Is Jose Mourinho ever wrong? He insisted that his Chelsea side would not go the entire season unbeaten and at the 15th time of asking, he was proved right.

It was Newcastle United that halted the Chelsea bandwagon thanks to a 2-1 victory, which in turn saw champions Manchester City close the gap to just three points as they edged out Everton 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

All of a sudden, five wins on the trot - the latest being a 2-1 triumph away at Southampton - has moved Manchester United up to third, while West Ham United are also going along nicely following their 3-1 comeback win at the expense of Swansea City.

Elsewhere, Arsenal's Britannia Stadium hoodoo continued as they went down 3-2 to Stoke City, with scoreless draws being played out at Anfield, White Hart Lane and the KC Stadium.

Towards the bottom there were victories for Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers, which have seen both sides move away from the relegation places for the time being.

Here, Sports Mole has reflected on the all of the action to pick out the 11 players that made the biggest impression on us this weekend.

Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur)
The French goalkeeper may not have expected to be overly busy when Palace visited the Lane, but it was anything but a straightforward afternoon for the Spurs stopper. To his credit, he made a number of smart stops to earn the home side a point.

Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United)
The summer signing from Ipswich Town is becoming something of a regular fixture in this selection. It was another positive showing from the left-back, who defended astutely, while up the other end he caused problems with some dangerous crosses into the Swansea penalty area.
Fabricio Colocinni (Newcastle United)
The Newcastle centre-back did brilliantly to keep Diego Costa at bay, as well as weighing in with a host of crucial interceptions and challenges.
Martin Demichelis (Manchester City)
Without injured skipper Vincent Kompany, Demichelis took over the mantle as City's leading centre-back. A positive display was rounded off when the veteran produced a well-timed tackle to thwart Samuel Eto'o.
Alan Hutton (Aston Villa)
The Scot's first goal in Villa colours not only secured a vital victory for the home side, it also capped a very solid display from the defender.

Bojan (Stoke City)
It took him a little while, but the Spaniard appears to have well and truly settled in the Premier League. He scored one goal and was unlucky not to have another to his name during an encounter in which Arsenal found him difficult to shackle.
Jack Colback (Newcastle United)
A top performance from Colback, at both ends of the pitch. The summer arrival from Sunderland proved a thorn in the side of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, as well as making numerous positive jaunts forward.
James Milner (Manchester City)
Now a regular in the City starting lineup, Milner proved his worth against Everton. To go with his envious stamina levels, the England international was positive in the final third and won the penalty that ended up being the match-winning moment.
Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)
The unpredictable winger produced arguably the best piece of skill so far this season, which left Spurs defender Eric Dier a little dazed. Bolasie can count himself unlucky that none of his dangerous crosses were converted.

Andy Carroll (West Ham United)
Close to full match fitness, Carroll was unplayable at times against Swansea. The tall striker was credited with two goals and also set up his side's third of the afternoon. No doubt his manager Sam Allardyce will be hoping that he now stays free of injury.
Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
Questions have been asked of late as to whether Van Persie's best days were behind him, but the Dutchman responded emphatically on the South Coast. He had all three of United's shots, two of which he converted, while his first touch, hold-up play and all-round sharpness brought back memories of the Van Persie of old.

Numpty of the week

Per Mertesacker: For someone that has only recently won the World Cup, you would expect much, much more than Mertesacker provided at the Britannia Stadium. He was the experienced head in a youthful Arsenal rearguard, yet he produced a novice's performance - particularly during the first half as Stoke ran riot.

The German looked lazy as he aborted any attempt to cut out the crosses for Stoke's first two goals, then his positioning was poor for the third. Add to that the fact that he lost a 50-50 challenge with the pint-sized Bojan and also turned his back to a Steven N'Zonzi shot, it was certainly an afternoon to forget for the 30-year-old.

Goal of the week

Aaron Ramsey - Stoke vs. (Arsenal): The Welshman has struggled to match his clinical exploits of last season so far this term, but his effort at Stoke may alter things. Many a player would have sent his volleyed effort flying over the crossbar, but the Arsenal midfielder kept his eye on the ball and then executed a powerful strike through a crowded penalty area and beyond the reach of Asmir Begovic.