As promised, John Brewin’s report from the Vitality:
That’s all from me on and this blog, we will drop John Brewin’s report in when that goes live. Thanks for all your emails and for following along.
Email in from Barry Edwards:
If Palace are putting all their eggs in their European basket that is good news for Arsenal, who play them in their final league game.
If they need 10 goals to overhaul City’s goal difference it may be possible.
Can you be simultaneously on the beach in the league and off the beach in Europe?
Updated
Full-time: Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace
Bournemouth up to sixth and Palace can now turn all their attention (if they hadn’t already) to Thursday. John Brewin’s report will be with you shortly.
Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace
Sarr gets another chance after the ball breaks to him in the box from a deflection but scuffs his shot wide. We’re into four minutes of added time at the Vitality.
Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace
That’s the closest Palace have come, Sarr hits the post after being found by a wonderful Wharton pick out. Sums up their day. Sarr may also have been offside.
It’s fair to say that there’s a bit more in the contest at Old Trafford. United have raced out to a 2-0 lead against Liverpool. Follow with Rob Smyth:
Goal! Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace (Rayan 77)
If it wasn’t already, this is over. Lacroix’s pass put Mitchell under pressure, Bournemouth turn it over and this time they take full advantage. Rayan makes a smart run in behind the Palace defence and is slid in by David Brooks, the Brazilian has time to look up before firing past Henderson into the far corner.
Updated
In La Liga, Celta Vigo ended up beating Elche 3-1 and Getafe v Rayo is 0-0 after 20 minutes. Celta are currently sixth but Getafe are hot on their heels.
Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
We’re back to sloppy Palace after a brief rousal. Mitchell gifts the ball to Kroupi on the edge of the Palace box but Rayan’s poor touch from his teammate’s pass means there is a reprieve for the Eagles.
Updated
While we’re focusing on the game at the Vitality, Rob Smyth has all the updates from Manchester United v Liverpool. That gets underway in five minutes:
In the WSL, Chelsea are 3-1 up against basement side Leicester at half-time. Sam Kerr has got one, Lauren James a pair and the goal for the Foxes came from Shannon O’Brien. Chelsea can’t catch City at the top of the table but need the points to be sure entry straight into the Women’s Champions League next season.
Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
Kroupi has a chance to make it 3-0 after great work by Evanilson and Tavernier down the left, but he can’t quite sort his feet and Palace get back to block. This is a fun watch.
It’s now Sassuolo 2- AC Milan. Armand Laurienté has added a second against the 10 men of Milan.
Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
Palace have started with purpose here in the second half. Kroupi bundles over Devenny and Palace have a free-kick 30 yards out, nice and central. Oh dear, Brennan Johnson is on a different page to his teammates, his clipped free-kick almost straight out of play. Why didn’t he shoot?
Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
The Eagles have had a shot! It was weak and straight at Petrovic from Strand Larsen but it happened and that’s good. Up the other end, Rayan has a chance to make it 3-0 with a header but can’t keep it down.
Peeeeep!
We are back underway at the Vitality.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was relieved to see his team eventually come out on top against 10-man Hibs, who saw Jamie McGrath sent off after 21 minutes. Celtic needed Kelechi Iheanacho to restore their lead in the second after Joe Newell’s equaliser.
Speaking to BBC Sport, O’Neill said: “A man sent off for Hibs, they had a couple sent off last week, and you think 11 v 10, we should be reasonably comfortable.
“We lost a very poor goal from our viewpoint just before half time and it changes the complexion of the game - Hibs having something to hold on to and defend very strongly, as they did last week with nine men.
“Of course there was an anxiety before the goal, but we got there. What do I want for tomorrow [when Hearts face Rangers]? I genuinely don’t know. We’ve won today, so there’s a bit of relief for 24 hours.”
Half-time: Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
The Cherries well worth their two-goal lead at the break, Palace abject.
Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
We’re into four minutes of added time at the end of the first half.
