Liverpool secured a place in the top four on the last day of the Premier League on Sunday. Manager Jürgen Klopp’s team beat Crystal Palace in-house and even finished in third place. The retired national champion passed Chelsea, which lost 2-1 at Aston Villa at the same time. A defeat without consequences for the number four, as number five Leicester City twice gave away a lead against Tottenham Hotspur and even lost. West Ham United was 3-0 too strong for Southampton, finishes sixth and enters the Europa League.
Liverpool 2-0 Crystal Palace
The visitors, with Roy Hodgson for the last time on the bench, Jaïro Riedewald in the starting line-up and Patrick van Aanholt as a reserve, started the match at Anfield well. Alisson was put to work in the first minutes by Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend and the latter shot the ball just millimeters wide of the goal after fifteen minutes of play.
Liverpool, where Georginio Wijnaldum played his last game as a base force, then woke up with a start and was close to 1-0 via a header from Rhys Williams, and a chance for Mohamed Salah, followed by a save from goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, close to 1-0. . Crystal Palace made a hesitant impression in the back and the opening goal finally came after 36 minutes of play: the defense could not clear a corner properly, after which Sadio Mané did from close range what Roberto Firmino failed to do two seconds before.
Crystal Palace in the second half almost exclusively limited itself to holding back and finally got the 2-0 around fifteen minutes before the end. Liverpool broke out on the right via Salah, after which the ball eventually ended up with the detached Mane. The Senegalese’s cracked shot went into goal, much to Klopp’s relief.
Aston Villa – Chelsea 2-1
Prior to the final round in the Premier League, Chelsea had everything in their own hands to secure participation in the Champions League. A win at Aston Villa was enough for Thomas Tuchel’s team. The German coach kept Hakim Ziyech on the bench and saw how both teams struggled to win the game in the initial phase. Mason Mount fired wide from the edge of the box and an attempt by Bertrand Traoré could not be promoted to a goal. The same Traoré was accurate right after the break. The former Ajax player dropped around the penalty spot with a corner from Matt Tagett to leave Édouard Mendy without a chance with a left through the bottom of the crossbar: 1-0.
Chelsea came out particularly poorly and had to continue without Mendy after the break, who was injured in the dressing room and was replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga. The latter was already able to fish after five minutes in the second half, when Traoré was put down by Jorginho and Anwar El Ghazi was allowed to moor from eleven meters. The winger did not fail and sent Kepa into the wrong corner: 2-0. Chelsea seemed to come back into the game not much later with a goal from Timo Werner, but the striker hit from an offside position and saw referee Stuart Attwell cancel the goal. Tuchel then brought Ziyech in and saw how the attacking midfielder played an important part in the connection goals twenty minutes before the end.
Ziyech combined on the right side of the field with Christian Pulisic, after which the latter put the ball at the far post for Ben Chilwell. It was then a breeze for the fullback to suddenly slide the ball into the empty goal. Chelsea went in search of the equalizer in the final phase, but did not succeed and could thank Tottenham Hotspur for keeping Leicester City from a victory. César Azpilicueta saw red in the final minute for a striking movement towards Jack Grealish and was able to break in early. Tuchel’s team will play the last game of the season next week, when Manchester City is the opponent in the Champions League final.
Leicester City – Tottenham Hotspur 2-4
With Steven Bergwijn in the starting line-up, the team of manager Ryan Mason was at the kick-off in the King Power Stadium. The opening phase was not a feast for the eye for the neutral viewer and it took until the sixteenth minute before the first serious danger was created. Toby Alderweireld committed a foul on Jamie Vardy in the penalty area, but the moment was initially ignored by referee Anthony Taylor. On the advice of the video referee, Taylor gave a penalty, which was convincingly used by Vardy himself: 1-0.
The first half then seemed to go out like a candle, but Tottenham struck just before half time. After a blocky shot from Matt Doherty, Heung-min Son had the opportunity to bring the ball back from the back line. After a carom in front of the goal, Harry Kane completed the penalty spot: 1-1. Seven minutes after the break, Leicester took the lead again. Davinson Sánchez downed Vardy in the box, after which Taylor awarded a penalty. Again it was Vardy who left goalkeeper Hugo Lloris without a chance: 2-1.
Fifteen minutes before the end, Sánchez corrected his mistake. After a corner from Son, the former Ajax player entered the duel with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who completely missed the ball and hit the ball into his own goal: 2-2. The goal gave Tottenham wings, as the winning goal was found three minutes before the end of regular time. Gareth Bale, who had come on for Bergwijn, put the 2-3 on the scoreboard on a pass from Kane. In the sixth minute of injury time, Bale ended all tension by signing the 2-4.It was the 37th time that Kane had been involved in a goal in the current Premier League season, breaking his personal record (36) from the 2016/17 season. Thanks to the victory insured the Spurs, who finish seventh, themselves from a spot in the preliminary round of the Conference League; Leicester finishes in fifth place and qualifies for the group stage of the Europa League.
West Ham United – Southampton 3-0
The visit started strongly with a good opportunity for Takumi Minamino, but had to watch how West Ham took the lead after half an hour of play. Jarrod Bowen’s shot could initially be stopped by Alex McCarthy, but the Southampton goalie had no answer to the rebound of Pablo Fornals. When the same Fornals was accurate again barely three minutes later, the game seemed to be decided before half time. Vladimír Coufal took care of the preparatory work on the right side of the field, after which Fornals had only one foot movement to hit the first post: 2-0. In the second act, the better odds were for the visitors, but West Ham expanded the score. Declan Rice enjoyed a free pass on the right and hit the short corner: 3-0.
Leeds United – West Bromwich Albion 3-1
The home team thought it would take the lead in the seventh minute via Jack Harrison. His goal, however, was disallowed, as Rodrigo was offside earlier in the attack. The opening goal was found ten minutes later. Raphinha served Rodrigo from a corner, who nodded convincingly: 1-0. It was already the ninth assist for Raphinha this Premier League season. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (13) was the last player for Leeds in the 1998/99 season to prepare a further nine goals.
Three minutes before half time, Leeds, where Pascal Struijk was on the bench, doubled the lead. From about thirty meters, Kalvin Phillips was allowed to build for a free kick and he surprised goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the bottom left corner with a vicious bounce: 2-0. In the second company, Matt Phillips came close to the tying goal on behalf of West Brom, but he hit the post. The lead increased twelve minutes further at the hands of Patrick Bamford. The club top scorer scored 3-0 from eleven meters. West Brom found another hit in injury time: Hal Robson-Kanu put the 3-1 final score on the scoreboard. Leeds finishes in ninth position in the ranking; West Brom was already certain of relegation.
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