The final round of Premier League fixtures before the World Cup break produced a huge shock at the Etihad Stadium.
After missing out on England's World Cup squad, Ivan Toney struck twice to give Brentford a sensational 2-1 victory over Manchester City.
That result confirmed Arsenal would be top heading into the World Cup interval, and they increased their lead to five points by cruising past Wolves at Molineux as Martin Odegaard scored both goals in a 2-0 triumph.
Tottenham and Leeds United played out a seven-goal thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the hosts eventually running out 4-3 winners.
Elsewhere, Chelsea fell to a third straight league defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by in-form Newcastle United.
Here, Stats Perform looks through the best facts of the day.
Manchester City 1-2 Brentford: Toney double stuns Citizens
City had previously been unbeaten for 20 home matches in all competitions since a 3-2 defeat against Spurs in February, winning their last 16 at the Etihad.
But Toney, fresh from his England disappointment, scored his 21st and 22nd Premier League goals to end City's streak in dramatic fashion.
His winner came after 97 minutes and 16 seconds, the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since exact goal times started being recorded in the 2006-07 campaign.
The Bees were made to do a lot of defending to earn the three points, with City's 29 shots their most in a Premier League home game they failed to win since a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United in April 2021.
Phil Foden's equaliser in first-half injury time was his sixth home goal in all competitions, his joint-best return in a Premier League season. Six of his eight goals (75 per cent) this season have come at the Etihad, compared to 43 per cent last term (six of 14).
Wolves 0-2 Arsenal: Odegaard fires Gunners to five-point lead
Odegaard's double puts him up to six Premier League goals this season, the most of any Arsenal player, while only Kevin de Bruyne, James Maddison and Leandro Trossard have been involved in more away goals than the Norway international (five, four goals and one assist).
The three points, combined with City slipping up, gives Arsenal their biggest lead at the top of the Premier League since December 2013.
Mikel Arteta's men are the only team to have scored in every Premier League game this season and they will be top of the league on Christmas day for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.
Another defeat for Wolves means new boss Julen Lopetegui has much work to do, with the Molineux club bottom at Christmas for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
They are seriously out of form, only winning one of their last 22 Premier League games, failing to score in 11 matches over that run.
Tottenham 4-3 Leeds United: Bentancur strikes twice as Spurs come from behind
Antonio Conte's side completed yet another turnaround to beat Leeds and have now rescued 13 points from losing positions, more than any other team.
Rodrigo Bentancur's late double was the first time he has scored twice in the same game within the main five European leagues, on what was his 164th such appearance.
Spurs were made to do it the hard way, as Rodrigo and Crysencio Summerville became the first pair of team-mates to both score in four straight Premier League games.
But Leeds ultimately succumbed to defeat, their fifth straight league loss against London sides since thumping Chelsea 3-0 in August.
Spurs meanwhile have now scored 31 goals in 15 Premier League games this season, only bettering that tally at this stage of the competition in one season, when they netted 35 in 15 to kick off the 2009-10 campaign.
Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea: Willock wonder strike downs Blues
Joe Willock scored a superb winner to earn Newcastle a fifth straight Premier League victory for the first time since 2014.
On the flip side, Graham Potter becomes the first Chelsea boss to lose three consecutive league matches since Jose Mourinho in 2015 as his side's poor form continues.
A key reason for the defeat was a dismal attacking display, registering just seven touches in the opposition box, their lowest since January against Manchester City.
The closest Chelsea went to scoring was Conor Gallagher forcing an acrobatic save from Nick Pope. No other goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Pope, with five of his seven coming at St James' Park.
The three points ensure Newcastle will be in the top three at Christmas for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign, when they were top.
Manchester United’s Anthony Martial ruled out of FA Cup final through injury
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has been ruled out of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City due to a hamstring injury.
Martial picked up the problem in United’s final Premier League game of the season after stepping off the bench on Sunday against Fulham and scans have revealed the full extent of the damage.
United said in a statement: “Anthony Martial is out of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup final against Manchester City due to injury.
“The France international strained his hamstring towards the end of Sunday’s 2-1 win against Fulham at Old Trafford.
“Assessments have since revealed a muscle tear that rules the 27-year-old out of the Wembley showdown.”
Martial missed United’s first two Premier League games this season due to a hamstring problem, while other small injuries since have restricted him to 29 appearances in all competitions in which he has scored nine goals.
Only 11 of his 21 league appearances this season have been in the starting line-up, but he had been hoping to be in contention to start at Wembley against City, who are looking to complete a domestic treble.
The former Lyon winger, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla, joined United from Monaco for £36million in 2015 and has made almost 200 league appearances for the club in total.
Ange Postecoglou: Celtic have to be at their ‘absolute best’ against Inverness
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has stressed they have to be at their “absolute best” against Inverness in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final after hearing about the history between the clubs in the competition.
Caley Thistle have knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup three times in seven meetings this century and the Hoops needed to come from behind in two of their triumphs.
Inverness beat Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead as a First Division club in the first encounter between the teams in February 2000 in a result that cost John Barnes his job as manager.
They also beat Martin O’Neill’s side in 2003 four days after the Hoops had won at Anfield on their way to the UEFA Cup final.
Ronny Deila also fell foul of Caley Thistle in the 2015 semi-finals in a result that cost Celtic the chance of a treble.
When told some people were predicting a walkover when the Scottish champions face a side who finished fifth in the cinch Championship, Postecoglou told Celtic TV: “The people at this club don’t tell me about that, they tell me about the past results against them, which makes you realise that if you are not on it on the day you can be beaten and there’s consequences to that.
“I can assure you that no-one in the building here is going into it with anything other than the approach that we have to be at our absolute best on the day.”
Caley Thistle have only played once since their semi-final win over Falkirk, losing to Ayr on May 5 in a late defeat which cost them a place in the Premiership play-offs.
“It’s a bit of a weird one for them, they won’t have had a game for close to a month by the time the cup final comes around,” Postecoglou said. “I’m sure they have been working away and had bounce games when they can.
“It’s a different opponent for us but, irrespective, it’s a cup final. Who the opponent is becomes secondary to the fact that you know you need to perform on the day and if you do there is a massive reward at the end of it.”
Coventry have condemned online racist abuse towards Fankaty Dabo after his decisive penalty miss in the Sky Bet Championship play-off finals against Luton.
The club announced they will work with the PFA, EFL and the police to seek, ban and prosecute any person found to have sent racist messages.
Owner and executive chairman Doug King said: “The messages sent to Fankaty were disgusting and there is no place for any person who sent such vile abuse at any of our games, and social media is not a hiding place to make these comments.
“The club and our partners will support Fankaty, and we will not hesitate in taking action against those people found to have done this.”
Coventry also confirmed the defender will leave the club following the conclusion of his contract alongside Julien Dacosta, Todd Kane, Sean Maguire, Michael Rose, Martyn Waghorn and Tyler Walker.
Loan players Jonathan Panzo, Callum Doyle, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Luke McNally will return to their parent clubs.
Manager Mark Robins thanked those leaving and paid tribute to Dabo and Rose for playing key roles in Coventry’s League One success in 2019-20.
He told the club website: “I would like to thank those who are leaving for their time with us, the contributions that they have made to Coventry City, and wish them all of the best for their future careers.
“In particular, Fankaty Dabo and Michael Rose were huge parts of the side that won the League One title and then established us in the Championship.
“They will both be fondly remembered for many years to come by all Sky Blues fans, and the outpouring of support for Fanky (Dabo) from our supporters following Saturday goes to show the esteem he is held in.”
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