LONDON: Liverpool and Chelsea seized the final two Champions League places in a dramatic end to the Premier League season on Sunday, leaving Leicester heartbroken for the second consecutive campaign.
With Manchester City already guaranteed a third title in four years and Manchester United certain to finish second, the focus was on the battle for the final two places in the top four.
Heading into the 38th and last round of fixtures, just one point separated Chelsea in third place from Leicester in fifth.
Two Sadio Mane goals gave Liverpool a 2-0 win at home to Crystal Palace while Thomas Tuchel’s side were indebted to a late Leicester collapse against Tottenham at the King Power Stadium.
Chelsea lost 2-1 at Aston Villa but were saved by the 4-2 defeat for Brendan Rodgers’ FA Cup winners.
Jurgen Klopp’s men had to celebrate the club’s first league triumph for 30 years in an empty stadium last season and their Premier League title defense was blown off course by a series of long-term injuries to key players.
But they avoided the financial hit of missing out on Europe’s premier club competition by finding their form in the final months of the season, winning eight of their last 10 games to finish third.
“Outstanding, best I could’ve dreamt of — we wanted this feeling, this game, this atmosphere,” Klopp told the BBC.
“Finishing the season in third is incredible, I can’t believe it — credit to the boys. I can’t believe how it worked out in the last few weeks, incredible.”
Tuchel’s side were on the brink of missing out on a top-four finish, trailing at Villa Park as goals from Bertrand Traore and Anwar El Ghazi were followed by Ben Chilwell’s strike for Chelsea.
But in the end they were saved by the Leicester result and they finished fourth, meaning they can now focus on next weekend’s Champions League final against Manchester City knowing they are in the competition next season.
Tuchel admitted Chelsea had been “lucky” to qualify.
“We had enough chances,” he said. “We did not score, conceded two cheap goals and it was a defeat in the end. We are lucky to escape today.
“We did not hit the target, the last touch was not precise enough. It was a very strong last half an hour and we had two big chances to score. We fought, tried everything but forgot to score.”
Leicester were left to dwell on another agonizing near-miss, just a week after winning the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
The club, forced to settle for a Europa League spot, also missed out on the top four on the final day of last season when they were beaten by Manchester United.
Leicester ended with more days in the Premier League’s top four than any other side this season.
The Foxes appeared to be on the brink of a stunning end to the season after Jamie Vardy’s second goal from the penalty spot put them 2-1 in front but a Kasper Schmeichel own goal and two late Gareth Bale strikes made it 4-2 for Spurs.
West Ham also secured a Europa League spot by beating Southampton 3-0 while Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield United had already been relegated.
Sergio Aguero scored two goals on his final appearance for Manchester City in their 5-0 romp against Everton after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Everton were overwhelmed on an emotional occasion, with City presented with the Premier League trophy and fans returning to the stadium after 14 months away due to coronavirus restrictions.
Only 10,000 were permitted inside the Etihad but the atmosphere they generated inspired the team and few left before the post-match ceremonies, which included tributes to Aguero.
Harry Kane won his third Golden Boot award, finishing one ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on 23 goals after his strike in Tottenham’s win.
Liverpool and Chelsea seal Champions League places in last-day drama
https://arab.news/v88xz
Liverpool and Chelsea seal Champions League places in last-day drama
- Leicester miss out on the top four for the second year running after collapsing against Tottenham
- Chelsea lost 2-1 at Aston Villa but were saved by Spurs's win
Last-gasp strike keeps Al-Nassr top of SPL in Ronaldo’s absence
- Luis Maximiano denied Al-Nassr 9 times on nine occasions before Mohamed Simakan scored in stoppage time
- Al-Qadsiah still seek to mount unlikely title challenge after defeating Al-Kholood 4-1
DAMMAM: There was a sense of concern in the Al-Nassr camp this week. Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury was deemed more serious than initially believed by Jorge Jesus, prompting the Portuguese star to travel to Spain for treatment.
That meant that Al-Nassr’s pursuit of the title would be hindered by the absence of their leading scorer.
