And with that, I’m checking out. Thanks for your time on what’s been a hectic, memorable and joyful/mournful day. Here once again are today’s Premier League scores, links to match reports, and the very final table. Until August, then!
Brighton 0-3 Man Utd
Burnley 1-1 Wolves
Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
Fulham 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 1-1 Brentford
Man City 1-2 Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth
Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea
Tottenham 1-0 Everton
West Ham 3-0 Leeds
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 44 | 85 |
| 2 | Man City | 38 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 38 | 19 | 71 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 65 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 10 | 60 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 4 | 57 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | -6 | 54 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 6 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 38 | 3 | 53 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 38 | 6 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | -4 | 52 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | -2 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 49 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | -7 | 47 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | -10 | 45 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 38 | -3 | 44 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | -9 | 41 |
| 18 | West Ham | 38 | -19 | 39 |
| 19 | Burnley | 38 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -41 | 20 |
Updated
Ian Wright says that Arteta “will go down as the greatest for us”, which I think is still a bit of a stretch given not just the success Arsenal had under Arsene Wenger but how actually brilliant they were in doing it, and they were by all accounts quite impressive under Herbert Chapman as well, but the man’s happy so I’ll give him a pass.
And now Mikel Arteta is handed a microphone:
It was beautiful. Look at the joy of the people. They’ve been waiting so long. We had some difficult moments along the way, but they are all worth it when you see that kind of reaction.
I think this year we showed an incredible connection, incredible commitment and incredible courage. Everything around us has fuelled the desire we have to go and do it. And look at that.
Everyone has played a part. We have an incredible ownership. There were tough times and that’s when you really see people and get to know people. They have committed themselves to a project and that’s what we have delivered.
You have doubts [after repeatedly coming second]. [You wonder] maybe you’re not the right person, maybe someone else has to come and do the final job. I feel a lot of joy and honestly a little bit of relief as well. Sometimes when you doubt yourself you have people around who say, ‘No, we’re going to do it and we’re going to do it with you.’
And now they have one more game, in the shape of a Champions League final next Saturday, to really do something special:
Now this shirt represents something else. We have an opportunity to write new history in our club, and I’m convinced that we’re going to do it.
Sky are now broadcasting live from David Raya’s mobile phone. Unlike his performances this season, it’s a big shaky.
A final word from Odegaard:
We’re living the dream. Winning the Premier League, being in a Champions League final. I grew up dreaming about this, and now I’m there.
Martin Odegaard has a word with Sky:
Honestly I can’t describe it. It was so special. A lot of emotions, and a lot of hard work behind it. Beautiful, beautiful day. You always have the fear that you’re not going to make it but we had belief in ourselves and even in our toughest moments we really stuck together. We just kept on fighting, and we got there in the end.
Even after [losing at Manchester City] I felt we were so strong mentally. We said to ourselves, it’s not over, and the belief was even stronger after that game. And we showed that on the pitch. There were moments in the season when we felt really down and angry and frustrated. The key was how we reacted. After those games we spoke as a team, we said what we felt, it was a really honest conversation. The way we reacted to every setback was really amazing.
On people questioning Arsenal’s “bottle”:
It’s impossible not to see it. You see it. For me personally, I don’t care what people say. It’s good when you win it and you can laugh, it tastes good.
Martin Odegaard collects the trophy, walks into position, and holds it aloft! Red and white confetti rains down, fire shoots into the air, and the champions restart their celebrations!
Updated
Ben White collects his medal with his right knee in a disconcertingly large brace.
More than an hour after the final whistle, and despite changing into a standard outplayer home shirt with “Champions 26” on the back, David Raya still has his goalie gloves on as he collects his medal.
Updated
A lot of home fans have stayed behind to watch the show. They’ve overperformed amazingly these past few seasons, but Palace aren’t likely to see too many league trophy lifts, might as well grasp the opportunity.
What looks like a waxwork effigy of Stan Kroenke has just brought the trophy out and placed it on a plinth. I’m assured that it is in fact the real Stan Kroenke.
Updated
At Selhurst Park, a quite astonishing number of people in Arsenal shirts have just entered the field ahead of the trophy presentation. The players, the coaches, the backroom team, the relatives of the backroom team, the friends of the relatives of the backroom team, the neighbours of the friends of the relatives of the [etc]
All your match reports in one hand place!
Herewith please find enclosed your final scores, your league table, and links to all 10 match reports:
Brighton 0-3 Man Utd
Burnley 1-1 Wolves
Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
Fulham 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 1-1 Brentford
Man City 1-2 Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth
Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea
Tottenham 1-0 Everton
West Ham 3-0 Leeds
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 44 | 85 |
| 2 | Man City | 38 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 38 | 19 | 71 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 65 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 10 | 60 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 4 | 57 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | -6 | 54 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 6 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 38 | 3 | 53 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 38 | 6 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | -4 | 52 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | -2 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 49 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | -7 | 47 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | -10 | 45 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 38 | -3 | 44 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | -9 | 41 |
| 18 | West Ham | 38 | -19 | 39 |
| 19 | Burnley | 38 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -41 | 20 |
Updated
Two more match reports: here’s something on Fulham v Newcastle, and one on Burnley 1-1 Wolves.
