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.
Guardiola insists three teams still in title hunt despite Liverpool slip-up
Pep Guardiola insists Liverpool remain in the Premier League title race, despite the Reds losing further ground on Arsenal and Manchester City in a dramatic few days at the summit.
Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday, a result which meant they failed to close the gap to Arsenal after the Gunners thrashed Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday.
While Jurgen Klopp's men couldn't respond to the Gunners pulling clear, City did on Thursday, with Phil Foden scoring twice in an emphatic 4-0 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
One point behind Arsenal with a game in hand, City know five wins from their five remaining matches will seal an unprecedented fourth successive English top-flight title.
However, Guardiola expects further twists and turns in the coming weeks.
Asked if Liverpool were still in contention after City's win, Guardiola told Sky Sports: "Yeah. Many things can happen.
"What happened with Liverpool, losing to Crystal Palace and Everton, can happen to us. It can happen to Arsenal. No-one is safe. We have to rest. Now it is just about recovering for the next one.
"We have been here in the past but being here in the past doesn't mean it is going to happen. We have to do the things to make it happen."
City's comprehensive win – in which Kevin De Bruyne scored his first headed goal in the Premier League – saw them cut Arsenal's goal difference advantage to eight goals.
However, Guardiola believes it will be tough for City to close that gap, saying: "It is difficult to cut. The margin is so big. They score a lot of goals and don't concede.
"The main thing is to win the games. We have five games left and they are tough ones – it's a lot of games. We'll take it one game at a time."
Foden's first goal against Brighton – a deflected free-kick – saw him become just the third player to score 50 top-flight goals under Guardiola while aged 23 or younger, after Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi.
Foden is the favourite to be named Premier League Player of the Season, and while Guardiola believes he should be in contention, he says his player is more concerned with team honours.
"For sure, but he wants to win the Premier League," Guardiola said when asked if Foden deserved individual honours. "His influence in the final third was better than in the last two or three games. Today he was more calm, his decision-making was good and to score goals is always good."
Foden: De Bruyne the best in the Premier League
Phil Foden hailed Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League's best player after the pair both netted in the 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in Thursday's contest at Amex Stadium before Foden took over with a couple of goals of his own before half-time.
Julian Alvarez rounded off the scoring just after the hour in a one-sided contest as an Erling Haaland-less City moved to within a point of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
Belgium international De Bruyne now has four goals and six assists in just 13 league appearances for City this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports News after the win over Brighton, Foden said: "I think when he is at it, he is the best player in the Premier League."
Foden's first goal came via a deflected free-kick that he himself won, although replays showed he slipped rather than being fouled.
The England international doubled his personal tally with a composed finish after Brighton were caught in possession at the back.
Asked about playing more centrally, Foden said: "I have always said that I see myself there. This year I have moved inside and it has helped me massively.
"I enjoy it in the middle. It's where I want to be. At the moment, I am just enjoying my football and playing with freedom."
De Bruyne had earlier opened the scoring with a brilliant opener - his first headed goal for City in the Premier League - as City made it 30 games unbeaten in normal time across all competitions.
Alvarez then went on to round off the scoring in a game that not only saw the reigning champions close the gap on Arsenal, but also narrow the goal difference margin to eight.
"It was a good game," De Bruyne said. "I think we played really good in the first half and every game is a lot of pressure. All we can do is prepare as we did today and win the game that is in front of us.
"We just want to win game-by-game and push for the title. We don't get ahead of ourselves. Now the next game is coming quickly. Try to recover and we go again."
Kyle Walker assisted the De Bruyne and Alvarez goals - the first time the defender has set up two goals in a single Premier League game in what was his 390th appearance in the competition.
Reflecting on his rare headed goal, De Bruyne said: "It doesn't happen too much. Kyle gave a good cross and I think the only way I could reach it is by jumping to it. I will take it but it's not something I am good at."
City have rather ominously won four Premier League games in a row and travel to strugglers Nottingham Forest next up at the weekend, knowing victory in their remaining five games will secure an unprecedented fourth straight title.
"I trust my team. All respect to Liverpool and Arsenal, they are amazing," De Bruyne added. "Arsenal are doing what they need to do and we are also needing to do it. Work hard and be humble enough to keep pushing."
Los Angeles FC v Portland Timbers: Neville relishing swift rematch
Phil Neville is looking forward to a quick reunion with Los Angeles FC when the Portland Timbers head down to southern California.
The Timbers face LAFC on Saturday, just two weeks after they drew 2-2 with Steve Cherundolo’s team at home.
Felipe Mora and Evander scored for Portland that day, but Mateusz Bogusz’s double ensured a share of the spoils, with the Timbers having goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau sent off.
LAFC had a goal disallowed late on, and Neville believes both teams will feel they deserved more from that match.
He said: “Both managers came out of the game two weeks ago feeling hard done by – they had a goal disallowed in the last few minutes, we were really disappointed too in the performance of the referee.
“Saturday’s another game where we have to go for it. When you play teams really close together, there’s not much scouting, there’s only been one game between, so it’s about remembering the good things we did and how we can cause problems.”
Portland drew 2-2 with the Columbus Crew last time out, and Neville is satisfied with the level on show from his side, who sit down in 11th in the Western Conference.
“We took a lot of confidence out of the game against Columbus,” he said.
“We came up with chances to win the game, but we were beaten by an incredible goal. The boys are in really good shape, they’re looking forward to the game on Saturday – my first trip to LAFC so I’m looking forward to that. It’s another brilliant game against a really good team. We played them a couple of weeks ago. We know each other, both teams know each other.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LAFC – Denis Bouanga
Bouanga scored both of LAFC’s goals against the New York Red Bulls last time out, including the equaliser in stoppage time. It was the eighth time Bouanga has scored multiple goals in an MLS match since the start of last season (incl. playoffs). No other player has more than four multi-goal games in that time.
Portland Timbers – Felipe Mora
Mora has scored in each of his last four appearances for the Timbers, though Portland have not won any of those matches (D3 L1). Mora is the fifth player in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to score in four straight matches but not be on the winning side in any of them.
MATCH PREDICTION: LAFC WIN
LAFC are unbeaten in eight straight home matches (W6 D2) in all competitions. They have scored multiple goals in seven of those eight matches.
However, LAFC have won only two of their last 10 regular-season matches against the Timbers (D4 L4).
The Timbers have scored in all 14 meetings with LAFC in league play since 2019 while LAFC have scored in 13 of those 14.
Portland are winless in six straight matches (D3 L3), including drawing the last three in a row. The Timbers have only three longer winless runs within a single regular season, most recently an eight-match run in March-April 2014.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LAFC – 56.2%
Portland Timbers – 19.5%
Draw – 24.3%
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