Chelsea made it 13 wins on the spin and Tottenham broke into the top four on what was an exciting weekend of action in the Premier League.

Antonio Conte’s Blues found it tough to shake off Mark Hughes’ Stoke, but a brace from Willian inspired them to a 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge, in turn taking their winning streak to 13 games and tying Arsenal’s record for the most successive wins in a single season.

Liverpool kept the pressure on the league leaders courtesy of a 1-0 success over Manchester City, who drop to fifth following victories for Arsenal and Tottenham on New Year’s Day.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at the Emirates, with Olivier Giroud’s moment of brilliance the highlight, while Spurs thumped a woeful Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Road.

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Both Tottenham and Man City are just a point ahead of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United in sixth after they made it five wins in a row by seeing off Middlesbrough 2-1 at Old Trafford, and their gap to seventh place Everton is now nine points after Ronald Koeman’s side could only muster a 2-2 draw at Hull.

The result moved the Tigers off the bottom at the expense of Swansea, who were comfortably beaten 3-0 at home by Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve, while third bottom Sunderland also suffered a heavy defeat, losing 4-1 at an Andre Gary-inspired Burnley.

Champions Leicester ended a remarkable 2016 with a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham at the King Power Stadium, while West Brom leapfrogged Southampton into eighth after a 2-1 victory at St Mary’s.

On a weekend where we waved goodbye to 2016 and welcomed in 2017, here is What’s Hot and What’s Not from the Premier League action over the New Year weekend…

HOT – Olivier Giroud

Photo: Charlotte Wilson

Olivier Giroud netted a stunning goal and one that will certainly be a contender for goal of the season in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day.

The Gunners broke and the ball found its way to Alexis Sanchez, who crossed towards Giroud. Although the ball was behind the French international, it mattered little, as the forward’s brilliant athleticism saw him back-heel the ball towards goal, beating Wayne Hennessey all ends up as it went in off the bar.

It was a remarkable strike which drew parallels with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal for Manchester United on Boxing Day, and is one that set Arsene Wenger’s side on their way to all three points.

What a way to start 2017!

NOT – Manchester City

Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City would have been hopeful of recording a fourth straight league win when they travelled to Anfield on New Year’s Eve, yet they produced a limp display to lose 1-0 at Liverpool.

The visitors rarely looked like scoring on Merseyside, with Sergio Aguero making little impact on his return to the side after suspension, while the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and former Red Raheem Sterling had little influence on proceedings.

Chelsea’s win over Stoke means that Guardiola’s side are ten points adrift of the leaders, which may be a gap too large despite there still being 19 games to go.

HOT – Andre Gray and Burnley

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Burnley picked up their seventh home win of the campaign when they thumped Sunderland 4-1 at Turf Moor on New Year’s Eve.

The Clarets were totally dominant from start to finish, and they were inspired by the brilliance of striker Andre Gray, who became the first Burnley player to score a Premier League hat-trick.

The 25-year-old made the most of a defensive mix-up to fire home the first after just 31 minutes, before he added a second six minutes into the second half.

Gray then netted his third just two minutes later when he slotted home Ashley Barnes’ through ball, with the latter getting Burnley’s fourth soon after from the penalty spot.

It means that Sean Dyche’s men are now nine points clear of danger and, if they can keep Gray fit and firing, they will always create the chances and score the goals needed to stay in the division.

NOT – Swansea

Photo: Paul Roberts / Offside.

Swansea would have targeted the two home games post-Christmas against West Ham and Bournemouth as must-win matches in their battle against the drop.

Instead, they lost both of them, scoring just once and conceding seven along the way.

Alan Curtis was placed in temporary charge following the departure of Bob Bradley last week, yet it was the same old story for the Swans, as they defended poorly and showed little flair going forward in a 3-0 defeat to Eddie Howe’s men.

Goals from Benik Afobe, Ryan Fraser, and Joshua King secured the three points for the Cherries, plunging Swansea to the bottom of the table, four points adrift of safety.

With no manager in place, and with games against Arsenal and Liverpool to come in January, it’s going to be a very tricky few weeks for the Swans.