Updated
Jarrod Bowen has a chat with Sky. He equivocates quite masterfully about his personal future, but says that “right now my vision is to get this club back in the Premier League”:
I’m just hurt. It’s a horrible place to be. Relegation, for a club like this, it hurts. We done enough today but throughout the season we just haven’t done enough to pick up the points. You can pinpoint many things but ultimately it’s about players putting in consistent performances. Last season we were in a similar position but managed to wriggle out of it. This year we haven’t been able to wriggle out of it. The last couple of seasons we’ve been really below the standard. This season we haven’t been good enough and we’ve paid the biggest price. Ultimately we didn’t do enough to grind out results. We’ve been leading games and we’ve dropped points. I think the fight’s been there but we haven’t been there consistently enough to get points.
I’m under contract here. There’s going to be rumours, there’s going to be talk, but ultimately what I see is getting this club back in the Premier League, because that’s where they deserve to be. I’ve had some really good moments here. This is a really hard moment. You never know what the future holds, but I want to see this club back in the Premier League and right now my vision is to get this club back in the Premier League.
And finally, Louise Taylor saw Sunderland snatch a Europa League place by beating Chelsea at the Stadium of Light:
Who saw this coming? A year ago Sunderland won the Championship playoffs and were everybody’s favourite for an immediate relegation. Instead Régis Le Bris’s wonderfully resilient side have finished seventh and secured a lucrative passport to the Europa League.
This fully merited win against a Chelsea side whose own European ambitions were shredded along the way was in many ways emblematic of their season. It was a day when the second tier old boys upstaged the Club World Cup holders and Enzo Le Fée eclipsed Chelsea’s World Cup winning Enzo Fernández.
Much more here:
And Jamie Jackson watched the curtain fall on the Pep Guardiola era, even if Ollie Watkins pooped that particular party:
“Pep Guardiola!”: the two magical words for all of a Manchester City stripe came from the Etihad Stadium announcer ahead of the great man’s entrance in light-tan slacks and white T-shirt, a ‘P’ for Pep emblazoned across the left breast pocket.
The reception was rapturous. Poignant too. From a record 60,332 crowd due to the opening of the extension to the newly named Pep Guardiola Stand.
They came in the blazing sunshine and temperatures over 25C to experience three sad and fond farewells – to John Stones, Bernardo Silva and a genius, Guardiola.
Much more here:
John Brewin saw Manchester United end their season in style as Bruno Fernandes set a new record for assists:
Sussex by the sea will host Conference League football next season even if Brighton could not meet their side of the bargain. They let their fate drop from their control, making for an anxious afternoon of relying on results elsewhere and a decent 5G connection to bring good tidings. Eventually, as players stood in the centre circle, the good news arrived.
At 6.01pm European football was secured by events on Merseyside and Wearside. Manchester United, third place and Champions League football long in the bag, in the first game of Michael Carrick’s reign as permanent manager, had dazzled in the sun. History was made by Bruno Fernandes supplying a record 21st assist of the Premier League season.
Much more here:
Andy Hunter watched Mo Salah and Andy Robertson reach the end of the Anfield road:
Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson were given in-game guards of honour as they said farewell to Liverpool. The tears streamed down the former’s face when he stood in the centre circle after the final whistle and absorbed the enormity of the moment. They leave behind a club that secured Champions League qualification on the final day of a uniquely challenging season, but could have been staring at another defeat but for Dango Ouattara’s late miss for Brentford.
Ouattara put a free header wide with Alisson’s goal at his mercy with practically the final touch of the season. Keith Andrews’s team would have qualified for Europe had he found the target but were left to ponder what might have been. Not that Brentford merited victory.
Much more here:
Ed Aarons got to see the champions bag one more win:
This was an occasion for Mikel Arteta to savour. With owner Stan Kroenke watching on from the stands on a rare visit to see his team in the flesh, Arsenal celebrated being crowned champions for the first time since 2004 by recording a comfortable victory over a Crystal Palace side who also have a European final on their minds. Max Dowman became the youngest player ever to start a Premier League game at the age of 16 years and 144 days and played his part, as goals from Gabriel Jesus – on what could be the Brazil striker’s last appearance – and Noni Madueke rounded off a memorable campaign for Arteta and his side.
Much more here:
David Hytner saw Spurs save themselves with a narrow victory over Everton, taking themselves in the process of the bottom of the at-home table:
It was a question of dignity, according to Roberto De Zerbi, which was certainly a valid starting point. But for Tottenham, it was so much else besides. Reputations. Livelihoods. The very future of the club. Everything was on the line because the consequences of a first relegation from English football’s top division since 1977 did not bear thinking about. Even if everybody had thought about them all the same.
It was impossible to ignore the feeling of foreboding. It was there as the Spurs fans made their way to the stadium, which has been a house of horrors for them in the Premier League this season. No club in the division had a worse home record than them at the start of the day. It was there throughout the game, rising exponentially in the second half as West Ham, needing to beat Leeds at the London Stadium to make it very interesting, scored three times. And it hammered on in the 12 minutes of stoppage time; only nine had been signalled.
