Key events
Match reports
John McGinn’s reaction
It’s tough to take in the circumstances. Man Utd deserved to win, they were the better team, but the decision [to disallow Morgan Rogers’ goal at 0-0] is incredible. I know this is the rule [that if the whistle is blown, VAR can’t get involved], I’ve seen it a couple of times, but it’s so, so hard to take, especially when the impact is so big. For Thomas to blow his whistle at that point… phwoar, it’s really tough to handle.
We didn’t deserve to win the game but at that point you’re 1-0 up with 20 to go, and all you need is a point to get in the Champions League. It’s a really costly one. I think moving forward-
At this point the interview cuts out, no idea why.
Trent Alexander-Arnold gets one of the loudest cheers as he goes up to collect his medal. He pats the badge, then kisses it after receiving his medal. Jurgen Klopp looks really emotional; I wonder how much today’s reception is down to him.
No time to dwell on that because the biggest cheer of all is imminent. Virgil van Dijk collects the Premier League trophy and lifts it skyward. Liverpool are the champions of England again!
Liverpool’s players are back on the field, ready to get their hands on 25.4kg of job satisfaction: the Premier League trophy. They started superbly, went up a gear around Christmas and won the title at a canter.
Premier League top scorers 2024-25
Spoiler alert…
Amorim: The good days are coming
We’ll stay at Old Trafford, mainly to hear Unai Emery’s reaction. For now Ruben Amorim has the mic and is apologising to the Man Utd fans.
I want to apologise for this season. I also want to say thank you – we are very grateful for your support during the season. I know it was really hard to support us in many games. But now we have to make a choice. We either stay stuck in the past – because this season is in the past, it’s over – or we stick together and move forward.
Six months ago, after two victories and one draw in my first three games, I said to you: ‘The storm is coming’.
Today, after this disastrous season, I want to tell you: ‘The good days are coming’. If there is one club in the world that has proved in the past it can overcome any situation, any disaster, it is our club. It is Manchester United Football Club.
Now I want to say sorry to my players. Sometimes I was not fair, but I always tried to be honest with you guys. Thank you very much, see you next season.
Christian Eriksen has confirmed that he’s leaving Man Utd this summer. “I’m still fit to play, so we’ll see where.”
England’s European representatives in 2025-26
Champions League Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur
Europa League Aston Villa, Crystal Palacee
Conference League Nottingham Forest
The final Premier League table
In decades to come, people will look at the 2024-25 table and think, “Cor, Liverpool won that comfortably.” They have no idea; a 15-point margin would have been a fairer reflection of the season.
Emery waits by the tunnel for the referee, then begins a walk-and-talk into the bowels of Old Trafford. Actually it’s more of a walk-and-stalk by the looks of things.
The 2024-25 Premier League season is over
As I type Unai Emery is expressionless on the touchline, lasers in his peepers as he stares at the referee Thomas Bramall.
These are the final scores.
90+5 min Villa have had a couple of near misses in injury time. Newcastle’s defeat to Everton at St James’ Park means a draw would have been good enough for Villa, who would have taken the lead after 73 minutes but for a refereeing howler.
Given his understandable mood on the touchline, there are no guarantees that Unai Emery’s post-match interview will begin with a cheery “Good evening”.
90+4 min: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa Given their shambles of a season, you’d think a genuinely superb Manchester United performance would steal the headlines. Not today!
“In any other commercial arena, if a governing body or regulator, made such an egregious error as the Morgan disallowed goal, that cost them millions in revenue, a company would have plenty of recourse to legal action,” says Hugh Molloy. “Watch this space.”
I’d rather not. Nothing against Villa, who have clearly been wronged, but I just like watching football.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-4 Brighton (Gomez 90+3) Hic!
That Eriksen goal settles the Champions League race barring a spectacular twist at the City Ground. England will be represented next season by Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
GOAL! Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa (Eriksen 87 pen)
Ruben Amorim tells Jonny Evans to ensure that Christian Eriksen takes the penalty in his last game for Man Utd. He spanks it down the middle and celebrates a little sheepishly. Another nice moment for one of the good guys.
GOALS GALORE!
Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace (Salah 85)
Ipswich 1-3 West Ham (Kudus 87)
Southampton 1-2 Arsenal (Odegaard 89)
Bournemouth 2-0 Leicester (Semenyo 88)
Spurs 1-3 Brighton (O’Riley 88 pen)
85 min: Penalty to Man Utd Maatsen stands on Amad’s ankle right on the edge of the area. He didn’t mean it but it’s probably a foul.
Unai Emery’s noggin has gone. Long gone. He’s marching round mixing extravagant, sarcastic applause with furious arm-waving.
The Champions League race as it stands
(Man City are over the hill and far away)
83 min: Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa The game isn’t up for Villa. With Newcastle losing, a single goal puts them back in the top five. But they are down to 10 men and could easily be 2-0 down: the substitute Christian Eriksen, playing his last game for United, has sizzled both the crossbar and the post from distance in the space of a couple of minutes.
“Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Thanks to you, and all the MBM and Clickwatch team, for another great season. It’s been a pleasure to be part of it. Dundee United Rangers won the Scttish Women’s Cup Final today, beating Glasgow City 3-0. Roll on the Conference League qualifiers…”
Clickwatch: that’s a keeper. A clockwatch with extra bait.
80 min: Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa Morgan Rogers’ disallowed goal was a howler from the referee, no question, but human beings make mistakes under pressure. I know I have. Thousands of them! Millions!