Updated
Celtic have drawn level with Hearts at the top of Scottish Premiership after hanging on to beat Hibs 2-1 at Easter Road. Full report:
It’s got worse for AC Milan at Sassuolo, Fikayo Tomori has picked up two bookings and been given his marching orders. The home side still lead 1-0.
Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace
Glasner looks thoroughly miserable in the dugout. Their fans won’t care if they win the Conference League, but their league season is peetering out into the flattest of pancakes.
Email from Joshua Keeling:
That is an absolutely shambolic decision to give that Bournemouth penalty. Dreadful on-field decision, dreadful from VAR.
Tell us how you really feel, Joshua.
Goal! Bournemouth 2-0 Crystal Palace (Kroupi 31)
Kroupi whips it low into the bottom left corner and sends Henderson the wrong way to double Bournemouth’s lead. Palace, frankly, have been pathetic. No shots of any description so far.
Updated
Bournemouth 1-0 Crystal Palace
Penalty given! Henderson’s touch on Senesi deemed to be enough.
Penalty! Bournemouth 1-0 Crystal Palace
Big rick from Henderson here. He’s claimed a throw-in well but then dropped it on to Senesi and then tripped him. Or has he? VAR having a look.
More on that big game at Old Trafford with Rob Smyth, here:
Updated
Team news: Manchester United v Liverpool
Manchester United XI: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha, Sesko.
Subs: Bayındır, Mazraoui, Malacia, Dorgu, Yoro, Mount, Ugarte, Zirkzee, Diallo.
Liverpool XI: Woodman, Jones, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Frimpong, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo.
Subs: Pecsi, Gomez, Kerkez, Mor Talla Ndiaye, Nyoni, Morrison, Chiesa, Ngumoha, Wright.
Updated
Over in La Liga, Europe-chasing Celta Vigo lead 2-0 against Elche. Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Getafe, who take on Rayo Vallecano in just under an hour, and Real Betis, who welcome Oviedo to the Estadio de La Cartuja at 5.30pm, are the other contenders for Europa League in the Spanish league.
In Serie A, Domenico Berardi has given Sassuolo a 1-0 lead against AC Milan. That game at the Mapei Stadium also kicked-off at 2pm.
Bournemouth 1-0 Crystal Palace
Kamada gives it away in the middle of the picth and Scott slides it through for Evanilson, who fires over the bar. Palace are miles off it at the moment, thought elsewhere?
Goal! Bournemouth 1-0 Cystal Palace (Lerma OG 10)
The Cherries had been enjoying a good spell of pressure that resulted in Rayan seeing his shot deflected over the bar. From the corner, Evanilson gets something on it but it takes a wicked touch off Jefferson Lerma and the referee’s watch tells us Dean Henderson could not keep it out.
Updated
We’ve had a couple of games hit full-time in the WSL. Manchester City edged past Liverpool 1-0 and Spurs beat London City Lionesses 2-1. Emilia Hawkins has all the post-match reaction:
Hi everyone, we’re straight into the Premier League action. We’ve had about five minutes at the Vitality where it’s still Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace.
That’s all from me today. I’m handing over to Tom Bassam, who will take you through the next couple of hours.
Full time: Hibernian 1-2 Celtic
Celtic earn a deserved victory against the 10 men of Hibernian. It was far from a classic and they had to be persistent to break down a resolute Hibernian defence. The Celtic fans won’t care though. It’s a crucial win in their title bid.
Hibernian 1-2 Celtic: There will be four minutes of additional time.
Hibernian 1-2 Celtic: Massive chance for Hibs! The home side win the ball in the opposition half and it drops to Ante Šuto in the box. The Croatian striker can’t quite wrap his left foot around the ball and it flashes past the post.
Hibernian 1-2 Celtic: Celtic are looking for another goal. Maeda has been a threat all game with his clever runs, but his final pass has let him down on a few occasions. This time he fails to pick out Iheanacho in the box.
Hibernian 1-2 Celtic: Liam Scales plays the ball over the top to Maeda. The Japanese forward is away and tries to cut it back for Iheanacho, but Hibs manage to clear it.
