Author – Amrit Santlani
The final round of Premier League matches took place on Sunday. Manchester City may have won the league, but there was plenty to fight for in terms of a place in the UEFA Conference League, with Aston Villa, Tottenham and Brentford all in contention. Southampton had already been relegated, but Leicester City, Leeds United and Everton were involved in a dogged race to avoid relegation in the final round.
As fate would have it, Aston Villa booked their place in the UECL with a 2-1 win over Brighton, which ensured their passage to the Europa League group stage despite the defeat. Villa finished the season in seventh place, just one point behind Brighton, who finished the campaign in sixth place.
Brentford beat newly crowned champions Manchester City 1-0 to become the first team to beat Pep Guardiola’s side this season, having won the previous game 2-1, but it wasn’t enough to fulfill their European ambitions as Thomas Frank’s side finished the campaign in 9th place with 59 points.
Tottenham, meanwhile, recorded a crushing 4-1 win over Leeds United, although it wasn’t enough for Spurs to clinch a place in the UECL, as they missed out by a single point, ending the season on 60 points.
However, the defeat confirmed Leeds’ relegation to League One, along with Leicester City, who beat West Ham United 2-1 but only reached 34 points. Everton pulled off a great comeback by beating Bournemouth 1-0 to reach 36 points and extend their stay in the top flight.
Aston Villa secure place in Europa League Conference; Spurs and Brentford miss out
Despite winning their respective games on matchday 38 of the Premier League, Spurs and Brentford lost their European ambitions as Unai Emery’s Aston Villa secured the Europa Conference after a 2-1 win over Brighton.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz opened the scoring in the 8th minute and Ollie Watkins doubled the lead for Emery’s side. Deniz Undav pulled one back for his side in the 38th minute, but neither team managed to trouble the scorers after that and the match ended 2-1. The win helped Villa jump up to 7th place with 61 points, one point ahead of Spurs.
Ryan Mason’s side ended a tumultuous campaign on a high by scoring four goals against hapless Leeds United. Harry Kane scored twice, while Pedro Porro and Lucas Moura also found the net. Brazilian full-back Moura is on the verge of leaving the club and scored in his last game for the team, while his fellow countryman Richarlison came off the bench but missed two good chances to score, while Emerson played well throughout the ninety minutes.
Leeds United and Leicester City go down without a hitch
Jack Harrison scored a consolation goal for Leeds in the 4-1 defeat to Spurs that sealed their drop to the second division. Sam Allardyce’s side finished the campaign with just 31 points from 38 games, in second place. Above them, Leicester City, the great entertainers of the Premier League, who lived a fairytale just seven seasons ago, also suffered the fall.
The Foxes beat West Ham 2-1, with Harvey Barnes and Wout Faes scoring the two goals, before Pablo Fornals pulled one back for the Hammers. They needed Everton to drop points, but the Tofees’ win over Bournemouth meant that Leicester missed out on safety by just two points.
Meanwhile, Southampton, already relegated, were held to a surprising 4-4 draw by Liverpool. Kamaldeen Sulemana scored twice for the Saints, with James Ward-Prowse and Adam Armstrong also scoring.