Much more here:
Jacob Steinberg watched West Ham play their final Premier League game of this season, and a while beyond that:
As the minutes ticked away and the trap door widened, the home crowd wanted everyone to know who they blame for West Ham’s relegation. They were united in their disdain for David Sullivan, the club’s shortsighted owner, and spent the final moments of a dreadful season showering him with abuse.
Sullivan watched from the directors’ box, perhaps contemplating how it has come to this point, but the answer is his refusal to relinquish power. This is his mess. West Ham have dropped into the Championship for the first time since 2012, a 3-0 victory over Leeds on the final day not enough to lift them out of the bottom three at Tottenham’s expense, and as the club’s largest shareholder and most influential individual it is Sullivan who must accept much of the blame.
Much more here:
Ben Fisher was at the City Ground to see Bournemouth frustrated in their pursuit of Champions League football. Here’s his report:
There was an inflatable miniature plane bobbing around the Bournemouth away end and, for long periods, their unlikely Champions League dream was on. The Europa League will have to suffice. Andoni Iraola, whose name was serenaded on loop approaching the final whistle, will exit the stage having led Bournemouth to sixth, their best finish, a record points tally of 57 and having secured European football for the first time in their history. It doesn’t sound too bad.
Bournemouth’s result at Nottingham Forest was quickly rendered redundant by Brighton imploding at home to Manchester United but Aston Villa’s shock win at Manchester City and Liverpool’s failure to beat Brentford denied Iraola the perfect ending. This draw at Forest, who led through a Morgan Gibbs-White free-kick, does mean Bournemouth completed the second round of fixtures unbeaten, a run that goes back to the tail of last year.
Much more here:
And that is the final whistle of the final game of the Premier League season. Here are your headlines:
-
West Ham have been relegated despite a convincing win over Leeds
-
Spurs saved themselves by beating Everton 1-0
-
Bournemouth and Sunderland will play in the Europa League, the former unable to catch Liverpool after draws both at Anfield and for the Cherries at Nottingham Forest, and the latter securing a 2-1 home win over Chelsea, who finish 10th
-
Brighton will play in the Conference League despite losing 3-0 at home to Manchester United, after neither Brentford failed to win and Chelsea failed to get a point
-
Wolves end the season in last place after drawing 1-1 at Burnley
The table in full:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 44 | 85 |
| 2 | Man City | 38 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 38 | 19 | 71 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 65 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 10 | 60 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 4 | 57 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | -6 | 54 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 6 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 38 | 3 | 53 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 38 | 6 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | -4 | 52 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | -2 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 49 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | -7 | 47 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | -10 | 45 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 38 | -3 | 44 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | -9 | 41 |
| 18 | West Ham | 38 | -19 | 39 |
| 19 | Burnley | 38 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -41 | 20 |
It's all over at Spurs! West Ham United are relegated from the Premier League!
6.08pm Spurs seal their first home win since December, and it’s enough to keep them from the Premier League trap door and condemn West Ham to the drop!
Updated
6.06pm A miracle save at Spurs, where an excellent shot by George is kept out by Kinsky!
Final score: Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
6.05pm A winning end to the season for Arsenal, and with Manchester City losing their final fixture they’ll finish seven points clear at the top!
Updated
Final scores: Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea; Man City 1-2 Aston Villa
6.04pm Huge celebrations now for both sides and all fans at Brighton: Brentford’s failure to beat Liverpool means it’s Conference League football for the Seagulls next season. But it’s the Europa League for Sunderland, who have vaulted to seventh as a result of beating Chelsea today!
Updated
Final score: Liverpool 1-1 Brentford
6.01pm It’s all over at Anfield. Liverpool will play in the Champions League next season. Brentford will not, and miss out on Europe altogether!
6pm Incredible miss at Anfield! Janelt crosses from the left, and Outtara is unmarked in the middle. Can he just pick a corner and head it in? No he can’t!
Final score: Brighton 0-3 Man Utd
6pm An outstanding performance to end an outstanding most-of-the-season for United, who have been the best team in the land since Michael Carrick’s appointment, initially as caretaker, in January and were certainly the best team in Brighton today.
Final score: West Ham 3-0 Leeds
5.57pm The final whistle goes at West Ham, where the home side have won in style, but their players drop mournfully to the turf. Spurs remain 1-0 up, and Everton – still no shots on target – have to score twice to turn things round!
GOAL! West Ham 3-0 Leeds (Wilson, 90+4 mins)
But from the corner West Ham do score! It’s played, eventually, to Wilson, 20-odd yards out, and he rifles in an excellent shot that is further assisted by a deflection as it flies in!
Updated
90+4 mins: Brilliant save by Darlow to prevent a third West Ham goal! Wilson had a ludicrous amount of space on the right, cuts in, cuts inside a bit more, and shoots towards the far post, but Darlow throws out an arm to turn it behind!
