Manchester City finish third behind Chelsea and Spurs
London: The top English clubs ended their EPL campaign Sunday with most of them registering convincing win. Most importantly, however, Liverpool returned to the Champions League with a 3-0 win over already-relegated Middlesbrough. The Reds thus pipped Arsenal to fifth spot which meant that the Gunners will be out of Europe’s premier tournament for the first time in 20 years.
Juergen Klopp’s side looked edgy early on but the tension was lifted just before half time when Dutchman Georgino Wijnaldum scored from a clever pass by Roberto Firmino. In the second half Philippe Coutinho curled in a direct free-kick and Adam Lallana added a third goal.
Klopp praised ‘an outstanding job’ by his players in reaching the Champions League for only the second time in eight seasons. “We had a lot of injuries and played without a lot of key players,” he told ‘Sky Sports’. “To be ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United is a really hard job.”
Ten-man Arsenal beat Everton 3-1 to complete their Premier League campaign with a fifth successive win but there was no last-day reprieve for their top-four hopes. First half goals by Hector Bellerin and Alexis Sanchez and a stoppage time effort by Aaron Ramsey sealed the win, but that was of no use to the Gunners. It was their lowest finish in the league table at fifth since Arsene Wenger arrived in 1996.
Meanwhile Paul Pogba was back in action after his father’s demise as Manchester United ended their campaign with a 2-0 win over Crystal palace at Old Trafford.
Pogba played in Josh Harrop with a curling through ball in the 15th minute and the 21-year-old cut in from the left to give United the lead with a powerful shot and mark his senior debut with a goal. Pogba doubled United’s lead minutes later after Jesse Lingard drove at Palace’s defence before playing a square pass that the Frenchman slotted home after a slip by Joel Ward.
Meanwhile, Manchester City made sure of third place in the Premier League when they romped to a 5-0 win at Watford. They were already 4-0 up at the break at Vicarage Road and finished the season with 78 points, ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal and behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
City were in rampaging form from the start with Vincent Kompany striking in the fifth minute with a header off a corner. Sergio Aguero (23rd, 33rd) added to the tally and Fernandinho (41st) and Gabriel Jesus (58th) completed the rout.
Kane tops chart
Meanwhile Harry Kane helped himself to a second hat-trick in four days as ruthless Tottenham Hotspur smashed relegated Hull City 7-1 to end the Premier League season in style.
England striker Kane finished with 29 league goals, winning the ‘Golden Boot’ ahead of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.
Dele Alli, Victor Wanyama, Ben Davies and Toby Alderweireld were also on target for the visitors, who were already guaranteed to finish second to champions Chelsea, while Sam Clucas’s second half strike was a rare highlight for the home fans.
Kane is only the fifth player to win the Premier League’s Golden Boot in successive seasons. The others to have achieved the feat are Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.
End of a 22-yr career: Chelsea give Terry a winning send off
Chelsea celebrated their title and captain John Terry’s last game at Stamford Bridge with a 5-1 defeat of relegated Sunderland, Sunday, bringing their season’s Premier League win tally to a record 30 games.
A third-minute goal on the rebound from Sunderland’s Javier Manquillo did not mar the festivities and five minutes later Willian equalized after sustained Chelsea pressure.
Most of the Chelsea players, as though warming up for the FA Cup final next Saturday, had a pop at the beleaguered Sunderland goal during the game.
Eden Hazard made it 2-1 with a classic low shot into the bottom corner, Pedro scored a third goal with a header in the 77th and Michy Batshuayi added two late goals before officials wheeled on a mobile stage for the trophy presentation.
Antonio Conte, aiming for the double in his first season in charge, brought Terry off in the 26th minute – his shirt number – to a standing ovation. The former England captain wept as he hugged his teammates and brought to an end a 22-year career at Stamford Bridge.
After the game, microphone in hand, Terry finally cracked during the trophy ceremony, breaking down as he thanked everyone from his teammates to the club’s super-rich owner, Roman Abramovich.
Thank you will never ever be enough, but I’ll tell you what: I’ll be back here one day. I’m going to be supporting the players and the club from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much, I love you all: John Terry
