Manchester City have been crowned Premier League champions after a remarkable fightback from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 as Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Wolves proved not to be enough.
Steven Gerrard masks could be seen in the Anfield crowd and it looked as if Villa were set to do his old club an unprecedented favour when former Red Philippe Coutinho put Villa 2-0 up at the Etihad after Matty Cash had given them a shock lead.
Ilkay Gundogan’s header restored hope and once Rodri found the equaliser, the momentum was firmly with the reigning champions. Within three minutes, Gundogan had a second – City’s third – and while Liverpool were never top on the day, Pep Guardiola’s tears spoke of how close his players had come to letting their title slip away.
Elsewhere it was the end of the road in the Premier League for Burnley, whose five-year stay in the top flight is over with defeat at home to Newcastle. Leeds needed to better the Clarets’ result at Brentford and a late Jack Harrison winner saw them survive to spark wild celebrations in front of the away end.
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Results in full
- Arsenal 5-1 Everton
- Brentford 1-2 Leeds
- Brighton 1-1 West Ham
- Burnley 1-2 Newcastle
- Chelsea 2-1 Watford
- Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester United
- Leicester 4-1 Southampton
- Liverpool 3-1 Wolves
- Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa
- Norwich 0-5 Tottenham
How it finished
How the final day unfolded
Man City 3-2 Aston Villa
Just as it was 10 years ago against QPR, City were given a scare by Cash and Coutinho but they prevailed thanks to Guardiola’s meticulous reorganisation. Fernandinho was hauled off at half-time in his final game for the club after a horror first 45 minutes, with Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko reshaping and rejuvenating the champions elect. Gabriel Jesus will be thanking his lucky stars after a glaring miss from yards out, but Ollie Watkins also had the chance to put City to the sword when he was through on goal but blasted wide, thinking he was offside. City pip Liverpool to the title by a solitary point.
Liverpool 3-1 Wolves
Wolves looked set to frustrate Liverpool for long periods and while the introduction of Mo Salah finally helped them break Bruno Lage’s side down, news of City’s winning goal deflated Anfield. The quadruple dream is over, but there’s still the small matter of the Champions League final to come.
Injuries and defending a concern before Paris
The loss of Thiago Alcantara, who did not reappear for the second half, could be another grievous blow with Saturday’s Champions League final with Real Madrid looming.
The way Liverpool defended should also not inspire confidence for Paris. Without Virgil van Dijk to marshal them, they were sometimes brutally exposed.
Liverpool were fortunate Wolves only scored once, as Raul Jiminez sprinted on to Jose Sa’s goal-kick, and squared it for Pedro Neto to clip unchallenged into the net beneath the Kop. Jürgen Klopp smiled and shook his head. It was Wolves’ first attack and two minutes had gone.
When it came to passing and pressing there were often too many wrong choices from a Liverpool side who have done it instinctively throughout this long, triumphant season.
Read Tim Rich’s full report from Anfield here
Brentford 1-2 Leeds
Leeds looked to be in control of their destiny with Burnley trailing and with Raphinha putting Jesse Marsch’s side in front from the spot. Sergi Canos’ equaliser sent Leeds’ nerves jangling, minutes before he was sent off, but a long-range winner from Jack Harrison in injury time confirmed their Premier League status.
Burnley 1-2 Newcastle
There was no great escape for Mike Jackson as Burnley return to the Championship, bowing out with a meek 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. “No sympathy for Burnley” was Roy Keane’s verdict as he pinpointed the sacking of Sean Dyche as the moment that really sent them down.
Burnley’s future uncertain as they say goodbye
By Mark Douglas, i‘s northern football correspondent
Having clambered away from the abyss in midweek, Burnley were plunged into the Championship and an uncertain future after a disastrous afternoon at Turf Moor.
The Clarets succumbed to anxiety and a Newcastle side picking up where they left off against Arsenal on Monday. A Callum Wilson double, profiting on uncertainty among Burnley’s back four, left them with too much ground to make up and Leeds’ win at Brentford sent them into the second tier.