5.55pm Another goal is ruled out, this time for Pino of Crystal Palace, whose shot takes a slight deflection off the offside Guessand on its way in.
5.52pm Into stoppage time at West Ham, where there’ll be about four minutes of it. At Spurs there’s another four minutes of normal time to deal with.
Key event
5.51pm A lovely turn by Phil Foden is followed by a brutal left-footed shot into the roof of the net, but he was offside so it won’t count.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal (Mateta, 89 mins)
Jeremy Pino curls in a lovely cross with his right foot from the left flank, Kepa comes for it and doesn’t get close, and Mateta turns it in!
Updated
5.48pm A penalty shout at Spurs, as Pape Sarr dances into the area before going over Iroegbunam’s leg. But it’s a pretty obvious dive, Michael Oliver isn’t buying it, and Sarr ends up in the book.
5.45pm Liverpool bossed the first half at Anfield and should have wrapped the game up before half-time. But they’ve been distracted by their farewells – Andy Robertson the latest to get a standing ovation – and Brentford have not just equalised, they’ve taken control. A point of information from Peter Kelly, though: “Curtis Jones not celebrating – not because of his relationship with Slot, much more likely it’s because he thought it was offside.”
GOAL! Fulham 2-0 Newcastle (Cairney, 80 mins)
Goal of the day, surely! This is just a beautiful long-range curling effort from Tom Cairney, and there’s nothing Pope can do about it as it dips into the corner!
Updated
GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Leeds (Bowen, 79 mins)
Classily taken by Bowen! West Ham win the ball in midfield, Mateus Fernandes plays an excellent quick pass through for Bowen, who runs down the right before drilling past Darlow!
Updated
5.39pm Another guard of honour at the Etihad, this time for John Stones. City are losing a couple of great players, as well as this match.
Updated
5.36pm About one quarter of one hour to go. A bit more than that at Spurs, because of some issues with the referee’s technologicals at the start of the second half. A quick reminder of the league table:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 45 | 85 |
| 2 | Man City | 38 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 38 | 19 | 71 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 65 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 10 | 60 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 4 | 57 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | -6 | 54 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 6 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 38 | 3 | 53 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 38 | 6 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | -5 | 52 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | -1 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 49 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | -5 | 47 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | -11 | 45 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 38 | -3 | 44 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | -9 | 41 |
| 18 | West Ham | 38 | -21 | 39 |
| 19 | Burnley | 38 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -41 | 20 |
5.34pm Mo Salah’s Liverpool career is over. He applauds the crowd as he’s taken off, they applaud him right back again, everyone’s on their feet. He was, at his best, a wonder. “Lovely to see, in his final match in a Liverpool shirt, a trademark assist from Mo Salah, indisputably a Liverpool great up there with Dalglish and company,” writes Colum Fordham. “Curtis Jones didn’t celebrate his goal, a clear sign that his relationship with Slot is not idyllic.”
Updated
5.30pm So West Ham now need Everton to score twice at Spurs. The bad news is that Everton haven’t had a shot on target, have had just five shots in total to Tottenham’s 19, and have generally been underpants.
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Leeds (Castellanos, 57 mins)
West Ham win a corner on the right, and then another corner. Bowen sends the second one to the far post, where Castellanos is unchallenged as he heads it in!
Updated
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Brentford (Schade, 64 mins)
Brentford score with a diving header, which is always nice. It’s definitely an attempted shot, though, and it hits a defender and deflects handily towards Schade, who reacts smartly to turn it in!
Updated
Red card! Chelsea go down to 10 men!
5.25pm Colwill and Fofana gang up on Isidor and between them they bring him down. The referee could have booked either of them and plumps for Fofana, and it’s his second yellow card!
Updated
GOAL! Man City 1-2 Aston Villa!
Ollie Watkins is played in down the right. He’s still got a lot of work to do, but he does it expertly, running into the area, drawing Trafford and tucking the ball through his legs!
Updated
5.20pm A guard of honour from both teams and a standing ovation from both sets of fans as Bernardo Silva is substituted at the Etihad. City have been tiresomely good at times over the last decade, but Bernardo Silva has always been a joy.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Brentford (Jones, 58 mins)
A goal for Liverpool, and an assist for Mo Salah! His hard, low ball in with the outside of his left foot leaves Curtis Jones with an easy task, and he makes no mistake!
Updated
GOAL! Burnley 1-1 Wolves (Flemming, 47 mins)
Another excellent finish, Flemming sidefooting past Jose Sa with his left foot!
GOAL! Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea (Palmer, 56 mins)
Cole Palmer pings an arrowlike shot towards the near post from 20 yards or so, out of nothing very much. Roefs should save it easily. But then, well, he doesn’t.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth (Tavernier, 54 mins)
Excellent finish from Tavernier, who leathers a first-time shot into the far corner from the edge of the area!
Updated
5.15pm And again! Summerville is dispossessed, the ball rolls back to him again, he jinks into the area and has a shot that deflects across goal to Castellanos, beyond the far post but left with surely a very easy finish for a player of Championship quality, but, well, he falls over backwards, and blazes over.
