A week on from the drama, controversy and anger surrounding the European Super League, it felt like football – rather than its potential ruin – was at the front of the agenda this weekend.
However, the spectre of the Super League continued to loom over much of the action, with many of the so-called "big six" seeing it used as a stick to beat them with as they largely stuttered to underwhelming results.
Of those in league action over the weekend (Manchester City beat Tottenham in the EFL Cup final), only Chelsea emerged victorious, as Manchester United and Liverpool were held, while Arsenal lost at home to Everton.
Using Opta data, we look at some of the quirky facts from the latest Premier League matches…
Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle United: Reds to join exclusive list?
It was another underwhelming weekend for defending champions Liverpool, as their 1-1 draw at home to struggling Newcastle United saw them lose further ground in the fight for Champions League places.
Jurgen Klopp's men are four points adrift of Chelsea in fourth, after the Blues beat top-four rivals West Ham 1-0 at the London Stadium.
Liverpool have five matches to close the gap otherwise they face the prospect of an ignominious achievement.
Only five times before have the reigning Premier League champions failed to qualify for the Champions League the season after winning the title.
Manchester United were the first in 1994-95, also doing so in 2013-14. The other teams do this were Blackburn Rovers (1995-96), Chelsea (2015-16) and Leicester City (2016-17).
Wolves 0-4 Burnley: Wood and New Zealand join the United Nations of hat-tricks
Chris Wood enjoyed a weekend to remember as he netted his first Premier League hat-trick in Burnley's 4-0 win over Wolves.
In doing so, he became the first New Zealand national to score a treble in the competition, meaning there have been hat-tricks scored by 46 countries in the Premier League.
New Zealand has joined Gabon, South Korea, Venezuela, DR Congo, Japan, Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paraguay, Iceland, Sweden, Costa Rica and Serbia on one.
England, unsurprisingly, leads the way with 154 hat-tricks from 69 individuals. Joint second with 18 each are Netherlands and Argentina, while France (17) and Spain (11) are the only other countries into double figures.
Leeds United 0-0 Manchester United: 'Boring, boring Man United'
Fans expecting a repeat of Manchester United's 6-2 thrashing of Leeds United will have been sorely disappointed, not just with the 0-0 draw, but also given it was a fairly drab encounter.
Sure, United have excited on occasion this season, that previous win over Leeds and the 9-0 demolition of Southampton immediately coming to mind.
But Sunday's stalemate was United's seventh 0-0 draw of the season, more than any other team in the Premier League.
On top of that, 2020-21 has now seen United play out more goalless draws than any other Premier League season.
They previously played out six in 2004-05 and 2016-17, but 2020-21 now leads the way.
West Ham 0-1 Chelsea: Tuchel's at home on the road
Thomas Tuchel has made a fine impression at Chelsea since replacing Frank Lampard in January. The achievements seem to be piling up.
Chelsea's latest win saw them leave London rivals West Ham with a 1-0 win that moved them back into the top four at the expense of David Moyes' boys.
As such, he became the first Chelsea manager to avoid defeat in his first 10 away games across all competitions.
The previous club record was set by William Lewis over 100 years ago in 1906-07, when they went nine unbeaten on the road.
Tuchel also matched the record set by Luiz Felipe Scolari for the number of clean sheets (10) in his first 14 Premier League matches.
What's even more impressive about that is it's a league record, rather than just relevant to Chelsea.
Giorgi outlasts Kanepi in equal-longest match of WTA season at Miami Open
Camila Giorgi progressed into the Miami Open second round despite blowing a 5-0 third-set lead as she edged past veteran Kaia Kanepi in the equal-longest main draw match of the year on Tuesday.
The Italian world number 44, who won February's Merida Open, outlasted the Estonian 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in three hours and 32 minutes.
The length was equal to the Erika Andreeva-Harriet Dart first-round match at the ATX Open last month for the longest this WTA season.
But Giorgi could have had an earlier finish, leading 5-0 in the decider before Kanepi hit back by winning the next five games, only for the Italian to rally in the tie-break, converting her fourth match point.
Giorgi, who blew match points at 5-3 and 5-4, will take on three-time Miami Open winner and 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka in the second round.
Russian 34-year-old Evgeniya Rodina produced the upset of the day's play, beating 37th-ranked Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-4 in 73 minutes and will take on 20th seed Magda Linette in the second round.
Rodina is currently ranked 369th in the world having returned to the WTA Tour midway through last season after a two-year absence, having reached a career-high 67th in May 2019.
World number 39 Elise Mertens eased into the second round with a 6-1 6-4 win over USA's Alycia Parks, setting up a second-round clash with eighth seed Daria Kasatkina.
World number 43 Yulia Putintseva bowed out prematurely, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to Canada's Rebecca Marino, who advanced to face sixth seed Coco Gauff.
Teenager Linda Fruhvirtova, ranked 50th in the world, also suffered a shock loss, beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4 by 172nd-ranked Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Laura Siegemund won 6-3 6-4 over 52nd-ranked Mayar Sherif
Katerina Siniakova withdrew due to injury despite winning the first set against USA's Claire Liu, with scores at 6-3 3-3. Liu's prize is a second-round meeting with top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek.
Paralluelo hands Barcelona lead against Roma, Bayern have edge over Arsenal
Salma Paralluelo scored the only goal of the game as Barcelona edged Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League.
The 19-year-old curled a left-footed effort from outside the box to beat Camelia Ceasar after 34 minutes, after the Roma goalkeeper had frustrated the visitors with a number of fine saves.
Last season's runners-up could not extend their advantage in the second half, while Roma failed to convert a number of chances in the latter stages to pull the tie level.
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It's advantage Barcelona after a narrow win in Rome #UWCL
Elsewhere, Arsenal were frustrated at Allianz Arena by Bayern Munich and suffered a 1-0 loss despite dominating proceedings.
The Gunners saw efforts from Stina Blackstenius and Leah Williamson cleared off the line as they peppered the hosts' goal with 25 shots – though only six were on target.
Lea Schuller's 39th-minute header proved decisive, with Jonas Eidevall's side needing a turnaround in the second leg if they are to reach the semi-finals for the first time in a decade.
Foden puzzled by Haaland's brilliance at Man City
Erling Haaland is a "real pleasure" for Phil Foden to play alongside at Manchester City.
The Norwegian forward has been in devastating form in his inaugural campaign in the Premier League, leading the scoring charts with 28 goals in 26 matches.
Haaland's heroics have not just been limited to the push for the title, in which they trail Arsenal by eight points but hold a game in hand, having entered the international break with eight goals in his last two matches.
In the FA Cup against Burnley, Haaland secured his hat-trick by tucking home a rebound after Foden had struck the post, leaving the England international puzzled by his excellent positioning.
"It's a pleasure, I don't know how he does it. The one that I hit off the post, he always seems to be in the right place, expecting things, little ricochets, and things like that," he told Talksport.
"The way his brain works, he always seems to be in the right place to finish the ball, and to play with a player like that it's always a massive boost for us because when it's a tight game and it's 0-0, there's not a lot of chances, we've been relying on him to get us a goal and it's a real pleasure to play with him."
Despite Haaland's stellar record in front of goal, some have queried whether City's number nine limits the style of play that Pep Guardiola's side have become accustomed to, but Foden does not see it that way.
"He's helped us in a way of finding a different way to play," he explained.
"In previous years we didn't really have a striker, and now he's here we've adapted a little bit, and we're even still getting used to him now, so it's good for the team, and it's only going to help us in the future.
"It makes my job easier being an attacking player and looking at someone that wants to score goals and is always ready and in the box it makes it a lot easier."
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