Aside from a brief rally after Maxwel Cornet volleyed past Martin Dubravka in the closing stages, Burnley were emphatically second best.
It made for a surreal afternoon in East Lancashire as news filtered through about Leeds. Wout Weghorst – a hugely disappointing January buy – went closest but when news of Leeds’ second filtered through, fans streamed towards the exit.
The consequences could be profound. Having sacked Sean Dyche in an attempt to mount a great escape, they now face an immediate loan repayment of £65million as well as the costs of relegation.
The Clarets had hoped to appoint Vincent Kompany to succeed Dyche but that plan looks doomed too. A firesale looks certain as the club count the cost of the controversial leveraged buy out mounted by ALK Capital.
Norwich 0-5 Tottenham
No Spursiness in sight. A draw would have been enough at Carrow Road but Antonio Conte’s men made life easy for themselves with first-half goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane, the England captain capitalising on some comical defending from the hosts which probably sums up why they are on their way back to the Championship. Kulusevski added a second after the interval and Son Heung-min’s brace ensured the South Korean matched Mo Salah for a shared Golden Boot.
Miraculous Conte is the coach Levy thought Mourinho was
By Oliver Young-Myles, i sports journalist
In November 2019, Daniel Levy gambled on a big-name manager with a glittering CV to lead Tottenham back into the Champions League and it failed. Two years later, he tried the same tactic again and this time, it has worked.
In a little over six months, Antonio Conte has proven to be the manager that Levy thought Jose Mourinho was. His impact has been nothing short of miraculous.
When the Italian answered Levy’s desperation call, Spurs were ninth in the table, five points adrift of the top four with a -7 goal difference; since then, they have taken the third-most points (56), won the third-most games (17) scored the third-most goals (60) and conceded the third-fewest (24).
You can read Oliver Young-Myles’ full analysis from Carrow Road here
Arsenal 5-1 Everton
With Everton safe, Arsenal did all they could and if the Mikel Arteta way is to hope for the future rather than dwell on an often hapless present, at least youngsters Gabriel Martinelli and Nketiah were on the scoresheet. But it’s Thursday night football next season.
Toffees don’t let the football ruin a day out
By Sam Cunningham, i‘s chief football correspondent
You couldn’t tell their team had just conceded a fifth goal of the afternoon. Nor that they had embarked on a 400-mile roundtrip for the occasion.
Everton’s supporters had just watched their team cap off a truly miserable season, in which they flirted with relegation, with a thrashing at the Emirates. Yet shortly after the fifth goal flew in the blue strip of the stadium erupted into the loudest cheer of the game, when word reached smartphones that Manchester City had miraculously come from two goals down against Aston Villa to take the lead.
And the celebrations were louder still after the final whistle, when they discovered bitter city rivals Liverpool had been pipped to the Premier League title, prevented from attaining a domestic treble and ending the possibility of an unprecedented quadruple with the Champions League final still to play next weekend.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester United
What can the onlooking Erik ten Hag have been thinking? In the stands for the first time to see his new club, he will no doubt have despaired as former United player Wilfried Zaha put Crystal Palace in front. Patrick Vieira’s side did not really kick on from there, but there ends an utterly desperate season for United. It’s their lowest points tally of the Premier League era.
Brighton 3-1 West Ham
West Ham were playing to finish ahead of Manchester United and Michail Antonio put them ahead shortly before half time, only for Joel Veltman to level things up for Brighton. Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck weighed in with a goal each to earn three points for the Seagulls.
Chelsea 2-1 Watford
The Blues had already wrapped up third and Watford were already down, but a season which will largely be remembered for Chelsea’s off-field problems ended with a win. Kai Havertz put Thomas Tuchel’s side in front before Dan Gosling’s equaliser, but a rare goal from Ross Barkley sent the Hornets down with a parting bruise.
Leicester 4-1 Southampton
There was nothing riding on it but it’s been a disappointing campaign for both. Leicester managed to end it on a high, at least, with a 4-1 win at the King Power.
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