5.13pm And while all those goals were going in West Ham had a wonderful chance, but instead of turning it in the forward fell over backwards, and didn’t.
GOAL! Brighton 0-3 Man Utd (Fernandes, 48 mins)
This goal happened long enough ago that I’ve basically forgotten it. A nice, inch-perfect finish from Fernandes, though. It took a long time to be declared definitively onside, but was eventually cleared.
Updated
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal (Madueke, 48 mins)
Arsenal score from a corner, is it? It’s a long corner, headed back into the area, and very neatly finished by Madueke!
Updated
GOAL! Sunderland 2-0 Chelsea (Gusto own goal, 50 mins)
Sunderland double their lead! It’s nicely made, at least until Brobbey’s deeply rubbish finish, which was bobbling miserably wide until Malo Gusto did him a favour, stuck out a leg and turned it into his own net!
Updated
GOAL! Man City 1-1 Aston Villa (Watkins, 47 mins)
A bit of penalty area pinball at the Etihad and of all people the ball lands at the feet of Ollie Watkins, and the rest is inevitable.
Updated
5.07pm A first chance of the second half and Sunderland should have doubled their lead! Brobbey is played through, takes his time, picks his spot, and that spot is approximately perfectly the middle of the keeper.
5pm Second halves imminent. Wolves are, you may have noticed, not currently bottom of the table – if they can hold out today this will be the first day since 30 August that they end anywhere other than 20th.
Who on earth is going to be this season’s top scorer? Well, Erling Haaland, obviously. And Igor Thiago will finish second. But if you’re interested in the race for the coveted bronze boot (is this a thing?) you’ll need to be checking this out:
4.51pm It’s now half-time in most of the Premier League games, and thus just one half of one game remains to be played this season. The scores:
Brighton 0-2 Man Utd
Burnley 0-1 Wolves
Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
Fulham 1-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 0-0 Brentford
Man City 1-0 Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Bournemouth
Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea
Tottenham 1-0 Everton
West Ham 0-0 Leeds
And the league table as it stands:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 44 | 85 |
| 2 | Man City | 38 | 44 | 81 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 38 | 18 | 71 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 5 | 62 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 10 | 60 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 3 | 56 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | -6 | 54 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 7 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 38 | 3 | 53 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 38 | 6 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | -5 | 52 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | -1 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 49 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | -4 | 48 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 38 | -2 | 46 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 38 | -10 | 45 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | -9 | 41 |
| 18 | West Ham | 38 | -22 | 37 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -40 | 22 |
| 20 | Burnley | 38 | -38 | 21 |
4.48pm A bit of chaos inside the Leeds penalty area, but West Ham can’t turn it in. And now Pablo hits the side netting from a tight angle!
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (Jesus, 42 mins)
Gabriel Jesus finally takes a chance! After missing a couple of really easy opportunities when he had all sorts of time and space he’s finally forced to take an instinctive first-time shot, and it’s a good one!
Updated
GOAL! Brighton 0-2 Manchester United (Mbeumo, 44 mins)
Nice goal, this. Diallo plays a one-two, gets to the byline and spears the ball across goal, where Mbeumo is lurking and turns in!
Updated
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Everton (Joao Palhinha, 43 mins)
Joao Palhinha! Chaos and madness! A corner from the left and Palhinha heads into the far post, but the ball rebounds back to him and he turns it goalwards. It’s cleared off the line, but the wrong side of it!
Updated
4.40pm As it stands: Sunderland (who are beating Chelsea) are seventh and in the Europa League, Brighton (losing to Manchester United) dropping to eighth and the Conference League, and Brentford ( drawing with Liverpool) and Chelsea in ninth and 10th.
4.37pm Another great chance for Leeds, but after being beautifully teed up by Nmecha Calvert-Lewin hits Hermansen, who to be fair came out quickly.
GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Manchester United (Dorgu, 33 mins)
A corner on the right is headed in by Patrick Dorgu, and that’s yet another assist for Bruno Fernandes, his 21st of the season!
Updated
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Bournemouth (Gibbs-White, 34 mins)
A free-kick that hits net rather than post! The ball is backheeled into the path of Gibbs-White, whose low shot screams into the net!
Updated
4.33pm Curtis Jones goes down over a challenge in the penalty area, and the only thing that stops the penalty being awarded to Liverpool is that Jones was already on his way down when the first contact happened.
GOAL! Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea (Hume, 25 mins)
A long ball, a flick on, and a first-time shot from Trai Hume, just inside the area, beats the keeper at the near post! Very nicely taken, that.
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Aston Villa (Semenyo, 23 mins)
A corner from the left bounces through to Semenyo at the far post, and he pops it neatly back across the keeper and in!
Updated
4.23pm Everton should be down to 10 men at Spurs, thanks to Rohl’s terrible (in slow motion, at least) challenge on Van de Ven. But somehow Everton get the free-kick and VAR doesn’t intervene.
4.22pm A brilliant chance for Liverpool, but Szoboszlai slides the ball across goal and wide.
