The 29th round of Premier League matches is most likely to be one that is viewed as the time that Manchester City surrendered the title.

The champions had the chance to close the gap on leaders Chelsea to just two points on Saturday night, but they were defeated 1-0 away at a spirited Burnley.

A day later Chelsea could only record a 1-1 draw from their home encounter against Southampton, but with a game in hand and a six-point lead, it would take a dramatic collapse for the Premier League trophy not be heading down the King's Road come May.

The battle for the top four remains tight, though, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool all recording victories.

Towards the bottom, it was Sunderland making the headlines for the all wrong reasons as they shipped four goals at home to fellow strugglers Aston Villa, while Leicester City and Hull City played out a 0-0 draw at the King Power Stadium.

West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace all but secured their status in the top flight for another term with home victories over Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers respectively, as did Everton, who ran out 3-0 winners at the expense of Newcastle United.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back over all of the action to pick out the 11 most impressive players.

Fraser Forster (Southampton)
There may have been the odd occasion when he rode his luck, but there is nothing wrong with being a fortunate goalkeeper. To Forster's credit, he also made a host of smart second-half stops to frustrate Chelsea.

Kieran Trippier (Burnley)
If Burnley end up suffering relegation, there's a good chance Trippier won't be joining them in the Championship. It was another very good outing from the full-back, who kept David Silva quiet.
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)
Arsenal have not always been a solid defensive unit, but Koscielny ensured that they were against London rivals West Ham. The Frenchman made a number of important challenges and interceptions.
Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
Seemingly full of confidence, Smalling hardly gave the in-form Harry Kane a sniff at Old Trafford. The centre-back was also happy to bring the ball out from the back.
Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa)
He may have played in defence, but Bacuna was involved in numerous Villa attacks. His rampaging runs down the flank caused a number of problems.

Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa)
The winger has been inconsistent ever since he arrived in England, but it was one of his good days on Wearside. There was occasions when he seemed unstoppable with the ball at his feet.
Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton)
It looks more vital with every passing game that Southampton kept hold of Schneiderlin last summer. He won the midfield battle up against the likes of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas.
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
Are there signs that Fellaini has found himself a position at Man United? Perhaps. The big Belgian opened the scoring with a good finish and then played a key role in his side's second goal.
Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)
You've got to feel sorry for Darnell Furlong. The QPR youngster was twisted one way and then the other by Palace winger Bolasie, who claimed two assists.

Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
Although his strike partner Gabriel Agbonlahor was impressive, Benteke produced a proper centre-forward's display. His first goal took a slight deflection, while his second was a powerful header.
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
When Arsenal needed a goal, Giroud delivered. His finish in first-half stoppage time was clinical and broke the resistance of a stubborn West ham side.

Numpty of the Week

Sunderland: Around 45,000 supporters turned up to watch Sunderland take on Aston Villa at the weekend, yet before the whistle had been blown for the break, half of them had left the Stadium of Light.

Fans will accept defeats, but what they will not tolerate is players seemingly failing to put in 100% effort. The Black Cats shipped four goals in the first half, but in truth it could have been eight. It was a defeat too strong to ignore for the Sunderland board, who decided to part company with manager Gus Poyet yesterday afternoon.

Goal of the Week

Matt Phillips – Crystal Palace vs. (QPR): What a way to end a goal drought. It had been over a year since Phillips last found the net, but he made sure it was worth the wait at Selhurst Park.

From a full 45 yards out, the winger tried his luck and he was rewarded as his dipping shot got the better of a stunned Julian Speroni in the Palace net.