In a momentous week for football, the on-field Premier League action almost went under the radar as the very future of the competition was threatened and then saved by the rapid rise and fall of the European Super League.

In the midst of it all, three of the six English clubs involved in the ill-fated breakaway attempt failed to win as the top-four race took another significant twist.

West Ham United's 3-2 defeat to Newcastle United seemed to open the door for the chasing pack to make ground but, after the Super League news broke, Liverpool were held by Leeds United and Chelsea drew with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Tottenham Hotspur's win over Southampton in Ryan Mason's first game at the helm - after Jose Mourinho was sacked in the wake of last Friday's 2-2 draw with Everton - means that just two points separate fourth-placed Chelsea from seventh-placed Liverpool.

Leicester City were able to take advantage of those behind them dropping points with a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion to move four points clear of fifth, leaving the Baggies on the brink of relegation in the process.

Sheffield United's relegation was confirmed by their 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, while Fulham were denied a valuable win over Arsenal at the death on Sunday.

Manchester United temporarily closed the gap on Manchester City to eight points with their victory over Burnley, but the champions-elect responded by beating Aston Villa to edge closer to the title.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 32.

DEFENCE

Leeds once again went toe-to-toe with Liverpool, dominating possession against the dethroned champions at Elland Road, and they could have come away with all three points had it not been for Alisson Becker.

The Brazilian made four saves - three of them from big chances - to keep Leeds at bay in the second half especially, pipping Robert Sanchez and Alphonse Areola to the gloves this week.

Alisson is joined in this XI by the man who scored against him to earn Leeds a point, with Diego Llorente making up for what had been a shaky performance up until that with the equalising goal late on.

There was quite a bit of competition for the centre-back places in this week's team, with Romain Saiss, James Tarkowski and Ben White all in contention - despite the latter's red card - but the second spot goes to Leicester's Jonny Evans.

Like Llorente, and Tarkowski for that matter, Evans made a difference at both ends of the field by scoring, although the Northern Irishman also managed to keep a clean sheet as Leicester cruised past West Brom.

Timothy Castagne was also important to that victory both defensively and going forward, providing the assist for the opening goal and also hitting the woodwork himself - enough to beat Trent Alexander-Arnold to the right-back slot.

On the opposite flank, Luke Shaw is selected ahead of Dan Burn to complete the back four, having once again been a marauding presence down the left as Man United eventually battled past Burnley.

MIDFIELD

Man United had Mason Greenwood to thank more than anyone else for that triumph over Burnley, with the youngster netting his side's opening two goals, including a second in the 84th minute which broke the Clarets' stubborn resistance.

In an attacking midfield, Greenwood pips Gareth Bale to the spot on the right wing, while on the opposite flank his Man United teammate Paul Pogba misses out to Everton's Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The Icelandic playmaker scored two good goals from his wide-left position as Everton earned a draw against his former club Spurs in the opening match of the gameweek.

It is an all-Manchester City centre-midfield pairing, led by the irrepressible Phil Foden following his star showing in the win over Aston Villa - the latest in a growing list of eye-catching performances by the youngster.

Foden levelled things up for Man City after Villa had taken the early lead, and was assisted by Bernardo Silva, who also created the winning goal for Rodri to end the match with two assists.

Newcastle's Joe Willock also deserves an honourable mention for his role in the Magpies' surprise triumph over West Ham, including a memorable winner.

ATTACK

It was a mixed bag for Harry Kane against Everton as he scored two brilliantly-taken goals to once again underline his status as a master marksman, only to then limp off with an injury which makes him a doubt for Sunday's EFL Cup final against Manchester City.

The England captain's latest ankle issue saw him miss Tottenham's second match of the gameweek, and their first outing in the post-Mourinho era, but he did enough in his one appearance to beat the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Kelechi Iheanacho to a place up front.

Iheanacho's Leicester teammate Jamie Vardy does make the cut, though, having finally broken his goal drought and also added an assist for good measure in the Foxes' win over West Brom - a fifth Englishman to make this week's XI.

SPORTS MOLE'S TEAM OF THE WEEK

SM Team of the Week (4-4-2): Alisson; Castagne, Llorente, Evans, Shaw; Greenwood, Silva, Foden, Sigurdsson; Kane, Vardy body check tags ::