Updated
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Newcastle (Diop, 20 mins)
4.20pm Another free-kick hits the woodwork with the keeper beaten! This time it’s from Fulham’s Kevin, who forces Pope into a full-length dive in an effort to keep the ball out, but then it hits the woodwork and rebounds to Diop, who heads into a completely empty net.
Updated
4.20pm Mo Salah hits the post! It’s a free kick, just outside the penalty area, and Salah curls it towards the near post and, with the keeper beaten, it bounces clear!
Updated
4.17pm Now a chance for West Ham! The ball bounces to Pablo, 15 yards out, and it may well have been goalbound – the player’s reaction suggests it probably was – before it hit Struijk. After it hit Struijk, though, it wasn’t.
4.15pm Chance for Spurs! The ball bounces through to Joao Palhinha, beyond the far post, but he blasts a volley over the bar!
4.13pm Another incredible chance for Arsenal, who play Jesus through on goal, one on one, and there’s a teammate to his left for him to square it to if he wants to absolutely guarantee a goal. Instead, though, he delays his shot and Henderson saves.
Updated
4.10pm Massive chance for Leeds! Justin’s mishit shot comes quickly to Nmecha, just outside the six-yard box, and really he only has to divert it on target to give the visitors the lead at West Ham! But, well, he can’t, not even nearly.
GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Wolves (Armstrong penalty, 5 mins)
Ye olde VAR handball penalty decision, is it? The defender’s arm was in an unnatural position, but the ball was headed into it from no distance at all, and it continues to be a bit rum that such a thing is rewarded with an uncontested shot on goal from 12 yards. Anyway, Adam Armstrong converts.
Updated
4.07pm: And Arsenal hit the post! Jesus really should have scored that, but he very coolly and deliberately sidefooted into the woodwork.
4.07pm: History! This from AP on a big day for Max Dowman:
Arsenal winger Max Dowman became the youngest player to start a Premier League match Sunday when, at 16 years and 144 days, he played for the newly crowned champions against Crystal Palace on the final day of the season.
In March, Dowman became the league’s youngest-ever scorer with a remarkable stoppage-time goal in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton after coming off the bench.
Also this season, he became the youngest player in Champions League history — at 15 years, 308 days — after entering as a second-half substitute against Slavia Prague in November.
Dowman is still in school . To abide by Premier League regulations for players under 18, Dowman has to change into his Arsenal uniform for training sessions and matches in a separate locker room than his senior teammates.
Arsenal will lift the Premier League trophy after the game against Palace.
4.05pm: No early breakthroughs. Leeds have started their game at West Ham on the front foot, but no shots as of yet.
Kick-off!
4pm: Peeeeeeep! It is time.
While I gamely attempt to keep abreast of the full 10 matches this afternoon, Scott Murray is luxuriating in a full focus on Tottenham v Everton. Here’s his liveblog:
“I’ve been giddily happy since Tuesday night,” writes Arsenal fan Kari Tulinius. “But this morning I woke up feeling melancholy. I didn’t support an English team growing up, but after moving back home to Iceland in 2010 after spending most of a decade in the US, my friend Ásgeir suggested I come with him every weekend to watch the Premier League. He was an Arsenal fan since childhood, and slowly but surely he converted me. This is the first league title they’ve won since then, but my friend, who I talked or messaged with during and after nearly every Arsenal game, passed away last year. So I’m sitting down now to watch with a Czech beer, his favourite tipple, to which he converted me too, and I’ll be thinking of the messages I would’ve been sending him. What a glorious day, nonetheless.”
Beautiful message, Kari. A long time has passed since Arsenal’s last win, long enough I think for many Gunners fans to be negotiating similar emotions today. All the best to you all.
Updated
Nuno Espirito Santos talks through West Ham’s approach to their game against Leeds:
It’s our last chance. We’re good and we’re ready to go. Let’s see what happens. The same approach that we’ve been trying: starting the game well, trying to score first. Let’s wait and see. The belief is there. It’s not going to be easy. Leeds are a good team. We want to score as soon as possible, but we need to be ready for every scenario. We prepared the team to try to win the game, it can be the first or the last minute. It’s up to us to deliver.
Here’s a report on Bolton’s League One play-off final victory over Stockport. I thought the late VAR red card and penalty was complete rubbish, but the game was won by then.
With Sam Dalby’s second-half overhead kick, Bolton could start to plan their return to the Championship, a division they left in 2019 as a club in turmoil. After administration, last-minute sales, emergency loans, points deductions and a spell in League Two, they have found their way back.
Stockport, themselves a club on the rise following financial trouble that took them down to the sixth tier, were game opponents in Bolton’s second League One playoff final in three years but were overpowered at Wembley. With the score level at 1-1 after an hour, Steven Schumacher sent on Sam Dalby and by the 81st minute the substitute had stretched Bolton’s lead to 3-1 with a picture-book goal. Rúben Rodrigues’s late penalty against 10 men added gloss to the scoreline.
