Anthony Martial came off the bench to earn Manchester United a 1-0 win over Premier League title rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Victory saw United, who had started the day ahead of Spurs on goal difference alone, go three points clear of their London rivals.
France international Martial, currently battling to win a regular starting place under Jose Mourinho, did his chances no harm with the manner of his 81st minute winning goal, even if it was a curiously direct affair.
A long kick forward by goalkeeper David De Gea was headed on by Romelu Lukaku and Martial sprinted away from the Spurs back line before calmly beating the keeper with an excellent finish.
It was a disappointing way for Spurs to lose a game and the fact that the London club were without injured leading striker Harry Kane is bound to revive the debate over whether their bid to be crowned champions is too reliant on the England forward.
After being widely criticised for their negative approach in the recent goalless draw at Liverpool, United showed more ambition against another of the division’s top clubs on their own turf, although the result was still a lack of real goalscoring chances and entertainment.
Within two minutes, Lukaku chased onto a through ball and his low, driven cross-shot was well cut out by the alert Hugo Lloris, with Marcus Rashford poised in the middle in front of an open net.
Ashley Young’s penetrating run might have carved out a chance but his drag-back passed through the area and narrowly out of reach of three team mates before a 35-yard Rashford free-kick was turned around the post by the diving goalkeeper.
Spurs, understandably given the absence of Kane, adopted a more cautious approach but grew into the game as the half progressed.
Early chances were limited to long shots — Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko forcing De Gea into simple stops and Toby Alderweireld shooting into the side-netting from outside the area.
But by the time Christian Eriksen floated over a delightful pass in the direction of Dele Alli, who was denied the chance to volley on goal by two defenders, Spurs looked comfortable.
When Tottenham did create a real chance, it was in bizarre circumstances as De Gea made a routine catch from a Ben Davies cross but collided with Phil Jones and dropped the ball.
Elsewhere, league leaders Manchester City defeated West Brom to maintain their grip at the top of the Premier League.
Leroy Sane, Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling scored to clinch a 3-2 win at The Hawthorns and wrap up an eighth straight league win.
Jay Rodriguez briefly equalised for Albion and Matt Phillips capitalised on Nicolas Otamendi’s late mistake to give the scoreline a closer look than Albion deserved.
But Pep Guardiola’s City side remain unbeaten and sit five points clear at the top.
Arsenal came from behind to beat Swansea in Arsene Wenger’s 800th Premier League game in charge of the Gunners.
Wenger stuck with the same side that thrashed Everton 5-2 last weekend and they eventually came up with the goods to secure a 2-1 win and move within a point of rivals Tottenham in third place.
Sam Clucas had given Swansea a first-half lead with his maiden goal for the club but Sead Kolasinac levelled after the interval before laying on Aaron Ramsey’s winner seven minutes later.
Arsenal’s position of fourth in the table was short-lived after Chelsea defeated Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium, with the Blues and the Gunners now just a point behind Tottenham.
Eden Hazard’s first Premier League goal of the season separated the sides on the south coast, with the Chelsea playmaker slotting home from an acute angle six minutes after half-time.
Steve Cook could have snatched an undeserved leveller at the death but he fired straight at Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp got one over on best friend David Wagner as Daniel Sturridge’s 100th club goal paved the way for a 3-0 win over Huddersfield at Anfield.
Wagner’s Terriers, who ended Manchester United’s unbeaten start to the season last week, comfortably held their hosts at bay for 50 minutes courtesy of goalkeeper Jonas Lossl’s penalty save from Mohamed Salah.
However, a brilliant striker’s finish from Sturridge broke their resistance just after the break and Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum secured only Liverpool’s second win in seven Premier League games.
Darren Fletcher volleyed his first goal for Stoke to take the wind out of Watford’s sails.
The Hornets were looking to cement their place in the top six, but Fletcher’s Paul Scholes-style strike from the edge of the area secured a first away win for City.
The 1-0 victory also eased the pressure on Stoke manager Mark Hughes, who was in danger of becoming the latest boss under the microscope following four defeats in five matches.
Slaven Bilic’s do-or-die week ended in disappointment as Wilfried Zaha’s 97th-minute equaliser earned Crystal Palace a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham.
Bilic had admitted this was another crunch few days for his future as manager and the visitors looked on course for a morale-boosting win when Javier Hernandez and Andre Ayew put them two up at Selhurst Park.
But Palace came roaring back in the second half as Luka Milivojevic’s penalty and a stoppage-time strike from Zaha earned Roy Hodgson’s men a dramatic point.
