Manchester City celebrate unprecedented fourth successive league title
Manchester City won an unprecedented fourth straight English top flight title with a 3-1 win over West Ham United on Sunday to pip rivals Arsenal on the final day of a thrilling Premier League season, sending fans onto the pitch in a sea of blue.
Two glorious early goals from league player of the season Phil Foden created a party atmosphere in the sunshine at the Etihad Stadium, before a stunning bicycle kick from West Ham's Mohammed Kudus before halftime briefly unnerved the hosts.
But victory never looked in doubt and Rodri sealed the points with a low shot just before the hour from outside the area, giving Pep Guardiola's side a sixth title in seven years.
City now have the chance of winning the double when they face Manchester United in the FA Cup final next Saturday.
Fans danced in their seats, belting out "Champions again!" and "Are you watching Arsenal?" before pouring onto the pitch and setting off blue flares when the final whistle sounded.
In one of the closest title races in Premier League history, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal chased them valiantly and could have taken the championship had City dropped points.
But the Londoners' 2-1 win in their home game against Everton was in vain, leaving them two points behind.
Foden's already brilliant season got even better when he arrowed the ball into the top corner in the second minute then capped a fine team move to sweep home the second in the 18th.
"It's so hard to put into words what we've done today," he said. "No team has ever done it. You see what it means to the fans and it means to us. Working all year for this moment.
"I thought today we just looked confident and just played our football and in the end it paid off."
The midfielder has scored 19 league goals this season and has won six Premier League titles at just 23, making him one of England's best hopes for this year's Euros in Germany.
At the final whistle, blue-clad fans defied stewards to rush onto the pitch. The players hugged each other and, once again, later danced in triumph together in their dressing room.
"Blue Moon," the club anthem, boomed around the ground.
City's latest title was won with 91 points, to Arsenal's 89.
Liverpool deliver victory in an emotional farewell for Klopp
Liverpool delivered much-loved manager Juergen Klopp a victory in his final game with the team, a 2-0 win over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield in an emotional Premier League season finale.
Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah scored on a day that did not impact the Reds' third-placed finish in the table, but one that Liverpool fans had been dreading since the 56-year-old German manager announced in late-January that he would leave the club at season's end after almost nine years at the helm.
Klopp's men, who were on course to give their manager a fairytale ending before a string of bad results last month derailed their title challenge, finished the season on 82 points, nine behind winners Manchester City and seven behind third-placed Arsenal.
Wolves were reduced to 10 men in the 28th minute when Nelson Semedo was sent off for his ugly tackle on Mac Allister. Six minutes later, the Argentine midfielder headed home Harvey Elliott's curling cross, bringing Klopp to his feet with a huge smile. Quansah doubled Liverpool's lead in the 40th minute when he poked in Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah's shot.
Klopp bade farewell to the Anfield faithful -- including owners John Henry and Tom Werner who flew in from Boston for the occasion -- having won 305 matches, including penalty shootouts, with the Reds.
A crowd more than a dozen deep and bathed in red smoke squeezed shoulder to shoulder along the road leading into Anfield on Sunday to welcome the team busses as they pulled in pre-game.
Man United sign off disappointing league season with 2-0 win over Brighton
Goals from Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund gave Manchester United a scarcely-deserved 2-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion as they ended an underwhelming Premier League campaign ahead of next week's FA Cup final against Manchester City.
The victory sees United end the season in eighth place -- their lowest position in the Premier League era -- on 60 points and behind Newcastle United on goal difference, while Brighton ended 11th on 48 points.
What looked like a final-day game between two mid-table teams with nothing to play for took on greater significance on Saturday with the abrupt announcement that Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi would part ways with the club after the game.
His side proceeded to play United off the park in the first half and they should have taken the lead early in the second, but Joao Pedro's shot from close range was cleared off the line by Casemiro.
After barely creating anything of note, United took the lead in the 73rd minute as a defensive error by Igor Julio allowed Portuguese midfielder Dalot to nip in behind the defence and tuck home a long ball from Casemiro.
That goal took the wind out of the sails of the Seagulls and substitute Hojlund wrapped up the three points in the 88th minute to give Erik ten Hag's side a boost ahead of their Wembley clash with City, who will be seeking to complete a domestic double after winning the league.
Arsenal beat Everton but title wait goes on
Arsenal chased Manchester City all the way to the finishing line but for the second successive Premier League season had to make do with the runners-up spot despite a 2-1 victory over Everton.
Fans arrived at a sun-drenched Emirates Stadium full of hope, if not expectation, that they could become the first team in the Premier League era to grab the title on the final day having not started it as leaders.
Mikel Arteta's side began the day needing a win and for Manchester City to fail to beat West Ham United if they were to win their first title for 20 years -- a scenario that always looked unlikely.
And so it proved as City duly beat West Ham 3-1 to earn an unprecedented fourth successive title.
Despite the crushing disappointment of falling short, Arsenal can console themselves with pushing a superb City side to the final day of an absorbing title race, losing out by two points.
All hope looked lost when Idrissa Gueye's deflected free kick put Everton in front after 40 minutes while City were already two goals to the good 300km up north.
But Takehiro Tomiyasu levelled for Arsenal before halftime at around the same time that West Ham halved the deficit at City -- a goal met with a surge of noise around the stadium.
Kai Havertz fired home Arsenal's winner late meaning they ended the season with six successive victories but it was not quite enough.
Spurs beat Blades 3-0 to finish fifth and qualify for Europa League
Tottenham Hotspur beat Sheffield United 3-0 away at Bramall Lane in their final Premier League game of the season to cement fifth place and qualify for the Europa League.
The result helped Spurs finish with 66 points, two points below fourth-placed Aston Villa and three points above fellow London side Chelsea.
Dejan Kulusevski netted twice with a goal in each half while Pedro Porro also scored with a thunderbolt which gave United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham no chance of making a save.
The Blades, whose relegation was confirmed last month, finished the season with the worst defensive record in Premier League history after they conceded 104 goals in 38 games
Chelsea earn 2-1 win over Bournemouth to clinch European place
Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Bournemouth and a place in Europe next season with a magnificent lobbed goal from the halfway line by Moises Caicedo and a twisting effort from Raheem Sterling in their final Premier League game.
The result means Chelsea finish sixth and will play in the Europa League if Premier League champions Manchester City win the FA Cup final next weekend or the Europa Conference League if Manchester United with the Wembley showpiece.
Sunday's game in warm London sunshine pulsed with energy. Bournemouth, who finished 12th, were keen to make a game of it.
The south-coast side had only 39% possession but 22 shots against 16 from the hosts. They should have equalised in the dying moments but former Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke, who came on as a substitute, fired over the bar from close range.