Much more here:
Guardiola: 'The future will be better without me'
Pep Guardiola has a chat with Sky:
I’m good. Trying to focus on the game. It’s not easy, with many things happening around it. Not just me, Bernardo and John and some people from the staff. But yeah, try to enjoy, with my family, and an amount of people that I love.
There’s a football game, and we don’t want to make a bad last game. I’d have loved to have the chance today to play against Arsenal, but there are a lot of things around.
And on whether this is absolutely, definitely, the time to leave:
Now is the time, I’m pretty sure. Once we announced I thought, maybe I was wrong. The past has been really good with us, but the future will be better without me. You have to have a special energy..
“We can be niggly, we can be horrible, we can play different types of football, and we’ll have to show all of those attributes today,” says Brentford’s Keith Andrews of his side’s challenge at Anfield.
Could this sign hold the answer to the mystery of Mikel Arteta’s disappearing grey kecks?
“You never know when we’ll have a chance like we have today, to fight for a Champions League spot,” says Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. “We should be aware of all the things that are happening on other pitches but we cannot lose focus. It won’t be easy, playing Forest away, last game. We have to play very well if we want the right result.”
Interesting Spurs line-up, that, with Pedro Porro predicted to start on the right wing with England’s Djed Spence at right-back, and the absolutely-dreadful-every-time-I’ve-seen-him Randal Kolo Muani taking his rightful place on the bench. They can only be stronger as a result.
An email! Um, about Mikel Arteta’s trousers! “On what we all knew would be the Arsenal manager’s red-letter day, Arteta has surprised us all by changing his trousers and making it instead a black-trouser day,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Two observations: The grey ones were certainly overdue a wash and probably a stitch or two after another stressful season. And wouldn’t it be nice if he’d just sit down for this game and let his players enjoy themselves playing football?” This is the level of attention to (irrelevant) detail I’m looking for, well played.
“We’ve analysed them and wingers are crucial for getting a result against them,” says Arne Slot of Brentford, explaining his decision to start Mo Salah in the Egyptian’s final game for Liverpool.
Updated
All the teams (eventually)
The teams have all been named and filed, and I’m sticking them in here. You may need to refresh to see the later additions.
Brighton v Manchester United
Brighton: Verbruggen, Milner, Van Hecke, Dunk, De Cuyper, Gross, Wiefer, Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Gomez, Welbeck. Subs: Steele, March, Rutter, Minteh, Baleba, Kostoulas, Boscagli, O’Reilly Veltman.
Manchester United: Lammens, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Mount, Mainoo, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Dorgu, Mbeumo. Subs: Bayindir, Cunha, Zirkzee, Malacia, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Fletcher, Lacey.
Referee: Sam Barrott. Assistants: Simon Bennett, Blake Antrobus. Fourth official: Ruebyn Ricardo. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Steve Meredith.
Burnley v Wolves
Burnley: Weiss, Walker, Tuanzebe, Ugochukwu, Anthony, Humphreys, Florentino, Tchaouna, Flemming, Pires, Mejbri. Subs: Dubravka, Bruun Larsen, Edwards, Roberts, Ekdal, Ward-Prowse, Amdouni, Laurent, Barnes.
Wolves: Sa, Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Rodrigo Gomes, Andre, Angel Gomes, Mane, Hwang, Armstrong. Subs: Bentley, Lima, Tchatchoua, Toti, Hugo Bueno, Sutherland, Abbey, Edozie, Arokodare.
Referee: Andrew Kitchen. Assistants: Wade Smith, Andrew Dallison. Fourth official: Adam Herczeg. VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis. Assistant VAR: Neil Davies.
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Clyne, Lerma, Riad, Cardines, Hughes, Kamada, Devenny, Sarr, Strand Larsen. Subs: Benitez, Lacroix, Mitchell, Pino, Johnson, Mateta, Wharton, Canvot, Guessand.
Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, Zubimendi, Mosquera, Hinapie, Calafiori, Norgaard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Madueke, Martinelli, Jesus. Subs: Setford, Gyokeres, Gabriel, Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Merino, Havertz, Rice.
Referee: Farai Hallam. Assistants: Marc Perry, Mat Wilkes. Fourth official: Tom Nield. VAR: Nick Hopton. Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor.
Fulham v Newcastle
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Iwobi, Bobb, Smith Rowe, Kevin, Muniz. Subs: Lecomte, Tete, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed, Cairney, King, Wilson, Jimenez.
Newcastle: Pope, Hall, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Tonali, Murphy, Woltemade, Ramsey, Osula. Subs: Ramsdale, Trippier, Wissa, Gordon, Barnes, Elanga, Willock, A.Murphy, Neave.
Referee: Rob Jones. Assistants: Nick Greenhalgh, Sian Massey-Ellis. Fourth official: Sam Allison. VAR: James Bell. Assistant VAR: Peter Wright.
Liverpool v Brentford
Liverpool: Alisson; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Gakpo. Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Wirtz, Isak, Chiesa, Frimpong, Nyoni.
Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Henderson, Jensen; Ouattara, Thiago, Schade. Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Dasilva, Nelson, Ajer, Damsgaard, Donovan, Furo.
