Premier League weekend delivers stunning comebacks, late goals, and a three-way title battle

THE FESTIVE football feast delivered everything we love about the Premier League this weekend — late drama, super-sub heroics, and a title race that refuses to settle into predictability.

The Headline: Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa

If you want to understand why Unai Emery has Villa supporters dreaming of impossible things, look no further than Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. For 59 minutes, his side looked utterly outmatched. Chelsea were harrying and pressing and pinning them in their own half from where they rarely emerged before the break. João Pedro's scrappy goal from a Reece James corner had given the hosts a deserved lead, and it seemed Villa's record-chasing run was about to end.

Then Emery made his move. On came Ollie Watkins, Jadon Sancho, and Amadou Onana. "Tactical genius," were the words Watkins used to describe Emery afterward, and it's hard to argue. Within four minutes of his introduction, Watkins had equalized, and seven minutes from time he rose magnificently to head home Youri Tielemans' corner and complete the turnaround. Villa took their league-best 16th, 17th, and 18th points from losing positions this season.

The victory extends Villa's winning streak to an astonishing 11 matches across all competitions — a club record. More importantly, it keeps them just three points behind Arsenal heading into Tuesday's mouthwatering clash at the Emirates.

The Title Picture Sharpens

Earlier Saturday, Manchester City had applied the pressure with a hard-fought win at Nottingham Forest. Rayan Cherki chose a good time to end his Premier League drought as his late strike earned City a vital 2-1 victory. The French playmaker was involved in both goals, first threading a pass for Tijjani Reijnders' opener before firing home the winner with seven minutes remaining. No player has provided more Premier League assists this season than Cherki, who now has seven.

Arsenal responded in kind, seeing off Brighton 2-1 at the Emirates. Martin Ødegaard's first goal of the season opened the scoring, but the Gunners again benefited from set-piece fortune when Georginio Rutter headed Declan Rice's corner into his own net. David Raya produced a fine diving save to deny Yankuba Minteh with 15 minutes left in what could prove a pivotal stop in Arsenal's title pursuit.

Around the Grounds

At Anfield, Florian Wirtz finally scored his first goal for Liverpool in their 2-1 win over rock-bottom Wolves. His shimmy past Matt Doherty drew gasps of appreciation from the home crowd, and with Mohamed Salah at AFCON, his timing couldn't be better.

Kevin Schade delivered the weekend's individual masterpiece, inspiring Brentford to a thumping 4-1 home win over Bournemouth with a perfect hat-trick. He has now become the first German player to score two or more hat-tricks in the Premier League.

At the bottom, Wolves' misery continued—their 11th straight defeat leaves them anchored at the foot of the table. Fulham's Raúl Jiménez headed late to sink West Ham 1-0, while Burnley and Everton played out a tense goalless draw.

What's Next

The title race now sits with Arsenal on 42 points, Manchester City on 40, and Villa on 39. With Villa visiting the Emirates on Tuesday and the New Year fixtures looming, this three-way battle shows no signs of loosening. Football doesn't get much better than this.