GOAL! Hibernian 1-2 Celtic (Iheanacho, 72)
The definition of a super sub! Celtic win yet another corner and swing it into the box. It falls to the second half substitute Kelechi Iheanacho, who waits for the ball to drop before passing it into the back of the net. That’s a huge goal in the title race.
Hibernian 1-1 Celtic: Luke McCowan threads a beautiful pass through to Maeda, but the strikes hesitates before trying to pick out a teammate. The Hibs defenders clear the ball away.
Hibernian 1-1 Celtic: Kieran Tierney drives a low effort towards the keeper’s left, but it’s a comfortable save.
Hibernian 1-1 Celtic: Celtic are throwing bodies forward, but the final moment of quality is missing.
Hibernian 1-1 Celtic: There’s a bit of argy bargy in the box. Nygren goes down under a challenge from Josh Campbell. Maeda kicks the ball at Campbell once the ball goes out and it’s safe to say Campbell isn’t best pleased. He receives a yellow card for squaring up to Maeda.
Hibernian 1-1 Celtic: Celtic swing in a corner but it’s only cleared as far as Callum McGregor. The midfielder shifts the ball onto his right foot, but the shot lacks power and Smith easily saves it.
Second half: Hibernian 1-1 Celtic
We are back under way.
Half time: Hibernian 1-1 Celtic
Hibernian are back in the game after a crucial goal on the stroke of half time. It’s been all Celtic so far, but the 10 men of Hibs have something to hold onto going into the second half.
Hibernian 1-1 Celtic (Newell, 45+3)
Hibernian win a free kick and launch the ball into the box. After a bit of head tennis, Joe Newell stabs the ball into the back of the net, but did it hit his hand before he scored? It looks like it did, but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal is given.
Updated
GOAL! Hibernian 0-1 Celtic (Maeda, 42)
Celtic work it well with a series of give and gos before Johnston delivers a ball across the six yard box. Maeda has the simple job of tapping the ball into the back of the net. The linesman raises his flag for offside, but, after review, the goal is good.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Meanwhile, Hibs can barely get hold of the ball. They need an outlet going forward to give them some respite from Celtic’s incessant pressure.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Celtic haven’t made the 10 men of Hibernian pay thus far. For all of their possession they’ve lacked the killer final pass.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Johnston takes a shot from range and it travels harmlessly past the post.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Nygren forces Jordan Smith into a smart save. Sebastian Tounekti lays the ball off for the Swedish midfielder but his shot doesn’t quite have the ferocity to beat the keeper.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Huge chance for Maeda! He latches onto a delicious through ball and races away from Rocky Bushiri before dragging his shot wide.
Red card (Jamie McGrath, 21)
McGrath has been giving his marching orders. He caught Johnston above the ankle with a late slide tackle. The Hibs midfielder can have no complaints.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: The Celtic players are winning every second ball. Jamie McGrath slides in on Alistair Johnston with the Hibs man receiving a yellow card. Hang on … the referee has been instructed to look at this one again.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: It’s been all Celtic so far. There’s a half hearted shout for a penalty as Maeda goes down under a challenge from the goalkeeper.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Maeda is through on goal but blazes his shot over the bar.
Hibernian 0-0 Celtic: Celtic have the first half chance of the game. Daizen Maeda puts the defenders under pressure and wins the ball deep in the opposition half. Yang Hyun-Jun picks it up and cuts the ball back to Benjamin Nygren but the shot is blocked.
Kick off: Hibernian v Celtic
Here we go!
I’ll provide you with updates from Hibernian v Celtic.
We have a strange turn of events in the Scottish Premiership. Hearts fans will be cheering on Hibernian in their clash against Celtic at 12pm while Celtic fans will want Rangers to beat Hearts tomorrow.
