We cast an eye over this weekend's Premier League action and pick out the highlights.
Player of the weekend
Andre Schurrle
'Cold-blooded' was how Chelsea boss
Jose Mourinho described Andre Schurrle after the Germany international's second-half hat-trick in Saturday's 3-1 win at rivals Fulham. The victory stretched the Blues' lead at the top of the table to four points over Liverpool and Arsenal with 10 games to go, although fourth-placed Manchester City - six points off the pace - have two games in hand. Before the west London derby, Mourinho had complained about the fact his side had little time to recover from the their midweek Champions League assignment at Galatasaray, a match in which Schurrle had been withdrawn midway through the second half. But after a lethargic opening period, Schurrle showed a deadly turn of pace for the first goal on 52 minutes, latching onto Eden Hazard's perfect pass and out-sprinting Dan Burn before slotting past Maarten Stekelenburg. Thirteen minutes later, the Hazard-Schurrle combination worked again from 12 yards out, and only three more minutes were needed before the German's first treble in English football was completed from a Fernando Torres pass, doubling his Premier League tally for the season.
Schurrle showed his humility afterwards too, saying the praise should go to team-mate Hazard for his outstanding performance.
Goal of the weekend
Christian Benteke
Aston Villa's big Belgium striker has struggled of late to replicate his 2012/13 form, which saw him net 19 Premier League goals - only three players scored more. However, the 23-year-old is now looking to get back on the goal trail ahead of the World Cup and showed his class against Norwich on Sunday with two goals, taking his tally for the season to nine. His first, the equaliser in a 4-1 home win, was spectacular. Taking a raking pass from Villa skipper Ron Vlaar on his chest 15 yards from goal, Benteke acrobatically hooked the ball over his left shoulder, leaving marker Sebastien Bassong standing and goalkeeper John Ruddy grasping at thin air.
Performance of the weekend
Liverpool
Four wins in a row, and up to second in the table... the 'Red Machine' is rolling along ominously as the run-in looms into view, and
Saturday Night Football pundit
Jamie Redknapp described Liverpool's latest triumph - 3-0 at Southampton - as a "statement of intent". With his 24th goal of the season, Luis Suarez stretched his lead at the top of the Premier League scoring chart to six over team-mate Daniel Sturridge, and the Uruguayan is now out on his own in the assists table too with 10. Redknapp called the movement of the Reds strike duo as "
