Leandro Trossard and Casemiro were two of the standout players in Sunday's Premier League action – though for contrasting reasons.
Belgium international Trossard was inspirational as Arsenal's title tilt remained on track, while Casemiro was shown a second red card in three Premier League appearances as Manchester United slipped up again.
Miguel Almiron was Newcastle United's hero, Eddie Howe's men closing on the Champions League places again, and Ollie Watkins continued his fine form for Aston Villa in their draw with West Ham.
After the conclusion of the day's drama, Stats Perform highlights the pick of the Opta numbers.
Manchester United 0-0 Southampton: Another Casemiro red threatens to derail Ten Hag's men
Casemiro has undoubtedly been one of United's best players this season, but if they now miss out on the top four, the Brazil international will have to take part of the blame.
His sending off in the first half on Sunday for a heavy challenge on Carlos Alcaraz proved costly, with United only able to scrape a point thereafter.
That made him the first United player to receive two red cards in one Premier League season since Nemanja Vidic in 2013-14, and just the second to earn a pair of reds in his first campaign for the club after Darren Fletcher (2003-04).
He will now miss their next four matches – at the end of that run, he will have been suspended for eight games this year alone.
While some United fans might have had the perception this was always going to be the risk that came with signing a player like Casemiro, he had never been shown a straight red in his entire senior career before moving to Old Trafford.
Of course, for Southampton, Casemiro's dismissal proved helpful. While they could not get the win they might feel they deserved, Saints managed to keep a third clean sheet in four games under Ruben Selles – that is one more than in their previous 34 league games.
Fulham 0-3 Arsenal: Trossard inspirational as Gunners continue to deal out capital punishment
Arsenal's comprehensive win at Craven Cottage was their fifth successive away London derby win without conceding a goal.
That is a feat no club has managed previously in the Premier League.
Trossard played a vital role with a unique feat of his own, setting up all three of Arsenal's goals, with each one coming in the first half.
Thus, the Belgian became the first player to ever tally a hat-trick of assists in the first half of a Premier League away game.
Trossard's second was a looping cross that found Gabriel Martinelli for a close-range header, the Brazilian nodding in his 23rd top-flight goal for the club.
He is now only one away from surpassing Nicolas Anelka as the foreign player with the most Premier League strikes for the club before turning 22.
That first-half flurry keeps the Gunners on track in the title race, five points clear of Manchester City in second.
West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa: Watkins in a groove
Unai Emery has certainly managed to steady the ship at Aston Villa since replacing Steven Gerrard in the dugout, and the form of Watkins has been among the most notable improvements.
The striker netted again on Sunday, opening the scoring at London Stadium as he headed in from Alex Moreno's cross.
Since the World Cup, only Marcus Rashford (10), Erling Haaland (10) and Harry Kane (eight) have scored more Premier League goals than Watkins (seven).
That includes goals in each of his past four Premier League away games, which is the longest such scoring run by a Villa player since Dwight Yorke between March and May 1998 (also four).
Unfortunately for Villa, West Ham levelled just nine minutes later through Said Benrahma, who was lively throughout.
His penalty continued his 100 per cent record from the spot in English league football, with that his third from three for West Ham having also converted 4/4 at Brentford.
Over the course of the 90 minutes, Benrahma had 10 shots, which is the joint-most on record (since the 2003-04 season) for a West Ham player in a single Premier League game.
He could not single-handedly inspire a turnaround, however.
Newcastle United 2-1 Wolves: Almiron comes up trumps yet again
Almiron has stepped up this season, becoming a key player for Newcastle and a regular source of goals.
A recent dip in form saw him dropped from the starting XI for the visit of Wolves on Sunday, but he responded well.
Eleven minutes after his second-half introduction, he found space in the right side of the box and saw a deflected effort beat Jose Sa following Joe Willock's well-timed pass.
That was his fourth winning goal of the season – the most among Newcastle players – and his 11th goal in total in the Premier League, which is four than his previous four campaigns combined.
Earlier, Hwang Hee-chan had equalised just 57 seconds after coming off the bench, making it the second-fastest substitute goal of the season.
But the day belonged to Almiron as Newcastle ended a five-match winless streak.