Updated
In Serie A, Inter only need a point against Parma to win the scudetto after Napoli’s goalless draw with Como yesterday.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Milan | 34 | 49 | 79 |
| 2 | Napoli | 35 | 19 | 70 |
| 3 | AC Milan | 34 | 21 | 67 |
| 4 | Juventus | 34 | 28 | 64 |
| 5 | Como | 35 | 31 | 62 |
| 6 | Roma | 34 | 19 | 61 |
| 7 | Atalanta | 35 | 15 | 55 |
| 8 | Lazio | 34 | 4 | 48 |
| 9 | Bologna | 34 | 1 | 48 |
| 10 | Udinese | 35 | -3 | 47 |
| 11 | Sassuolo | 34 | -3 | 46 |
| 12 | Parma | 34 | -15 | 42 |
| 13 | Torino | 35 | -19 | 41 |
| 14 | Genoa | 35 | -8 | 40 |
| 15 | Fiorentina | 34 | -7 | 37 |
| 16 | Cagliari | 34 | -13 | 36 |
| 17 | Lecce | 35 | -23 | 32 |
| 18 | Cremonese | 34 | -25 | 28 |
| 19 | Verona | 34 | -33 | 19 |
| 20 | Pisa | 35 | -38 | 18 |
Updated
In La Liga, Barcelona could be crowned champions if Real Madrid fail to beat Espanyol today. The Catalan club beat Osasuna 2-1 yesterday thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 34 | 58 | 88 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 33 | 37 | 74 |
| 3 | Villarreal | 34 | 25 | 68 |
| 4 | Atletico Madrid | 34 | 21 | 63 |
| 5 | Real Betis | 33 | 8 | 50 |
| 6 | Celta Vigo | 33 | 2 | 44 |
| 7 | Getafe | 33 | -6 | 44 |
| 8 | Athletic Bilbao | 34 | -10 | 44 |
| 9 | Real Sociedad | 33 | 0 | 43 |
| 10 | Osasuna | 34 | -2 | 42 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 33 | -8 | 39 |
| 12 | Espanyol | 33 | -12 | 39 |
| 13 | Valencia | 34 | -13 | 39 |
| 14 | Elche | 33 | -6 | 38 |
| 15 | Mallorca | 34 | -9 | 38 |
| 16 | Girona | 34 | -15 | 38 |
| 17 | Alaves | 34 | -13 | 36 |
| 18 | Sevilla | 33 | -15 | 34 |
| 19 | Levante | 34 | -17 | 33 |
| 20 | Oviedo | 33 | -25 | 28 |
Here’s a message from Nick Wayne:
Please survive the trip to Villa, and I hope Millwall make it. What a clash that will be. Unfortunately most likely to be in the Championship. COYS.
Here’s a prediction from Elmore Ziser-Anderson:
Liverpool to win 3-2. Isak scores twice and van Dijk scores a last minute header.
I hate to break it to you, but Alexander Isak is reportedly out with a groin strain.
Manchester United will play Liverpool at 3:30pm. It’s not quite the fixture of old, but with the two clubs in third and fourth place respectively, it’s a big one in the race for Champions League places. What is your prediction for this one?
Updated
Watford have sacked their head coach Ed Still.
Updated
In the Premier League, Bournemouth will play Crystal Palace at 2pm. The two teams sit eight and 14th in the table respectively, with both managers consistently overachieving. Read Jonathan Wilson’s piece about Andoni Iraola and Oliver Glasner.
