GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Aston Villa (Semenyo, 23 mins)
A corner from the left bounces through to Semenyo at the far post, and he pops it neatly back across the keeper and in!
4.23pm Everton should be down to 10 men at Spurs, thanks to Rohl’s terrible (in slow motion, at least) challenge on Van de Ven. But somehow Everton get the free-kick and VAR doesn’t intervene.
4.22pm A brilliant chance for Liverpool, but Szoboszlai slides the ball across goal and wide.
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Newcastle (Diop, 20 mins)
4.20pm Another free-kick hits the woodwork with the keeper beaten! This time it’s from Fulham’s Kevin, who forces Pope into a full-length dive in an effort to keep the ball out, but then it hits the woodwork and rebounds to Diop, who heads into a completely empty net.
4.20pm Mo Salah hits the post! It’s a free kick, just outside the penalty area, and Salah curls it towards the near post and, with the keeper beaten, it bounces clear!
4.17pm Now a chance for West Ham! The ball bounces to Pablo, 15 yards out, and it may well have been goalbound – the player’s reaction suggests it probably was – before it hit Struijk. After it hit Struijk, though, it wasn’t.
4.15pm Chance for Spurs! The ball bounces through to Joao Palhinha, beyond the far post, but he blasts a volley over the bar!
4.13pm Another incredible chance for Arsenal, who play Jesus through on goal, one on one, and there’s a teammate to his left for him to square it to if he wants to absolutely guarantee a goal. Instead, though, he delays his shot and Henderson saves.
4.10pm Massive chance for Leeds! Justin’s mishit shot comes quickly to Nmecha, just outside the six-yard box, and really he only has to divert it on target to give the visitors the lead at West Ham! But, well, he can’t, not even nearly.
GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Wolves (Armstrong penalty, 5 mins)
Ye olde VAR handball penalty decision, is it? The defender’s arm was in an unnatural position, but the ball was headed into it from no distance at all, and it continues to be a bit rum that such a thing is rewarded with an uncontested shot on goal from 12 yards. Anyway, Adam Armstrong converts.
4.07pm: And Arsenal hit the post! Jesus really should have scored that, but he very coolly and deliberately sidefooted into the woodwork.
4.07pm: History! This from AP on a big day for Max Dowman:
Arsenal winger Max Dowman became the youngest player to start a Premier League match Sunday when, at 16 years and 144 days, he played for the newly crowned champions against Crystal Palace on the final day of the season.
In March, Dowman became the league’s youngest-ever scorer with a remarkable stoppage-time goal in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton after coming off the bench.
Also this season, he became the youngest player in Champions League history — at 15 years, 308 days — after entering as a second-half substitute against Slavia Prague in November.
Dowman is still in school . To abide by Premier League regulations for players under 18, Dowman has to change into his Arsenal uniform for training sessions and matches in a separate locker room than his senior teammates.
Arsenal will lift the Premier League trophy after the game against Palace.
4.05pm: No early breakthroughs. Leeds have started their game at West Ham on the front foot, but no shots as of yet.
Kick-off!
4pm: Peeeeeeep! It is time.
While I gamely attempt to keep abreast of the full 10 matches this afternoon, Scott Murray is luxuriating in a full focus on Tottenham v Everton. Here’s his liveblog:
“I’ve been giddily happy since Tuesday night,” writes Arsenal fan Kari Tulinius. “But this morning I woke up feeling melancholy. I didn’t support an English team growing up, but after moving back home to Iceland in 2010 after spending most of a decade in the US, my friend Ásgeir suggested I come with him every weekend to watch the Premier League. He was an Arsenal fan since childhood, and slowly but surely he converted me. This is the first league title they’ve won since then, but my friend, who I talked or messaged with during and after nearly every Arsenal game, passed away last year. So I’m sitting down now to watch with a Czech beer, his favourite tipple, to which he converted me too, and I’ll be thinking of the messages I would’ve been sending him. What a glorious day, nonetheless.”
