MANCHESTER/NEWCASTLE/LONDON/SOUTHAMPTON/BURNLEY: Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season while Watford and Bournemouth were relegated along with bottom club Norwich City.
Aston Villa survived thanks to a 1-1 draw at West Ham United which moved them to 35 points, one more than Bournemouth, who go down despite a 3-1 win at Everton and Watford who lost 3-2 at Arsenal.
A penalty from Bruno Fernandes and late goal from Jesse Lingard gave United the three points with a 2-0 win at Leicester City, who missed out on the Champions League by finishing fifth.
Chelsea ended in fourth spot after a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Reds sign off in style
Striker Divock Origi scored a rare goal as champions Liverpool came from behind to close out their magnificent Premier League season with a 3-1 win at Newcastle United on Sunday.
Liverpool ended the campaign on 99 points, 18 ahead of nearest rivals Manchester City while Newcastle finished 13th on 44 points.
Liverpool went behind to the fastest goal ever scored against them in the Premier League era as Dwight Gayle latched on to Jonjo Shelvey’s free kick and slotted it past Alisson with 26 seconds on the clock.
With Liverpool having made five changes to the team that started the 5-3 win over Chelsea on Wednesday, it fell to ever-present Virgil van Dijk to score the equaliser with a towering header seven minutes before halftime.
Belgian forward Origi, who had not scored in the league since bagging a brace against Everton on December 4, put the Reds in front in the 59th minute, cutting in from the left before curling the ball in at the far post.
Liverpool turned the screw by bringing on the attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in the 64th minute, and Newcastle struggled to deal with their clever movement.
Adopting a shoot-on-sight policy as he chased his 20th league goal of the season, Salah hit the post and it was Mane who fired home in the 89th minute to round off the season in style for the Reds.
City batter Norwich
Manchester City wrapped up their Premier League campaign with an emphatic 5-0 home victory over already-relegated Norwich City on Sunday in Spanish midfielder David Silva’s final league game for last season’s champions.
City’s goals came from Gabriel Jesus, a Kevin de Bruyne double, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez as they finished the season in second place with 81 points, 18 behind champions Liverpool. Norwich ended bottom of the standings on 21 points.
Spurs in Europa League
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur secured a place in the Europa League next season as they closed out their Premier League campaign with a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
Harry Kane’s sharp early strike gave Spurs the lead but Palace, desperate to avoid an eighth successive defeat, hit back to claim a deserved share of the spoils.
Jeffrey Schlupp was on hand to net the equaliser early in the second half when the visitors failed to clear a corner. With Palace already safe, despite their slump, it was all about Tottenham’s bid to finish in sixth above Wolverhampton Wanderers and guarantee a Europa League spot.
Meanwhile, Sheffield United’s hopes of finishing eighth in the Premier League standings were dashed after 1-3 defeat by Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.
While captain Jack Grealish struck Aston Villa’s goal in a nerve-jangling 1-1 draw at West Ham United that earned Dean Smith’s side another season of Premier League football.
Burnley suffered their first home defeat since New Year’s Day as they were beaten 2-1 by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Burnley finish the season in 10th place on 54 points while Brighton, who had flirted with relegation, conclude in the safety of 15th place.
Junior Stanislas scored a fine solo goal as Bournemouth fought gallantly but end their five-year stay in the Premier League with an entertaining 3-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. (Reuters)
