A rollercoaster ride of a campaign concluded in the Premier League this afternoon.
In a pulsating 90-minutes of football, Chelsea and Manchester United confirmed their places in the top four, whilst AFC Bournemouth and Watford will join Norwich City in the Championship next season.
As we remember this afternoon, let’s take a look at five stories you may have missed from a simmering Sunday of action.
Cherries go down with a fight
On what will undoubtedly be a sad day for Eddie Howe’s side, Bournemouth bowed out of the Premier League with a win against Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton at Goodison Park.
The three points accrued for the Cherries wasn’t enough to retain their status in the top league, as Jack Grealish’s goal secured Aston Villa a point against David Moyes’ West Ham.
There were positives for Howe’s side though. Dom Solanke continued his recent upturn in form, scoring the second goal of the game, wedged in between a Joshua King penalty and a strike from Junior Stanislas.
Moise Kean scored the only goal of the game for the Toffees, who had nothing to play for.
In a reflective mood post-match, Eddie Howe reflected on the afternoon’s action, as well as the season in general.
He told BBC Radio 5Live: “We were excellent today, the frustrating thing when you see us play like that and you wonder where it was throughout the season.
"Over a 38-game period we haven't been good enough, I'm not going to sit here and complain about how other teams got their points. When you see how we played today, that is a side that should have got more than 38 points."
A record points haul for the Reds
What can we say to add to the already exponential number of superlatives laid upon Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool this season? All I guess we could add is, ‘Blimey, they’re a bit good’.
They’ve swept all before them this campaign and only lost three games in the process of securing their 19th English top division title.
It was also quite fitting that when lifting the Premier League title following their victory against Chelsea on Wednesday, they did so whilst at the top of the league on 96-points - a poignant moment in remembering the 96 supporters’ lives lost at Hillsborough in 1989.
Liverpool went two-points better than their haul last-season, when they missed out on the league title by a point to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City - the second highest tally recorded by any team, behind Pep’s Citizens.
Three goals, courtesy of Virgil Van Dijk, Divock Origi and Sadio Mane gave them a three-one victory against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United at St. James’s Park. The Magpies set their own record points haul in the Premier League era.
Speaking in regard to his side’s performance this afternoon, as well as the quick turn-around ahead of the new campaign, which starts on September 12th, Klopp said: “Two weeks and a couple of days and we start again-I'm not going to the office for a while.
"I liked the game. It's far away from being perfect but over the season we did not just win games when everything was perfect, we won a lot of difficult games too.
“We made so many changes after a long time of playing with similar line-ups.
“It's not fair to judge (players who came in) because they need to get used to each other's games.
“We really worked in the game and got better and better and better even before the changes. But the changes helped massively.”
Ole and Frank have reason to celebrate
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard have massive reason to celebrate this evening, as they steered their respective sides to top four finishes in their first-full season’s in charge.
Solskjaer’s Manchester United side took all three points in a win or bust game against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, whilst Lampard’s Chelsea overcame Wolves at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United’s goals came courtesy of a penalty kick from Bruno Fernandes and a late strike from Jesse Lingard, which was incidentally the England international’s first goal contribution all campaign.
Ole won’t be happy with that statistic, but he was in a buoyant mood when speaking with MUTV following his sides victory.
He stated: “The players and the staff have worked so hard. I told them this morning; we’ve won (already) because we’ve come together as a team.
“Your viewers, our fans, know that as well. We are going places and we’ve got a team you can like. You can see the DNA of Manchester United. At least that’s what I feel.
“Today was not a classic Manchester United performance but, in the first half, we controlled it and, in the second half, when they had to come for us, we defended really well.”
Chelsea boss, Lampard, who saw his side gain victory courtesy of late first-half goals from Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud, was also in a similar mood to his Red Devil counterpart.
Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, he said: “We have seen breakthrough seasons and we have seen players who were on loan in the Championship last season come in and perform.
“We have seen the stories of players like Giroud and Willian and Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, people who have really contributed during the year, so it is always a team effort and a collective effort of staff and players and I have to say I am proud.”
He also had some words for club stalwart, Pedro, who departs the Blues following the conclusion of the Premier League season.
He continued: “I want to talk about Pedro because he has played his last game for the club and the lads have just pretty much serenaded him in the dressing room and rightly so, because of the career he has had generally and because of the career he has had at this club.
“The impact he has had here has been huge.
“I want to make a big thank you to Peds and wish him well.
“He is here for our remaining games but a big player for the club leaves and the spirit I saw afterwards is something that is pretty special.”
De Manchester con amor, David
In a day that many a Manchester City fan wouldn’t have wanted to happen, David Silva played his last game for the Citizens in the Premier League, ending his ten-year association with England’s top league.
In 309 top-flight appearances, “El Mago” as he had become known as by his adoring supporters, scored 60 goals and won 214 times in his 309 games, a 69.26% win rate.
It was his teammate Kevin De Bruyne who took all the plaudits following his sides victory however, with the Belgian international scoring twice in a five-nil rout over Norwich City at the Etihad.
Speaking of his final Premier League appearance, Silva stated to the BBC: “It was emotional because they are amazing people, I have been working for them for 10 years and I have a good relationship with them.
“I love them, and I am going to miss all of them.
“I am a lucky guy. I have had lot of nice moments, including this one as well - the last one.”
Jose guides Spurs into Europe
I think many a Tottenham supporter would’ve wondered what had gone so wrong during their season for them to be happy with a sixth place finish in the league on the final day, as manager Jose Mourinho embraced his backroom staff at full-time this afternoon.
The Lilywhites stumbled to a one-all draw against Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace, leapfrogging fellow countryman, Nuno’s, Wolves side in the process, as they lost at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea.
Harry Kane’s strike had given them their lead, before Jeffrey Schlupp reacted quickest in the box following a corner, for Palace to take a share of the spoils.
Speaking with the BBC, Mourinho was buoyant having made the first strides in returning his side back to where they belong (Champions League).
He said: “When all the players are available, we showed in this last period where we belong.
“I don't know, maybe in this period, after lockdown, we finished third or fourth in the table. So that's where we belong.
“I want to have my team, my players, not a medical room full of players. I want a pitch full of players.
“Of course, as a squad, the main thing is to keep our very good players and after that improve the squad.
“Are we going to buy 10 players? No. Are we going to buy players for £100m? No. We are going to improve.”