After two weeks without the Premier League, it was great to see the top sides in English football return to the fold this weekend and it was certainly worth the wait.

Manchester United and Arsenal's clash ended in a close-fought draw while Chelsea kept up their winning run away at Middlesbrough with a tight 1-0 victory.

Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur also won at struggling Crystal Palace and West Ham respectively, while free-scoring Liverpool were held scoreless by a disciplined Southampton side.

There was also plenty of action among the relegation candidates as Sunderland recorded a back-to-back win against hapless Hull City and Swansea City gained a valuable point away at Everton.

As we near a busy winter schedule, the league table finally appears to be taking shape as we see which sides will be vying for European places, fighting relegation, chasing the title or mired in mid-table mediocrity.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend's matches.

YAYA TOURE ISN'T FINISHED YET

At the start of this season, it looked as though Yaya Toure's Manchester City career was over.

The Ivorian was playing under the man who had shipped him off at Barcelona, cut from their Champions League squad and completely out of favour after his agent's controversial comments.

Fast forward a few weeks and the 33-year-old is back in the side, bagging both both goals as City beat Palace.

Few would have foreseen Toure fitting Pep Guardiola's philosophy at the start of the season, but it seems the Ivorian has shed some weight and is eager to impress.

LALLANA MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIVERPOOL REALISE

Liverpool have been one of the most impressive sides at this stage of the campaign with their high-tempo attacking approach.The Reds have scored 30 goals so far this season - more than any other side.

They have failed to score three times this season, however, and while the 2-0 loss to Burnley was as much down to keeper Tom Heaton than anything else, their stalemates at Manchester United and Southampton have something in common.

Both were missing Adam Lallana, who seems to add an extra dimension of urgency to the side. We knew the 28-year-old was key, but Saturday's draw showed just how important he really is.

THERE MAY BE MORE TO LEICESTER'S POOR FORM

Earlier in the season it appeared that Leicester City's mixed start to the Premier League was mainly due to their Europe commitments.

Claudio Ranieri had lived up to his 'Tinkerman' nickname and rotated his stars aa the Foxes lost all three of their games preceding European fixtures - namely to Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Since then, however, the managed a draw at Tottenham Hotspur prior to the Copenhagen game before suffering a shock loss at home to West Brom.

This weekend they played their strongest XI against Watford despite a European clash against Club Brugges in the week and lost once more, suggesting there may be more to their problems than simply balancing Champions League football.

SUNDERLAND CAN STAY UP

Only a fortnight ago Sunderland looked like they wouldn't only be relegated, but they'd also be going down as the worst ever Premier League side.

David Moyes' side were rooted to the bottom of the league with no wins after ten matches.

Two matches and back-to-back wins later and they are off the bottom of the pile, looking like they could catch the likes of West Ham and Crystal Palace.

The defence seems a lot sturdier while the introduction of Victor Anichebe - who fired two well-taken strikes against Hull City - seems to have given them an added dimension in attack.

SWANSEA HAVE MADE A POOR CHOICE

Despite picking up a point away at Everton, Swansea City fell to 20th spot as a result of Sunderland's win over Hull.

The Welsh side have failed to win since the opening day of the season and have gained just three points in their last eleven games.

The board took the decision to dismiss Francesco Guidolin after five losses in six games and replace him with Bob Bradley.

While the Italian was arguably unlucky not to pick up more points in games against Manchester City and Liverpool, Bradley has failed to claim a win against the likes of Stoke City and Watford - you'd be hard-pressed to find any Swans fans who'd say the American has improved things.