The bigger problem here is the VAR protocol and the lack of commonsense. It’s not totally straightforward because sometimes players stop when the whistle is blown, but in this case it had no impact whatsoever on the goal.
If it stays like this Villa will go mad, and they have every right to go mad.
The latest scores
Bournemouth 1-0 Leicester
Fulham 0-2 Man City
Ipswich 1-2 West Ham
Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace
Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa
Emi Martinez sent offNewcastle 0-1 Everton
Nottm Forest 0-1 Chelsea
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 1-2 Brighton
Wolves 1-1 Brentford
GOAL! Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa (Diallo 76)
And now Amad Diallo has headed Man Utd in front! Unai Emery is making the cross sign with his hands on the touchline. Aston Villa have dropped out of the Champions League places, and we’re going to hear so much more of this.
Thoughts and prayers with Howard Webb’s mobile phone at this difficult time.
(It was a lovely header from Amad by the way.)
VAR-adjacent fiasco incoming!
74 min: Man Utd 0-0 Aston Villa Uh-oh, this is a helluva mess at Old Trafford. Morgan Rogers put the ball in the net for 10-man Villa, only to be penalised for kicking the ball out of Altay Bayindir’s hands.
Replays showed it was almost certainly a perfectly good goal; Bayindir didn’t seem to have two hands on the ball when Rogers knocked it away from him. But because the referee Thomas Bramall blew the whistle before Rogers scored, VAR can’t intervene.
Protocol 1-0 Villa. If this costs Villa a Champions League place…
GOAL! Fulham 0-2 Manchester City (Haaland 72 pen)
Erling Haaland is back on penalty duty and has ensured Manchester City will play Champions League football next season. As things stand they will finish a point behind Arsenal.
GOALS!
Wolves 1-1 Brentford (Munetsi 75)
Southampton 1-2 Arsenal (Saka 76)Bournemouth 1-0 Leicester (Semenyo 74)
Forget the Saka goal, it’s been disallowed for offside.
70 min: Newcastle 0-1 Everton Chris Paraskevas, our Antipodean Newcastle fan, usually sends long, thoughtful emails. This is all he’s got right now.
……?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Ryan Gravenberch sent off:
Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace
Liverpool are a goal and a man down. Ryan Gravenberch, one of the players of the Premier League season, has been sent off for a Dogso on Daichi Kamada. This shambles really is starting to take the gloss off Liverpool’s title.
GOAL! Newcastle 0-1 Everton (Alcaraz 65)
WHAT THE ACTUAL! Everton have taken the lead at St James’ Park through a neck-straining header from Carlos Alcaraz. As things stand, Newcastle – arguably the form team since Christmas – are out of the Champions League places.
64 min: Fulham 0-1 Manchester City The internet tells me this is only the third game in English top-flight history with no English players in either starting XI. If this comes up in Prime Minister’s Questions, I’m off to Dangar Island.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Brighton (Hinshelwood 64)
Jack Hinshelwood strikes again! This one sounds like a fine goal, backheeled past Vicario. “What a finish!” says Kris Boyd on Sky Sports.
60 min: Man Utd 0-0 Aston Villa Hojlund has a shot saved by Villa’s sub keeper Robin Olsen. Villa have been hammered – but one measly goal, for them or Everton, would lift them into the top five. With that in mind, Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey are about to come on.
“Given it is the last Clockwatch of the season,” begins Andy Flintoff, “will there be a montage of the best MBM and Clockwatch bits interspersed with the names of all the people who have helped (or not) over the past nine months?”
We can do that, yeah why not. There’s a 74.27 per cent chance my brain will explode before I reach September, but I’m on it.
No, no I’m not. But in the absence of an MBM montage, here’s an all-time classic. Every word of American (sic) commentary came from Scott Murray’s MBM.
The latest scores
Right now, St James’ Park and Old Trafford are where it’s at.
Bournemouth 0-0 Leicester
Fulham 0-1 Man City
Ipswich 1-2 West Ham
Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace
Man Utd 0-0 Aston Villa
Emi Martinez sent offNewcastle 0-0 Everton
Nottm Forest 0-1 Chelsea
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 1-1 Brighton
Wolves 0-1 Brentford
GOALS! Soton 1-1 Arsenal (Stewart 56); Ipswich 1-2 West Ham (Bowen 55)
A fine header from Southampton’s Ross Stewart means David Raya and Matz Sels will share the Golden Glove – or, as it’s known colloquially, the Banksy™.
And Jarrod Bowen, Fantasy Footballer par excellence, has restored West Ham’s lead. Is it me or is everything s Bowen still a bit underrated?
GOAL! Nottm Forest 0-1 Chelsea (Colwill 50)
Levi Colwill has put Chelsea ahead, tapping into an empty net after Pedro Neto bobbled the ball across goal. Big goal, that, and the Champions League spotlight is now on Newcastle.
Disallowed goal! Man Utd 0-0 Aston Villa
Rasmus Hojlund can’t catch a break; he’s just had a close-range ruled out for a marginal offside. Meanwhile…
GOALS! Tottenham 1-1 Brighton (Hinshelwood 52); Ipswich 1-1 West Ham (Broadhead 52)
Jack Hinshelwood’s second goal in a week puts Brighton back in eighth place… yeah.
46 min: Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace Trent Alexander-Arnold has replaced Conor Bradley at half-time. I’ve only just switched over but the reception sounds a lot more positive than against Arsenal.
“Perhaps, Rob,” begins Paul Griffin, “Liverpool need to try to emulate Tottenham’s pattern of relentless, fuss-free back-to-back game-winning.”
