It was the battle for the Champions League places that dominated the Premier League programme this weekend, with most eyes fixed on Anfield.

Hosting Liverpool were the favourites to prosper, but a second impressive performance in a week from Manchester United sealed a 2-1 victory for Louis van Gaal's side.

The mood on Merseyside will have been soured even further by the news that fellow challengers Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton all recorded wins.

And if that wasn't bad enough, neighbours Everton secured a 2-1 win away at struggling Queens Park Rangers.

Elsewhere, leaders Chelsea beat Hull City 3-2 at the KC Stadium, while there were away victories for Swansea City and Crystal Palace over Aston Villa and Stoke City respectively.

There was also to be no winning start for Dick Advocaat in charge of Sunderland as the Wearsiders slipped to a 1-0 defeat against West Ham United.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back over all 10 contests and picked out the 11 most impressive players.

Julian Speroni (Crystal Palace)
It was another away victory for Palace, thanks in part to the form of their Argentine goalkeeper. Particularly in the second half at the Britannia Stadium, Speroni made a handful of impressive stops.

Andrew Robertson (Hull City)
If there was one player that did not deserve to end up on the losing side at the KC Stadium, it was Robertson. His crosses from the left caused the Chelsea defenders no end of problems.
Phil Jagielka (Everton)
The experienced centre-back has struggled for consistent form this season, but he looked back to his best against QPR. Up against the physical Bobby Zamora and lively Charlie Austin, Jagielka thwarted both of them on many occasions.
Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
Is Van Gaal the manager to make Smalling fulfill his potential? His performance at Anfield would suggest so as the defender made some crucial challenges and interceptions, as well as looking comfortable in possession.
Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton)
Do England have a better option a right full-back presently? Probably not. The 23-year-old was once again solid defensively and also played a key role in one of his side's two goals.

Juan Mata (Manchester United)
The Spaniard claimed that his display on Merseyside was his best in a Man United shirt. His two highly important goals aside, Mata was a calming influence on his team throughout the 90 minutes.
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
There have been signs of late that the once figure of ridicule is starting to prove his many doubters wrong. Playing in a deeper role than usual, Fellaini made a number of important headed clearances from inside his own area.
Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham Hotspur)
In what was a frantic afternoon at White Hart Lane, Bentaleb was heavily involved. The youngster's tenacious style resulted in him winning back possession for Spurs at crucial moments.
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Blink and you would have missed Hazard's stunning opening goal on Humberside. Having also featured heavily in Chelsea's second goal, he is his side's most in-form player right now.

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
So, did Kane's England call-up go to his head? Not a chance! The forward sent himself to the top of the Premier League's goalscoring chart by firing in a hat-trick against his former loan club Leicester.
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
Just like Kane, Giroud is in fine form at present. His first goal on Tyneside showed great striker's instinct, while his second was a powerful header into the far corner of the net.

Numpty of the week

Steven Gerrard: Having been goaded by the away fans over his failure to win a league title, Gerrard looked overly wired from the moment that he stepped on to the Anfield pitch as a half-time substitute. In a bid to liven up the home supporters, he flew into a challenge with Mata within seconds of the restart and then moments later he stamped on Ander Herrera.

Correctly, the Liverpool skipper was red carded, meaning that his last ever appearance in this famous fixture had lasted just 38 seconds. While he has been lauded by many for his post-match apology to the Liverpool supporters and his teammates, replays showed that Herrera had got nowhere near making contact with Gerrard in the initial challenge, which made his actions all the more confusing.

Goal of the week

Juan Mata - Liverpool vs. (Man United): There were few goals better than Mata's first at Anfield this weekend, although his second of the clash certainly was. Having found Angel di Maria on the edge of the box, the Spaniard evaded the attention of his fellow countryman Alberto Moreno as he made his way into the Liverpool area.

The pass back to Mata was slightly behind him, yet rather than control the ball, he rearranged his feet swiftly, thus allowing him to send an acrobatic effort into the far corner of Simon Mignolet's net.