic triumph means they have surpassed the achievements of Huddersfield Town (1923-1926), Arsenal (1932-35), Liverpool (1981-1984) and Manchester United (1998-2001 and 2006-2009), all of whom won three straight top-flight titles.
They could also become the first team to ever win back-to-back league and FA Cup doubles on Saturday, when they face Manchester United in the final of the latter competition at Wembley Stadium.
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
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