Referee: Darren England. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Akil Howson. Fourth official: Tom Kirk. VAR: Tony Harrington. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes.
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Manchester City: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Ruben Dias, Ake; Savinho, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva; Semenyo, Foden. Subs: Ait-Nouri, Bettinelli, Cherki, Doku, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Alleyne, Marmoush, Nunes.
Aston Villa: Bizot; Garcia, Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen; Bailey, Bogarde, Barjkley, Buendia; Douglas Luiz; Watkins. Subs: Burrowes, Cash, Digne, Pau Torres, Hemmings, McGinn, Onana, Tielemens, Wright.
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Richard West, Simon Long. Fourth official: David Webb. VAR: Tim Wood. Assistant VAR: Jarred Gillett.
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson. Jesus. Wood. Subs: Ortega; Awoniyi, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Abbott, Sillah.
Bournemouth: Petrovic, Hill, Sensi, Smith, Truffert, Adams, Scott, Tavernier, Kroupi, Rayan, Evanilson. Subs: Mandas, Cook, Toth, Diakite, Brooks, Unal, Kluivert, Adli, Gannon-Doak.
Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Lee Betts, Alistair Nelson. Fourth official: Gavin Ward. VAR: Paul Howard. Assistant VAR: Natalie Aspinall.
Sunderland v Chelsea
Sunderland: Roefs, Geertruida, Mukiele, O’Nien, Mandova, Xhaka, Sadiki, Hume, Le Fee, Angulo, Brobbey. Subs: Ellborg, Alderete, Cirkin, Mayenda, Rigg, Diarra, Traore, Isador, Ta Bi.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Fofana, Colwill, Hato, Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Cucurella, Palmer, Neto, Joao Pedro. Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Chalobah, James, Derry, Essugo, Santos, Garnacho, Delap.
Referee: Chis Kavanagh. Assistants: Dan Cook, Ian Hussin. Fourth official: Lewis Smith. VAR: Matthew Donohue. Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart.
Tottenham v Everton
Tottenham: Kinsky; Spence, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Joao Palhinha; Porro, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison. Subs: Bergvall, Bissouma, Dragusin, Gray, Kolo Muani, Maddison, Sarr, Solanke, Vicario.
Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam; Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry. Subs: Alcaraz, Armstrong, Aznou, Coleman, Dibling, George, Beto, McNeil, Travers.
Referee: Michael Oliver (pictured). Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Bobby Madley. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
West Ham United v Leeds United
West Ham: Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Soucek, Mateus Fernandes; Bowen, Pablo, Summervilla; Castellanos. Subs: Areola, Kante, Kilman, Lamadrid, Magassa, Potts, Scarles, Wan-Bissaka, Wilson.
Leeds: Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Justin; Ampadu, Nmecha, Tanaka; Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson. Subs: Bornauw, Buonanotte, Byram, Chadwick, Cresswell, Perri, Gnonto, James, Piroe.
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Steve Martin. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.
Updated
Today’s top-flight fixtures in full:
Brighton v Manchester United
Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Fulham v Newcastle
Liverpool v Brentford
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Sunderland v Chelsea
Tottenham v Everton
West Ham United v Leeds United
Hello world!
So, today is the day. No more procrastination, an end to doubt and vacillation. The single remaining relegation spot is by a margin the most significant position to be decided, and the crux of it is this: West Ham will go down if they don’t beat Leeds at home. They will also go down if Tottenham beat Everton at home, or if Spurs draw and West Ham win by fewer than 12 (twelve) goals. (The biggest margin of victory in the history of the Premier League is 9-0; in the history of the entire Football League there have been four victories by a margin big enough to save West Ham should Spurs win today, the most recent 80 years ago).
Meanwhile, though we know that Arsenal will finish first, Manchester City second and Manchester United third, no other position in the entire league is already determined. Liverpool need a point to seal a Champions League place, but if they beat Brentford at home and fourth-placed Aston Villa lose at Manchester City they would go to fourth, Villa drop to fifth and, thanks to Villa’s Europa League victory, a sixth Champions League spot will open up.
Bournemouth need a point at Nottingham Forest to be sure of finishing sixth, but if they lose Brighton would overtake them if they beat Manchester United at home. Chelsea need to beat Sunderland to be sure of European football, and Sunderland need to beat Chelsea if they are to have a chance of qualification themselves. If they draw Brentford would leapfrog Chelsea with a win at Anfield, but the point would still take Chelsea above Brighton if the Seagulls lose by at least two goals. A draw wouldn’t do Sunderland any good at all, and there will be no last-day gifts for them: if the Premier League gets an extra Champions League spot they will not also get an extra place in the Europa League. That whole seventh-to-10th area of the table is essentially a bit complicated.
And at the bottom, Burnley host Wolves in a wooden spoon playoff.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will be presented with their trophy after the final whistle at Selhurst Park, when Oliver Glasner will also wave goodbye to the home fans, while Pep Guardiola will bid farewell to the Etihad after City’s game against Villa and Andoni Iraola will take charge of Bournemouth for the final time. Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will play at Anfield for the final time (for Liverpool, at least).
Updated
