Chelsea's classy midfielder and Tottenham's hat-trick hero make XI: Premier League team of the week

The 4-0 win over Sheffield United sees three Spurs players included in this week's lineup

Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford (Everton) – Made a series of brilliant saves to deny Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traore and did not deserve to finish on the losing side against Aston Villa. EPA

Right-back: Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton) – A hugely defiant display, including one header that saved a goal, as Southampton’s 10 men frustrated Leicester on Friday. AP

Centre-back: Lewis Dunk (Brighton) – The captain produced a man-of-the-match display to keep Leeds unusually quiet as Brighton got the win to keep them up. AP

Centre-back: Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) – Has been in terrific form of late and defended admirably and passed the ball well in the win at Selhurst Park to take City to the brink of the title. Reuters

Left-back: Sergio Reguilon (Tottenham) – Part of a Spurs side who ran riot against Sheffield United. Reguilon raided forward enthusiastically and effectively. Reuters

Right midfield: Gareth Bale (Tottenham) – A first Premier League hat-trick since 2012 came with some brilliant finishes and prompted questions if Spurs should have used him more. Getty Images

Centre midfield: Mason Mount (Chelsea) – A delightful touch to set up one of Kai Havertz’s brace against Fulham helped win a London derby and again showed what a class player he is. Getty Images

Centre midfield: Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) – Scored a belated first Premier League goal, almost got another and set the tone for a dominant display at Newcastle. Reuters

Left midfield: Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) – The Dutchman’s wonderful winner at Goodison Park showed he found a fine way to deputise for the injured Jack Grealish. AFP

Centre forward: Michail Antonio (West Ham) – A swift brace turned a deficit at Burnley into a lead and helped West Ham keep their pursuit of Champions League football going. EPA

Centre forward: Heung-Min Son (Tottenham) – Scored arguably the best of Spurs’ four goals against Sheffield United, after having a first brilliant strike disallowed. Getty Images

With only a handful of matches remaining in the 2020/21 Premier League season, this past weekend of matches took some clubs closer to the brink of success and failure, while others continued their battles to reach their targets.

The round kicked off on Friday night when 10-man Southampton held Leicester City to a 1-1 draw. That result all but secured Southampton's top flight status for another season but denied third-placed Leicester the chance to open up some daylight on their top four rivals.

Saturday started with Manchester City moving to the cusp of the title with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace, before Brighton took a giant step toward safety with their own 2-0 victory against Leeds United.

In the day's evening game, Chelsea maintained their top four charge with a 2-0 win over local rivals Fulham, whose hopes of avoiding relegation now hang by a thread. Everton then saw their European ambitions take a setback by losing 2-1 at home to Aston Villa.

Sunday began with a routine 2-0 win for Arsenal at Newcastle United, followed by Tottenham Hotspur's 4-0 thumping of relegated Sheffield United.

Monday night's fixtures saw West Brom and Wolves play out a 1-1 draw that did little to help the Baggies' slim survival hopes, while West Ham produced a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Burnley to maintain their top four ambitions.

However, the biggest talking point of the weekend was a match that wasn't played, Manchester United's blockbuster showdown with fierce rivals Liverpool getting called off after a protest aimed at the club's ownership spilled over and fans stormed onto the Old Trafford pitch.

Reflecting on the performances from the latest round of Premier League fixtures, Richard Jolly has selected his team of the week in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.