Beautiful message, Kari. A long time has passed since Arsenal’s last win, long enough I think for many Gunners fans to be negotiating similar emotions today. All the best to you all.
Nuno Espirito Santos talks through West Ham’s approach to their game against Leeds:
It’s our last chance. We’re good and we’re ready to go. Let’s see what happens. The same approach that we’ve been trying: starting the game well, trying to score first. Let’s wait and see. The belief is there. It’s not going to be easy. Leeds are a good team. We want to score as soon as possible, but we need to be ready for every scenario. We prepared the team to try to win the game, it can be the first or the last minute. It’s up to us to deliver.
Here’s a report on Bolton’s League One play-off final victory over Stockport. I thought the late VAR red card and penalty was complete rubbish, but the game was won by then.
With Sam Dalby’s second-half overhead kick, Bolton could start to plan their return to the Championship, a division they left in 2019 as a club in turmoil. After administration, last-minute sales, emergency loans, points deductions and a spell in League Two, they have found their way back.
Stockport, themselves a club on the rise following financial trouble that took them down to the sixth tier, were game opponents in Bolton’s second League One playoff final in three years but were overpowered at Wembley. With the score level at 1-1 after an hour, Steven Schumacher sent on Sam Dalby and by the 81st minute the substitute had stretched Bolton’s lead to 3-1 with a picture-book goal. Rúben Rodrigues’s late penalty against 10 men added gloss to the scoreline.
Much more here:
Guardiola: ‘The future will be better without me’
Pep Guardiola has a chat with Sky:
I’m good. Trying to focus on the game. It’s not easy, with many things happening around it. Not just me, Bernardo and John and some people from the staff. But yeah, try to enjoy, with my family, and an amount of people that I love.
There’s a football game, and we don’t want to make a bad last game. I’d have loved to have the chance today to play against Arsenal, but there are a lot of things around.
And on whether this is absolutely, definitely, the time to leave:
Now is the time, I’m pretty sure. Once we announced I thought, maybe I was wrong. The past has been really good with us, but the future will be better without me. You have to have a special energy..
“We can be niggly, we can be horrible, we can play different types of football, and we’ll have to show all of those attributes today,” says Brentford’s Keith Andrews of his side’s challenge at Anfield.
Could this sign hold the answer to the mystery of Mikel Arteta’s disappearing grey kecks?
“You never know when we’ll have a chance like we have today, to fight for a Champions League spot,” says Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. “We should be aware of all the things that are happening on other pitches but we cannot lose focus. It won’t be easy, playing Forest away, last game. We have to play very well if we want the right result.”
Interesting Spurs line-up, that, with Pedro Porro predicted to start on the right wing with England’s Djed Spence at right-back, and the absolutely-dreadful-every-time-I’ve-seen-him Randal Kolo Muani taking his rightful place on the bench. They can only be stronger as a result.
An email! Um, about Mikel Arteta’s trousers! “On what we all knew would be the Arsenal manager’s red-letter day, Arteta has surprised us all by changing his trousers and making it instead a black-trouser day,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Two observations: The grey ones were certainly overdue a wash and probably a stitch or two after another stressful season. And wouldn’t it be nice if he’d just sit down for this game and let his players enjoy themselves playing football?” This is the level of attention to (irrelevant) detail I’m looking for, well played.
“We’ve analysed them and wingers are crucial for getting a result against them,” says Arne Slot of Brentford, explaining his decision to start Mo Salah in the Egyptian’s final game for Liverpool.
All the teams (eventually)
The teams have all been named and filed, and I’m sticking them in here. You may need to refresh to see the later additions.
Brighton v Manchester United
Brighton: Verbruggen, Milner, Van Hecke, Dunk, De Cuyper, Gross, Wiefer, Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Gomez, Welbeck. Subs: Steele, March, Rutter, Minteh, Baleba, Kostoulas, Boscagli, O’Reilly Veltman.
