London: Liverpool finished third on the table with 69 points following its 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday.Chelsea lost 1-2 at Aston Villa, but sealed a spot in the top-four as Leicester City went down to Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at the King Power Stadium. At the end of 38 games, Chelsea earned 67 points, one more than Leicester.
West Ham United, which had 65 points after its 3-0 win over Southampton at the London Stadium, qualified for the Europa League alongside Leicester. Tottenham, with 62 points, took the Europa Conference League slot, finishing just ahead of Arsenal that had one less.
Arsenal ended its campaign on a high with a 2-0 success against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium. At the top of the table, champion Manchester City thrashed Everton 5-0 in what was striker Sergio Aguero’s last game for the club. Second-placed Manchester United posted a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
At Anfield, Sadio Mane (36’ and 74’) bagged a brace to send Liverpool into the Champions League. In its match, Chelsea was in a spot of bother as Bertrand Traore (43’) and Anwar El Ghazi (52’ P) gave Villa a two-goal lead. The away side pulled one back via Ben Chilwell in the 70th minute, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
However, the result was enough since Tottenham did its London neighbour a favour. Gareth Bale (87’ and 90+6’) netted a double, while Harry Kane got one. Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel scored an own goal in the 76th minute, which cost his side horribly at the end. Striker Jamie Vardy (18’P and 52’P) converted two penalties for Leicester. Pablo Fornals (30’ and 33’) and Declan Rice (86’) got on the scoresheet for West Ham against Southampton.
Atletico Madrid clinched its 11th La Liga title after securing a 2-1 away win at Real Valladolid in its final game of the season on Saturday. Atletico finished on 86 points, two more than second-placed Real Madrid, which came from behind to defeat Villarreal 2-1 at home. Barcelona, which ended its campaign with a 1-0 victory at Eibar, finished third in the standings with 79 points. Occupying the final three positions on the table, Huesca, Valladolid and Eibar were relegated from the Spanish first division.
The Valladolid-Atletico match had a twist at the beginning, with the host opening the scoring in the 18th minute via Oscar Plano. But, the tourist, which went into the break with a one-goal deficit, turned things around in the second half. Angel Correa (57’) and Luis Suarez (67’) struck within a span of 10 minutes to help Atletico earn the La Liga crown.