It was only last month, however, that Ronaldo missed two league games for Al-Nassr due to his dissatisfaction with the club’s performance during the winter transfer window. Al-Nassr won both games, but Ronaldo returned to silence his doubters, scoring four across their next five fixtures.
The reality is that after a mid-season blip, Jesus has revived the spirit within his squad. Al-Nassr came into their clash against Neom on a 10-game winning streak. It was the second time this season they had reached that mark, before Al-Ettifaq halted their run with a draw in late December.
This time, Al-Nassr were determined to break that 10-match ceiling. Standing in their way was a Neom side stuck in mid-table but talented enough to cause problems and playing with little pressure.
Replacing Ronaldo was Abdullah Al-Hamdan. After scoring the decisive goal against Arkadag in the AFC Champions League Two Round of 16 first leg — as well as the strike that sealed Al-Nassr’s victory against Al-Fayha last week — optimism around the former Al-Hilal forward was high.
Unfortunately for Al-Hamdan, he was brought back down to earth. Five attempts on goal — including a poor effort in the 63rd minute after what had been Al-Nassr’s clearest opportunity — summed up his evening. He was replaced moments later by Abdulrahman Ghareeb as Al-Nassr searched for new solutions to break down Christophe Galtier’s side.
Neom proved difficult to dismantle as a unit and even tougher in individual duels. Despite Al-Nassr focusing much of their attacking play down the left to exploit the space behind Mohammed Al-Burayk, the trio of Amadou Kone, Awn Al-Saluli and Nathan Zeze repeatedly shut them down.
Angelo Gabriel’s return to the starting line-up was a welcome sight for Al-Nassr supporters but although he posed a threat and showed flashes of creativity on the ball, the hosts were wasteful in front of goal. With 24 shots and nine saves by Luis Maximiano, it felt like a game where a draw would feel like defeat.
Joao Felix was by far Al-Nassr’s most influential attacking outlet. His subtle movement between the lines created passing options through Neom’s defensive block and he threatened Maximiano’s goal on several occasions occasion, though without success.
Most notably, two shots within the space of a minute saw Felix denied by the Portuguese goalkeeper. Al-Nassr threw numbers forward, practically stationed on the edge of the box, but he remained unbeatable.
The final 10 minutes saw the Neom goalkeeper kick into a different gear. In the 83rd minute, Angelo wriggled into the box and delivered a low cross to Sadio Mane, whose close-range effort was parried away. A minute later, Felix found himself on the edge of the six-yard box with a clear sight of goal, only for Maximiano to produce a stunning save with his shin.
In the final moments of the game, it seemed that Jorge Jesus and Al-Nassr had finally learned from their earlier frustrations and Al-Nassr finally found their way past Maximiano in stoppage time.
It was none other than Felix who created the breakthrough, delivering a dangerous cross from a free-kick, but it was not an attacker who applied the finish.
Mohamed Simakan rose above the Neom defense to power home the header at the death, sealing a 1-0 victory and securing the all-important three points to keep Al-Nassr’s advantage at the top of the table.
Elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Qadsiah continue to keep the pressure on the top three, with a decisive 4-1 victory against Al-Kholood, which was due to be played on Thursday before Al-Qadsiah’s initial flight to Qassim. Mateo Retegui and Julian Quinones both scored a brace on the road to victory.
Meanwhile, Al-Okhdood suffered a damaging 5-0 defeat to Al-Fayha to remain deep in the relegation zone, while Al-Ettifaq and Al-Shabab shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at E’GO Stadium in Dammam.
With the conclusion of Matchday 25, the title race is set to intensify with nine match weeks remaining. Al-Nassr remain top on 64 points, with Al-Ahli in second on 62, Al-Hilal in third on 61 and Al-Qadsiah in fourth on 57.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Thursday, with the Eastern Province playing host to all title contenders. On Friday, Al-Qadsiah host Al-Ahli in Dammam before Saturday sees Al-Fateh welcome Al-Hilal and Al-Khaleej take on Al-Nassr.
