WHAT. A. SUNDAY.
If you thought Saturday was dramatic with Arsenal bottling it at Villa Park and Liverpool imploding at Elland Road, then hold onto your hats because the final day of matchday 15 delivered even MORE chaos.
Crystal Palace are now in the TOP FOUR. Let that sink in for a moment. The Eagles, who most people had written off as mid-table fodder, are sitting pretty in the Champions League spots after a gutsy 2-1 win at Craven Cottage. And they did it the hard way, as they always seem to do these days.
The Cottage curse continues
Poor old Fulham. Marco Silva must be wondering what he has to do to beat Palace at home. The Cottagers have not beaten the Eagles at Craven Cottage since 2005 - TWENTY YEARS of pain - and that streak continued in agonising fashion.
Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring on 20 minutes, showing exactly why Oliver Glasner brought him in from Arsenal. The forward latched onto Adam Wharton's inch-perfect through ball and swept home with the composure of a seasoned finisher. That is what he does when you give him minutes, Mikel!
But Fulham are no pushovers, and Harry Wilson produced something special to level things up before half-time. A gorgeous trivela finish - that is the outside of the boot for you non-technical types - after a lovely one-two with Raul Jimenez. Jamie Redknapp was absolutely purring in the Sky Sports studio. Undefendable, he called it. Cannot argue with that.
The second half was end-to-end stuff. Fulham thought they had nicked it when Emile Smith Rowe pounced on a rebound after Alex Iwobi rattled the post, but VAR spotted Samuel Chukwueze was marginally offside in the build-up. Brutal. Absolutely brutal.
And then, with five minutes to go, up popped captain fantastic Marc Guehi to power home a header from Yeremi Pino's corner. The England defender rose like a salmon and buried it past Bernd Leno. Craven Cottage went silent. The away end went absolutely mental.
Palace move to 26 points and fourth place. Fourth! Glasner is working miracles at Selhurst Park.
Bowen brilliance not enough for sorry Hammers
Meanwhile, down on the south coast, West Ham thought they had finally ended their miserable run against Brighton with one of the most extraordinary goals you will ever see.
Jarrod Bowen, God bless him, produced a moment of pure genius in the 73rd minute. Callum Wilson drove forward and slipped the ball to Bowen, who was racing alongside Ferdi Kadioglu. What happened next defied all logic. Bowen essentially TACKLED the ball into the net, sliding it away from Kadioglu and somehow guiding it across Bart Verbruggen and into the far corner all in one motion.
Incredible. Sensational. A goal of the season contender, no doubt about it.
The problem for Nuno Espirito Santo is that his side could not hold on. Brighton were poor - they did not register a single shot on target until the 89th minute, would you believe - but they kept pushing and pushing.
And in the 91st minute, Georginio Rutter popped up to break West Ham hearts. Jan Paul van Hecke nodded the ball across and Rutter was there to sweep home. Cue absolute pandemonium at the Amex.
There was controversy, mind. In the build-up, Rutter appeared to control the ball with his hand, but after a VAR check the goal stood. West Ham were furious. Nuno was steaming on the touchline.
The draw leaves West Ham in 18th place with 13 points, still stuck in the relegation zone. They simply cannot buy a clean sheet - that is now 12 games without one. Brighton move to 23 points and stay seventh, but Fabian Hurzeler will know his side got away with one there.
Looking ahead - Monday Night Football
The final match of this bonkers weekend sees Wolves host Manchester United at Molineux tomorrow night. The hosts are ROCK BOTTOM with just two points from 14 games - an absolute shambles of a season. United, meanwhile, are eighth on 22 points and desperately need a win to keep pace with the European spots.
Ruben Amorim will fancy his chances against a Wolves side that has completely forgotten how to win football matches. But this is United we are talking about - they are just as likely to drop points against the worst team in the league as they are to put five past them.
The title race tightens
After this weekend, the Premier League table makes for fascinating reading. Arsenal still lead on 33 points despite that shocker at Villa Park, but Man City have closed to within five on 28 points. Aston Villa are breathing down their necks on 27, and now Palace have muscled their way into the conversation on 26.
At the bottom, West Ham, Burnley, and Wolves are in serious trouble. The Hammers and Clarets on 13 and 10 points respectively, with Wolves absolutely marooned on just two. Gary O'Neil is a dead man walking at Molineux.
What a weekend. What a league. Roll on matchday 16!
