Premier League leaders Chelsea are on the verge of sealing the title after beating Middlesbrough 3-0 to condemn the North East outfit to relegation.

Antonio Conte’s men had seen second place Tottenham lose 1-0 at West Ham on Friday night and knew victory over Steve Agnew’s Boro would put them one win away from the title, and they did just that thanks to goals from Diego Costa, Marcos Alonso, and Nemanja Matic.

And defeat for Middlesbrough saw their place in the Championship confirmed for next season after a disastrous top-flight campaign, a term which has seen them win just five times in 36 games, and sit seven points adrift of safety.

Elsewhere, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool remain third despite only managing a draw at home to Southampton, and they are now just a point clear of Manchester City after they dispatched Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

And the Citizens are now four points clear of neighbours Manchester United after they went down 2-0 at Arsenal on Sunday, bringing to an end their 25-match unbeaten league run as well as bringing the Gunners back into the battle for a top four place – they are just six points behind City with a game in hand.

At the bottom, Swansea climbed out of the bottom three after beating Everton 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium, leapfrogging Marco Silva’s Hull after they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat at home to basement side Sunderland hours before.

Bournemouth and Stoke and Burnley and West Brom played out 2-2 draws on Saturday, results clinching the first two their place in the top-flight next term, while champions Leicester also mathematically secured their safety with a 3-0 win over Walter Mazzarri’s Hornets.

So, on what was a defining weekend of action in the top tier, here is What’s Hot and What’s Not from the last four days in the Premier League…

HOT – Antonio Conte and Chelsea

Tottenham’s defeat at West Ham on Friday night opened the door for league leaders Chelsea to all but seal the Premier League title on Monday, and they did just that.

Antonio Conte’s men produced a fine display to see off Middlesbrough 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to leave them needing victory over West Brom on Friday to secure a fifth title in 12 years.

And much credit deserves to go to manager Conte, who oversaw a slow start to life in West London yet made crucial changes at crucial times to completely turn their fortunes around.

It’s worth remembering that Chelsea finished tenth in the league last term and were nine points adrift of leaders Manchester City at the start of October, and now they are on the verge of winning the title.

It’s been a stunning turnaround.

NOT – Middlesbrough

Defeat on Monday night brought Middlesbrough’s stay in the Premier League to an end after a frustrating campaign back in the top tier.

There was much anticipation and expectation at the start of the season under then-manager Aitor Karanka to establish the club in the top-flight, and with just five defeats from their first 14 league games, it wasn’t a bad start at all.

Yet the North East outfit have won just two of their succeeding 22 Premier League matches to slip into the bottom three, a run which saw Karanka sacked and replaced by Steve Agnew, although the 51-year-old hasn’t been able to change their fortunes.

A season in the second tier beckons for Boro.

HOT – Arsenal and Swansea

Both Arsenal and Swansea City knew that the pressure was on to get three points over the weekend in their respective battles in the league table, and they did exactly that.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners eased past Manchester United 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to move just two points behind Jose Mourinho’s men, and with their game in hand to come against Southampton on Wednesday, they could be right back in the fight for a top four finish with victory.

The North London club are six points behind Manchester City and seven behind Liverpool, but with the former having played a game more and the latter two games more, Wenger’s men aren’t out of the running.

And Paul Clement’s Swansea had seen Hull suffer defeat just prior to their kick-off with Everton on Saturday evening, yet they responded perfectly with Fernando Llorente heading home in the first half to secure the Swans a vital 1-0 victory.

It means that the South Wales side now have their relegation battle in their own hands with two games to go, and are in the position that victory at Sunderland on Saturday coupled with defeat for Hull at Crystal Palace would secure their top-flight status.

Both sides desperately needed the three points, and both got it with fine displays over the weekend.

NOT – Hull and Tottenham

While both Arsenal and Swansea responded well to the pressure, Hull and Tottenham quite simply didn’t.

Tigers boss Marco Silva saw his incredible home record come to a shattering end when his side lost 2-0 at home to already-relegated Sunderland, a game the hosts really needed to win to pile the pressure on third-bottom Swansea ahead of their meeting with Everton.

Yet they produced an insipid display against David Moyes’ Black Cats to see them slip back into the relegation zone, and also see their survival quest move out of their hands with two games to go.

The same can be said of Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, who passed up the chance to close the gap to Chelsea to one point with a lethargic performance in defeat at West Ham.

Manuel Lanzini’s second half strike secured a deserved victory for Slaven Bilic’s men at the London Stadium, but Spurs supporters will surely be disappointed with their side’s display in East London on Friday night, as it was a far cry away from the team that won nine on the spin prior to that clash.

It means that Spurs’ race is almost run, with Chelsea needing just three more points to clinch the title.