Manchester United: Lammens, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Mount, Mainoo, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Dorgu, Mbeumo. Subs: Bayindir, Cunha, Zirkzee, Malacia, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Fletcher, Lacey.
Referee: Sam Barrott. Assistants: Simon Bennett, Blake Antrobus. Fourth official: Ruebyn Ricardo. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Steve Meredith.
Burnley v Wolves
Burnley: Weiss, Walker, Tuanzebe, Ugochukwu, Anthony, Humphreys, Florentino, Tchaouna, Flemming, Pires, Mejbri. Subs: Dubravka, Bruun Larsen, Edwards, Roberts, Ekdal, Ward-Prowse, Amdouni, Laurent, Barnes.
Wolves: Sa, Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Rodrigo Gomes, Andre, Angel Gomes, Mane, Hwang, Armstrong. Subs: Bentley, Lima, Tchatchoua, Toti, Hugo Bueno, Sutherland, Abbey, Edozie, Arokodare.
Referee: Andrew Kitchen. Assistants: Wade Smith, Andrew Dallison. Fourth official: Adam Herczeg. VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis. Assistant VAR: Neil Davies.
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Clyne, Lerma, Riad, Cardines, Hughes, Kamada, Devenny, Sarr, Strand Larsen. Subs: Benitez, Lacroix, Mitchell, Pino, Johnson, Mateta, Wharton, Canvot, Guessand.
Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, Zubimendi, Mosquera, Hinapie, Calafiori, Norgaard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Madueke, Martinelli, Jesus. Subs: Setford, Gyokeres, Gabriel, Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Merino, Havertz, Rice.
Referee: Farai Hallam. Assistants: Marc Perry, Mat Wilkes. Fourth official: Tom Nield. VAR: Nick Hopton. Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor.
Fulham v Newcastle
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Iwobi, Bobb, Smith Rowe, Kevin, Muniz. Subs: Lecomte, Tete, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed, Cairney, King, Wilson, Jimenez.
Newcastle: Pope, Hall, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Tonali, Murphy, Woltemade, Ramsey, Osula. Subs: Ramsdale, Trippier, Wissa, Gordon, Barnes, Elanga, Willock, A.Murphy, Neave.
Referee: Rob Jones. Assistants: Nick Greenhalgh, Sian Massey-Ellis. Fourth official: Sam Allison. VAR: James Bell. Assistant VAR: Peter Wright.
Liverpool v Brentford
Liverpool: Alisson; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Gakpo. Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Wirtz, Isak, Chiesa, Frimpong, Nyoni.
Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Henderson, Jensen; Ouattara, Thiago, Schade. Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Dasilva, Nelson, Ajer, Damsgaard, Donovan, Furo.
Referee: Darren England. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Akil Howson. Fourth official: Tom Kirk. VAR: Tony Harrington. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes.
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Manchester City: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Ruben Dias, Ake; Savinho, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva; Semenyo, Foden. Subs: Ait-Nouri, Bettinelli, Cherki, Doku, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Alleyne, Marmoush, Nunes.
Aston Villa: Bizot; Garcia, Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen; Bailey, Bogarde, Barjkley, Buendia; Douglas Luiz; Watkins. Subs: Burrowes, Cash, Digne, Pau Torres, Hemmings, McGinn, Onana, Tielemens, Wright.
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Richard West, Simon Long. Fourth official: David Webb. VAR: Tim Wood. Assistant VAR: Jarred Gillett.
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson. Jesus. Wood. Subs: Ortega; Awoniyi, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Abbott, Sillah.
Bournemouth: Petrovic, Hill, Sensi, Smith, Truffert, Adams, Scott, Tavernier, Kroupi, Rayan, Evanilson. Subs: Mandas, Cook, Toth, Diakite, Brooks, Unal, Kluivert, Adli, Gannon-Doak.
Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Lee Betts, Alistair Nelson. Fourth official: Gavin Ward. VAR: Paul Howard. Assistant VAR: Natalie Aspinall.
Sunderland v Chelsea
Sunderland: Roefs, Geertruida, Mukiele, O’Nien, Mandova, Xhaka, Sadiki, Hume, Le Fee, Angulo, Brobbey. Subs: Ellborg, Alderete, Cirkin, Mayenda, Rigg, Diarra, Traore, Isador, Ta Bi.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Fofana, Colwill, Hato, Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Cucurella, Palmer, Neto, Joao Pedro. Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Chalobah, James, Derry, Essugo, Santos, Garnacho, Delap.
Referee: Chis Kavanagh. Assistants: Dan Cook, Ian Hussin. Fourth official: Lewis Smith. VAR: Matthew Donohue. Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart.
Tottenham v Everton
Tottenham: Kinsky; Spence, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Joao Palhinha; Porro, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison. Subs: Bergvall, Bissouma, Dragusin, Gray, Kolo Muani, Maddison, Sarr, Solanke, Vicario.
Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam; Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry. Subs: Alcaraz, Armstrong, Aznou, Coleman, Dibling, George, Beto, McNeil, Travers.
Referee: Michael Oliver (pictured). Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Bobby Madley. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
West Ham United v Leeds United
West Ham: Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Soucek, Mateus Fernandes; Bowen, Pablo, Summervilla; Castellanos. Subs: Areola, Kante, Kilman, Lamadrid, Magassa, Potts, Scarles, Wan-Bissaka, Wilson.
Leeds: Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Justin; Ampadu, Nmecha, Tanaka; Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson. Subs: Bornauw, Buonanotte, Byram, Chadwick, Cresswell, Perri, Gnonto, James, Piroe.
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Steve Martin. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.
Today’s top-flight fixtures in full:
Brighton v Manchester United
Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Fulham v Newcastle
Liverpool v Brentford
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Sunderland v Chelsea
Tottenham v Everton
West Ham United v Leeds United
Hello world!
So, today is the day. No more procrastination, an end to doubt and vacillation. The single remaining relegation spot is by a margin the most significant position to be decided, and the crux of it is this: West Ham will go down if they don’t beat Leeds at home. They will also go down if Tottenham beat Everton at home, or if Spurs draw and West Ham win by fewer than 12 (twelve) goals. (The biggest margin of victory in the history of the Premier League is 9-0; in the history of the entire Football League there have been four victories by a margin big enough to save West Ham should Spurs win today, the most recent 80 years ago).
Meanwhile, though we know that Arsenal will finish first, Manchester City second and Manchester United third, no other position in the entire league is already determined. Liverpool need a point to seal a Champions League place, but if they beat Brentford at home and fourth-placed Aston Villa lose at Manchester City they would go to fourth, Villa drop to fifth and, thanks to Villa’s Europa League victory, a sixth Champions League spot will open up.
Bournemouth need a point at Nottingham Forest to be sure of finishing sixth, but if they lose Brighton would overtake them if they beat Manchester United at home. Chelsea need to beat Sunderland to be sure of European football, and Sunderland need to beat Chelsea if they are to have a chance of qualification themselves. If they draw Brentford would leapfrog Chelsea with a win at Anfield, but the point would still take Chelsea above Brighton if the Seagulls lose by at least two goals. A draw wouldn’t do Sunderland any good at all, and there will be no last-day gifts for them: if the Premier League gets an extra Champions League spot they will not also get an extra place in the Europa League. That whole seventh-to-10th area of the table is essentially a bit complicated.
And at the bottom, Burnley host Wolves in a wooden spoon playoff.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will be presented with their trophy after the final whistle at Selhurst Park, when Oliver Glasner will also wave goodbye to the home fans, while Pep Guardiola will bid farewell to the Etihad after City’s game against Villa and Andoni Iraola will take charge of Bournemouth for the final time. Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will play at Anfield for the final time (for Liverpool, at least).
