Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 1-1, with Roy Hodgson’s side failing to protect a lead in the bad blood, bird-themed clash. Jordan Ayew’s opener in first half stoppage time was canceled out by a marvelous parabola of a header by Danny Welbeck.

Late drama abounded at Villa Park when Aston Villa scraped a late draw with Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United. While it ruined a streak of 15 straight home wins for Unai Emery, the Birmingham side was lucky to get anything at all from the match as Nicolò Zaniolo only grabbed the equalizer in the 7th minute of added time.

West Ham compounded Manchester United struggles, and the Red Devils needed off-field news of a partial takeover to soothe their on pitch heartache. Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus continued their respective hot streaks, striking in quick succession in the second half to cast a shadow over Erik Ten Hag’s Christmas celebrations.

Burnley surprised in West London, downing Fulham 2 goals to 0. Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge made the difference, and the Clarets finally got a result against a favored opponent. Fulham continue to confound, failing to score again after briefly looking unstoppable.

At Kenilworth Road, Luton Town earned a meaningful win, defeating Newcastle 1-0. Not only was this win crucial for any hopes of Hatters’ survival, but the team clearly rallied around their captain, Tom Lockyer, who has been released from hospital following his on-pitch cardiac arrest. Andros Townsend headed home the winner, and Newcastle will need to rebound in midweek.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s reign at Nottingham Forest got off to an unfortunate start, with his side falling to 3-2 courtesy of a Dominic Solanke hat trick. To be fair to the new manager, the match was heavily influenced by a first half sending off, when Willy Boly received 2 yellow cards - the second of which was particularly dubious.

Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of Manchester City’s jaunt to Saudi Arabia and moved into the top 4 after beating Everton 2-1. Spurs pulled ahead early behind former Toffee Richarlison and captain Son Heung-min, and the North London side largely remained in control until the final stretch of the match when André Gomes halved the lead. This ignited a spell of pressure from the Merseyside club, but Sean Dyche’s side couldn’t find an equalizer.

Liverpool and Arsenal battled to a spirited draw in the highest profile clash of the weekend, leaving Manchester City to celebrate both sides’ dropped points. Gabriel opened early for the Gunners, but Mohamed Salah latched onto a great ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold to knot the game in the 29th minute. Unfortunately for supporters of the Scouse side, Alexander-Arnold missed a great opportunity to nab all 3 points for Liverpool, and Arsenal sit atop the table on Christmas Day.

Maurcio Pochettino may be having an uncomfortable Christmas after Chelsea fell 2-1 away to Wolves. The West London side was blunted in the Midlands, and second half goals by Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty made Christopher Nkunku’s first goal for Chelsea purely academic. The two teams are now level on points, and Pochettino’s side is closer to relegation than 5th place.