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  • Writer's pictureThe Season Ticket

Football | Liverpool finish third, Chelsea finish fourth on final day

Liverpool have finished third in the Premier League and qualified for next season's Champions League after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Anfield on the final day of the season.

Sadio Mane scored a brace for the Reds to seal a top four place for Jurgen Klopp's hosts.

Chelsea will join Liverpool, Manchester United and Premier League winners Manchester City in next season's Champions League after finishing fourth.

Thomas Tuchel's side suffered a 2-1 away defeat to Aston Villa, but Leicester City's 4-2 home defeat to Spurs means the Foxes were forced to settle for fifth and Europa League qualification.

Elsewhere, West Ham overcame Southampton 3-0 in London to finish sixth and book their place in the Europa League next season, while Spurs' aforementioned win over Leicester sees them finish seventh and qualify for the inaugural UEFA Conference League.

Full round up

Liverpool entered Sunday's final round of fixtures knowing a win would guarantee them a top four position.

Despite suffering a few early scares, the dominant Reds took the lead in the 36th minute, with Mane bundling the ball into the net from close range after Roberto Firmino flicked on a corner at the back post.

The Senegal international then put the game beyond doubt in the 74th minute, firing a deflected left-footed effort into the bottom corner from 20 yards after brilliant work from Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool's win, combined with results elsewhere, sees the injury-plagued Merseyside club finish the season in third place.

Leicester, who needed to win and hope that either Chelsea or Liverpool slipped up, made an excellent start against Spurs at the King Power Stadium.

Jamie Vardy gave the hosts the lead from the penalty spot after 18 minutes; the English striker dusting himself down to score from 12 yards after a clumsy trip from Toby Alderweireld.

Harry Kane bagged his 22nd league goal of the season, the one which would ultimately earn him the Golden Boot, with a clinically dispatched volley in the 41st minute to draw Ryan Mason's visitors level.

Vardy scored his second penalty after being tugged back in the box by Davinson Sanchez seven minutes after the restart, but Spurs were gifted an equaliser when Kasper Schmeichel horribly misjudged a corner and inadvertently punched the ball into his ow net.

Spurs' super sub Gareth Bale then came off the bench to score two late goals for the away side, rifling home Kane's cut back before tapping into an empty net late on after seeing his initial effort come back off the post.

Leicester's defeat spared Chelsea's blushes.

The Blues went 2-0 down to Aston Villa, with Bertrand Traore's half-volley from a corner giving Dean Smith's hosts the lead, before Anwar El-Ghazi doubled Villa's lead from the penalty spot.

Ben Chilwell pulled a goal back for Tuchel's men, who finish fourth despite ending their league campaign in defeat.

Chelsea's upcoming Champions League final opponents Manchester City finished their title-winning season off in style.

Pep Guardiola's men demolished Everton 5-0 in Manchester to cap off a fantastic domestic season.

Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden all found the net for the hosts, before substitute Sergio Aguero scored an excellent double in his final Premier League appearance.

West Ham saw off Southampton comfortably, with a Pablo Fornals double and a rare goal from Declan Rice earning all three points for the Hammers at the London Stadium.

Nicolas Pepe kept his fine goalscoring run going with a well-taken double for Arsenal in the Gunners' 2-0 win over Brighton at the Emirates.

Manchester United also ended their season with a 2-1 win over Wolves at Molineux, with young prospect Anthony Elanga scoring his first goal for the Red Devils. Nelson Semedo drew Wolves level in Nuno's final match as manager, before Juan Mata secured all three points for United with a second half penalty.

Republic of Ireland international David McGoldrick scored an excellent curling strike from 25 yards to give relegated Sheffield United a 1-0 win over Burnley.

Elsewhere, Rodrigo, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford found the net as Leeds defeated West Brom 3-1 at Elland Road, with Hal Robson-Kanu scoring a consolation goal for the Baggies.

At Craven Cottage, Joe Willock scored for the seventh consecutive game for Newcastle, embarking on a brilliant solo run and smashing home from 20 yards to give the Magpies the lead against Fulham.

Fabian Schar then put the game beyond doubt with a coolly taken penalty to heap more misery on Fulham.

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