Premier League leaders Chelsea suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday to keep the title race very much alive going into the final few months of the campaign.

Antonio Conte’s men took an early lead against the Eagles through Cesc Fabregas, but quick-fire goals from the excellent Wilfried Zaha and striker Christian Benteke turned the match on its head after only 11 minutes.

The Blues pressed for a leveller but found Wayne Hennessey and the Palace backline in inspired form, resulting in a fourth league win in a row for Sam Allardyce’s side, while condemning Conte’s men to a first defeat since January.

And second place Tottenham took full advantage by beating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor, with second half goals from Eric Dier and Son Heung-min reducing the gap to Chelsea to just seven points with nine games of the season remaining.

Liverpool moved up to third after beating Merseyside rivals Everton 3-1 at Anfield, leapfrogging Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as they could only muster a 2-2 draw away at sixth place Arsenal, who remain seven points off the top four places.

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United also lost ground on the Champions League spots after drawing at home to West Brom, while champions Leicester continued their resurgence under Craig Shakespeare by overcoming ninth place Stoke 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.

Southampton round off the top ten after drawing 0-0 at home with South Coast rivals Bournemouth, while at the bottom, Sunderland are now eight points adrift of safety after losing 1-0 at Watford on Saturday, and Middlesbrough remain five points behind 17th place Swansea after drawing 0-0 at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.

And 18th place Hull City came from behind to inflict a fourth straight defeat on Slaven Bilic’s West Ham, a result which moves the Tigers to within a point of safety, and just six behind the Hammers in 14th.

On what was a frantic weekend of action in England’s top-flight, here is What’s Hot and What’s Not from the last few days in the Premier League…

HOT – Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace

Not many people would have backed Crystal Palace to get all three points at Chelsea on Saturday, despite their impressive recent run under Sam Allardyce.

And when they went 1-0 down after just four minutes, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Antonio Conte’s men were on their way to another comfortable home victory.

Yet the Eagles hit back brilliantly, with the outstanding Wilfried Zaha levelling proceedings and then assisting Christian Benteke to give the visitors the lead.

And then they produced a battling and resilient defensive display to thwart the league leaders, with goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey making several key saves, while the defensive efforts of Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Joel Ward, Scott Dann, and Damien Delaney deserve mentions.

The win keeps Palace four points clear of the drop, but with four successive league victories, they look to be heading in the right direction under Allardyce.

NOT – League leaders Chelsea

Chelsea suffered a surprise defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, and coupled with Tottenham’s 2-0 win at Burnley, it makes the title race more ‘interesting’ according to Blues boss Antonio Conte.

The West London side took a ten-point lead into this weekend’s round of fixtures, and looked set to at least maintain that when Fabregas gave them an early lead.

Yet Zaha and Benteke hit back for the Eagles, and despite their best efforts, the likes of Eden Hazard, Pedro, and Diego Costa couldn’t find a way through a stubborn Palace backline.

With Manchester City visiting on Wednesday night, there may well be life in this title race yet.

HOT – Philippe Coutinho and Liverpool

Liverpool will have Merseyside bragging rights for the next six or so months after beating Everton 3-1 at Anfield.

And the most pleasing thing to many Reds supporters will be the return to form of Philippe Coutinho, who was outstanding against the Toffees on Saturday.

The Brazilian international hasn’t been anywhere near his best since returning from injury back in January, netting just once since then in the Premier League, yet his wonderful solo goal against Ronald Koeman’s men in the first half demonstrated that he is finding his way back to top form.

And his assist for Divock Origi to fire home the third was further indicative of the 24-year-old’s sensational ability in the final third, and his return to form comes at the right time as Jurgen Klopp’s men look to secure a top four finish this season.

NOT – Sunderland

It looks as though Sunderland’s decade-long stay in the Premier League will be coming to an end this season.

David Moyes’ side went down 1-0 at Watford on Saturday to leave them eight points adrift of safety, with only nine games of the campaign remaining.

They have produced some miraculous escapes in recent seasons to stave off relegation, but it looks like this term is one step too far, with the Black Cats having lost four of their last five league games, and winning just one of their last 11.

They still have the likes of Middlesbrough, Hull, and Swansea still to play, but at this stage of the campaign, eight points looks like too big a gap to overcome.