Three things we learned from the Premier League

Liverpool inflicted an historic humiliation on bitter rivals Manchester United.

Leaders Arsenal showed the spirit of champions to beat Bournemouth, while Chelsea's Wesley Fofana gave beleaguered boss Graham Potter some breathing space.

AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from the Premier League this weekend:

Liverpool charge towards top four

When Liverpool lost 3-0 at Wolves a month ago, a return to the Champions League next season looked a distant dream with Jurgen Klopp's men down in 10th and 11 points off the top four.

Now, the gap to fourth-placed Tottenham is just three points with a game in hand after a historic 7-0 rout of Manchester United at Anfield.

By a distance Liverpool's best performance of the season confirmed a return to the form in recent weeks.

The Reds have taken 13 points from a possible 15 and kept five consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League.

At the other end of the pitch, a long-term plan is also coming together.

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo showed they could yet be fitting heirs to Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in Liverpool's attack by each scoring twice.

But Mohamed Salah remains Liverpool's greatest source of goals and the Egyptian grabbed a double in the United demolition to move outright as the club's leading goalscorer in the Premier League era with 129.

White hails Arsenal spirit

Ben White soaked in the jubilant scenes that followed Arsenal's incredible 3-2 win against Bournemouth and saluted the team-spirit that kept them in pole position to win the title.

Mikel Arteta's side roared back from two goals down to complete a potentially season-defining comeback at a raucous Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

With Manchester City beating Newcastle just hours earlier, Arsenal's lead was already down to two points before Bournemouth scored the second fastest goal in Premier League history through Philip Billing after 9.11 seconds.

Marcos Senesi doubled the lead in the second half but Arsenal underlined their tenacity and togetherness as they chase a first title since 2004. 

Thomas Partey tapped home to start the fightback and Ben White scored his first-ever Arsenal goal to equalise before Reiss Nelson struck deep into stoppage-time to restore their five-point lead.

It was the third time in their last six games that Arsenal had scored a winner in or after the 90th minute.

"I think it is all down to the boys and how we work each day, it is a result we fully deserve," White said.

"Every week we keep building and winning games and that's what we managed to do. We just keep going, play the way we play and the goals will come."

Potter gets boost from Fofana

Graham Potter hailed Wesley Fofana's game-changing return to the Chelsea team after his second-half header earned a much-needed 1-0 win over Leeds at Stamford Bridge.

French defender Fofana was making his first start since the knee injury he sustained against AC Milan in October.

With Thiago Silva sidelined for around six weeks, Fofana's return is well-timed for Potter, who desperately needs a long winning run to end the talk that he could be sacked.

Chelsea remain 10th but their third victory in 16 games provided optimism ahead of Tuesday's Champions League last 16 second leg against Borussia Dortmund, with the Blues trailing 1-0 after the first match.

"We've missed Wesley. He brings something different, he lets you defend a little bit higher up the pitch because he's got the pace and physicality to recover," Potter said.

"He can attack the ball well. He's a young player, he's adapting to Chelsea. He's got the personality."