Eden Hazard was already the favourite to be named player of the year before scoring twice in a game which has all but decided the destination of this season’s Premier League title. After Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City, he is surely now assured of picking up one of the two gongs. He may even win both for the second time in his career.

It has not, however, been a vintage season for individual performances. N'Golo Kanté is very good but his influence on games is not explicit. Hazard himself can be brilliant but he often only turns it on at Stamford Bridge, and even then plays in fits and starts. Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane are explosive rather than consistent scorers, Diego Costa is consistent but unremarkable. Alexis Sanchez, probably on balance the league’s best player, has been hampered by a struggling team.

There is no stand-out candidate. The only regular outstanding performances have come from Chelsea as a team, as a devastating and dominant unit made up of 11 functional players. Perhaps it is fair then that Hazard, their one ‘flair’ asset, will win the individual awards, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that the team around him is the real story.

Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Thibaut Courtois - 4 Horrendous mistake for the first goal, completely mistiming his punch. Was solid in every other part of his game but matches of this magnitude are often won and lost on the small details. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Branislav Ivanovic - 6 Terrible first half performance that included three terrible errors that, fortunately for Chelsea, went unpunished. Made up for that with a brilliant pass to find Hazard for the goal and was much better after half-time. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings John Terry - 7 Made one bad error when he got underneath a long ball to allow Aguero through on goal but again proved he is the best English defender out there. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Kurt Zouma - 8 Still has huge room for improvement but the 20-year-old has all the tools to become one of the very best in the world. Deserves to be keeping England's first-choice centre-back on the sidelines. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta - 5 Jesus Navas had the better of his compatriot all evening. Azpilicueta was beaten in a way Chelsea fans have not often seen. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Nemanja Matic - 8 Stepped up his game in the absence of Fabregas to put in a complete midfield performance. Truly great on and off the ball, the giant Serbian was the best player on the park. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Ramires - 7 Held his position well as the holding midfielder and only made the occasional burst forward, Ramires was very good but its hard to argue that the Blues missed the wizardry of Cesc Fabregas. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Willian - 5 Hassled and harried his way through the 90 minutes, Willian was excellent in the defensive and middle thirds of the field but produced little to nothing in areas where he could do damage. Set-pieces delivery was also poor. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Oscar - 6 Another who failed to produce in the final third, Oscar played deeper than he has done for the most part this season which blunted his effectiveness Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Eden Hazard - 6 Brilliant in the first 45, causing all sorts of problems for Bacary Sagna but was extremely quiet after the break as City closed off the space around the dangerous Belgian. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Loic Remy - 7 Was brilliant in the lone striker role, holding the ball up well to bring his team-mates into the game. Great movement to find space for the goal, it was a shame for Chelsea that the trio behind him starved the striker of service. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Joe Hart - 6 Nothing he could do about the goal and was hardly tested otherwise by the home side. Looked reasonably solid throughout, bar one dodgy kick. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Bacary Sagna - 6 Struggled in the first half against Hazard but grew into it as it went on, to snuff out the Hazard threat. Combined excellently with Jesus Navas. Lost Hazard for the goal. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Vincent Kompany - 7 Defender manfully, though he wasn't always the most comfrotable in possession. In truth, Chelsea didn't offer much threat. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Martin Demichelis - 7 Had an excellent match but went to sleep to allow Loic Remy to steal into yards of space for the goal. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Gael Clichy - 8 Didn't put a foot wrong on the left and never gave Willian the chance to do anything of note in the final third. Offered a good outlet going forward as well. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Fernandinho - 7 Was one of the best City performers with a display full of energy and purpose. Pushed the visitors forward, passed well and was not averse to stopping Chelsea by any means necessary. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Fernando - 7 Gave Matic as good as he got in midfield and provided the City defence with superb cover throughout the game. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Jesus Navas - 7 Gave Cesar Azpilicueta the hardest game he's played all season but for all the occasions he beat his opposite number he failed to deliver that telling ball. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings James Milner - 7 Barely troubled Ivanovic as an attacking force but you can't downplay his importance to the City cause as a worker and defender. Getty Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings David Silva - 7 Was not able to offer his usual craft when in possession as he was well marshalled by Matic and Ramires, but got an absolutely vital touch to turn Aguero's shot past Ivanovic. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Sergio Aguero - 5 Five games since returning from injury and the usually lethal striker is misfiring. Latched on to a Terry mistake to race through on goal for a chance that a pre-injury Aguero would have tucked away - he fired wide. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Frank Lampard - 5 The stage looked set for another Lampard goal against his former club but it was not to be. Given a great ovation at the end from his former supporters. Getty Images

Arsenal’s late season resurgence on the cards

It has become a standing joke that Arsenal have the same season year in and year out. Yet after a horrific March, it seemed as if Arsène Wenger's side were going to break with their time-honoured tradition of just about doing enough and fail to qualify for a 21st consecutive season in the Champions League.

The predictable late season resurgence now seems back on the cards, however, after Wednesday’s 3-0 win over a sorry West Ham United. A scan over their next few fixtures, with trips to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough on the horizon, suggests they could still embark on something of a mini-run.

Could they finish even higher, given the propensity of the teams around them to drop points? When asked that question, Wenger insisted he would remain “cautious” for now, but his smirk suggested he’s considering it.

Hammers dragged into the mire

There was no smirking from Slaven Bilic, however. After a fifth straight league defeat, he was worried that his Hammers are being dragged into a deceptively tight relegation battle, one in which everyone but them has momentum.

Crystal Palace, Hull and Swansea have all drastically improved in the last three months and each of them will be confident that they can keep their heads above water. The opposite is true of West Ham, who have lost seven of their 12 games since the turn of the year.

It is hard to see when and where a change will come. Bilic, for one, will hope it is not made in the dugout.

Sakho cull promoted Klavan above his level

Ragnar Klavan has been promoted above his level (Getty)

Jurgen Klopp’s decision to ostracise Mamadou Sakho at Liverpool has been questioned in recent weeks, but if his inclusion was likely to upset the team dynamic, then it was surely the right call. Sakho’s exile is not the problem. The problem is that he was not adequately replaced, and a man who was initially Liverpool’s fourth-choice centre-back, Ragnar Klavan, moved up the pecking order.

The Estonian is simply not up to standard, as his performance in Wednesday’s draw against Bournemouth proved. Yet his effort cannot be faulted and a defender in the autumn of an unremarkable career costing just £4million was always unlikely to be an unqualified Premier League success.

The blame lies with Liverpool’s recruitment team. Sakho’s difficulties were well-documented at the tail end of last season but no plan for like-for-like replacement was made. It has cost Klopp’s side several points.

United could be left behind

Every indication seems to suggest that from here on out the Europa League is the focus at Old Trafford. Given the Premier League landscape, it is probably a sensible decision. It is the easiest route to next season’s Champions League.

Yet Arsenal’s win on Wednesday pushed Manchester United back down into sixth place, where they spent so long during the mid-part of the season, and brought a reminder that they could yet fall further. Everton lie only three points behind United and though Jose Mourinho’s side have two games in hand over the Toffees, the advantage is negligible if they treat them as second-class fixtures.