Coventry City 2-3 Hull City: Tigers win five-goal thriller to keep play-off hopes alive
Hull City kept their hopes of gatecrashing the Championship play-offs alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Coventry City on Wednesday.
Noah Ohio scored the winner with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as Hull moved within three points of sixth-placed Norwich City with two games to play.
Coventry, meanwhile, saw their own hopes of returning to Wembley Stadium for a second successive play-off final all but ended, as they sit six points further back with three matches remaining.
Three days on from their remarkable comeback against Manchester United, the Sky Blues twice fought back to level things at Coventry Building Society Arena. Jaden Philogene's shot squirmed under goalkeeper Bradley Collins to put Hull ahead 31 minutes in, but Kasey Palmer levelled within five minutes with a stunning free-kick.
Hull went back ahead in controversial circumstances on the stroke of half-time, Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho converting from the penalty spot despite replays showing Joel Latibeaudiere's foul on Liam Delap took place outside the area.
Mark Robins' men again dragged themselves back into the game as Bobby Thomas headed Jay Dasilva's cross in just before the hour mark, but it was Liam Rosenior's visitors who found a winner.
Thomas went from hero to villain as his poor back pass sold Collins short, and Ohio got a toe to the ball to score the winner, keeping Hull's hopes of Premier League football intact.
Van Dijk: Liverpool have 'no chance' in title race after derby defeat
Virgil van Dijk conceded Liverpool might be out of the Premier League title race after they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Everton in Wednesday's Merseyside derby.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in either half to give the Toffees their first win over Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010.
Liverpool struggled to find a way through the Toffees' defence despite dominating for long periods, and the Reds' captain says they will not outlast Arsenal and Manchester City without major improvements.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "If we play like today, then we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race.
"We have to just focus on the next game and that will be a tough one anyway, so we will see.
"We're very disappointed, in so many ways. I think everyone has to look at their own performances. Did they really give everything, and do they really want to win the league?
"We're still fighting and there are still games after tonight, but if we play like we did overall in the game today – not winning challenges and giving the referee a chance to give free-kicks like he did many times, then you have no chance to win the title."
Howe: Newcastle performance in Palace defeat 'way off' Spurs win
Eddie Howe admitted Newcastle United's performance in the 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Wednesday was "way off" the one that saw them thump Tottenham in their previous game.
Howe's men hammered Spurs 4-0 in their last match, but they never got close to matching the attacking verve from that outing and a Jean-Philippe Mateta double condemned the Magpies to defeat at Selhurst Park.
Newcastle didn't even manage a shot on target until the 87th minute, accumulating just 0.42 xG (expected goals) as the likes of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon struggled to make an impact.
Only against Manchester City in August (one) have Newcastle recorded fewer shots on target in a Premier League game this season than their two against Palace, and Howe was critical of his team's display in the loss, one that all but ends their hopes of finishing in the top four.
"[It is a] bad day for us," Howe told Newcastle's club media.
"I thought we were disappointing today, especially in the first 60 minutes. We were way off our levels against Tottenham and our best levels.
"I thought technically we didn't deliver a good performance, and out of possession I don't think it was a particularly good performance either."
Newcastle were unlocked twice for Mateta to score by a Palace side who themselves only generated 0.88 xG.
Howe was left frustrated by the manner in which his side conceded, adding: "I think we'll be disappointed with our performance technically today, and that's probably epitomised by the two goals where we're disappointed with how we've given them the ball in those situations and then how we defended.
"I think the goals sum up aspects of our performance where there was some good, lots of moments that could have led to opportunities, but we were slow to shoot around the box," he said.
The defeat, combined with Manchester United's 4-2 win over Sheffield United, means Newcastle drop to seventh, while eighth-placed West Ham are two points behind with a game in hand.
Newcastle have now lost eight of their last 11 Premier League away games, while they have lost on four occasions in London in the league this term, only doing so more times in a Premier League season in 2000-01 and 2005-06 (both five).
It's been a disappointing season for Howe and his side, especially compared to the heroics of last term when Newcastle finished in the top four, and the Magpies boss knows there's work to be done to get back to those levels.
"It's a day that we have to take our punishment, deal with it, and then try and improve," Howe continued. "It's frustrating because we know we're capable of much better."
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