Here’s the League Two table.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bromley | 46 | 25 | 87 |
| 2 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 41 | 86 |
| 3 | Cambridge Utd | 46 | 33 | 82 |
| 4 | Salford City | 46 | 10 | 81 |
| 5 | Notts County | 46 | 22 | 80 |
| 6 | Chesterfield | 46 | 15 | 79 |
| 7 | Grimsby | 46 | 24 | 78 |
| 8 | Barnet | 46 | 17 | 76 |
| 9 | Swindon | 46 | 11 | 75 |
| 10 | Oldham | 46 | 16 | 68 |
| 11 | Crewe | 46 | 6 | 67 |
| 12 | Colchester | 46 | 13 | 66 |
| 13 | Walsall | 46 | 0 | 65 |
| 14 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | -9 | 62 |
| 15 | Fleetwood Town | 46 | -1 | 61 |
| 16 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | -11 | 53 |
| 17 | Gillingham | 46 | -19 | 53 |
| 18 | Cheltenham | 46 | -26 | 52 |
| 19 | Shrewsbury | 46 | -27 | 49 |
| 20 | Newport County | 46 | -29 | 43 |
| 21 | Tranmere | 46 | -25 | 41 |
| 22 | Crawley Town | 46 | -24 | 40 |
| 23 | Harrogate Town | 46 | -29 | 39 |
| 24 | Barrow | 46 | -33 | 36 |
In League Two, Bromley finished the season as champions for the first time after 3-1 win over Walsall on the final day of the season. MK Dons narrowly missed out on the championship trophy after a 1-1 draw with Fleetwood while Cambridge also earned promotion to the third tier of English football thanks to a goalless draw with Crewe.
Meanwhile, Barrow and Harrogate were relegated. Late goals from Thomas Davies and Bobby Kamwa gave Newport a 2-1 victory over Barrow. Barnet beat Harrogate by the same scoreline after a late Philip Chinedu winner.
Salford, Notts County, Chesterfield and Grimsby Town qualified for the playoffs. The fixtures are as follows:
Salford v Grimsby (10th May)
Chesterfield v Notts County (10th May)
Grimsby v Salford (15th May)
Notts County v Chesterfield (15th May)
Updated
Thank you, Emillia. Stick with me for updates on today’s big games along with reaction from yesterday’s EFL finale.
With that, I’m handing this live blog over to Xaymaca Awoyungbo, who will continue guiding you through all the latest updates.
In League One, Lincoln City finished the season as champions, with Cardiff City earning the second automatic promotion spot.
Stockport County, Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and Stevenage made the play-off spots while Exeter City, Port Vale, Rotherham United and Northampton Town suffered relegation.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City | 46 | 48 | 103 |
| 2 | Cardiff | 46 | 40 | 91 |
| 3 | Stockport County | 46 | 13 | 77 |
| 4 | Bradford | 46 | 7 | 77 |
| 5 | Bolton | 46 | 18 | 75 |
| 6 | Stevenage | 46 | 3 | 75 |
| 7 | Luton | 46 | 12 | 74 |
| 8 | Plymouth | 46 | 12 | 73 |
| 9 | Huddersfield | 46 | 10 | 67 |
| 10 | Mansfield | 46 | 12 | 65 |
| 11 | Wycombe | 46 | 11 | 63 |
| 12 | Reading | 46 | 4 | 63 |
| 13 | Blackpool | 46 | -11 | 60 |
| 14 | Doncaster | 46 | -19 | 60 |
| 15 | Barnsley | 46 | -5 | 59 |
| 16 | Wigan | 46 | -9 | 56 |
| 17 | Burton Albion | 46 | -10 | 54 |
| 18 | Peterborough | 46 | -4 | 53 |
| 19 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | -21 | 53 |
| 20 | Leyton Orient | 46 | -12 | 52 |
| 21 | Exeter | 46 | -9 | 49 |
| 22 | Port Vale | 46 | -25 | 42 |
| 23 | Rotherham | 46 | -30 | 41 |
| 24 | Northampton | 46 | -35 | 35 |
Championship roundup
Head coach Sergej Jakirovic reflected upon an “unbelievable” achievement after his Hull side earned a spot in the playoffs with a 2-1 comeback win at home to Norwich. Goals in either half from Oli McBurnie saw the Tigers nudge clear of Wrexham and Derby to land a place in the top six.
Jakirovic, who has had to operate all season under a transfer embargo, said: “It’s a big success. To achieve this is my first season at the club is unbelievable, it’s massive for me and club – especially in these circumstances. This is a sweet feeling.”
At the other end of the table Sheffield Wednesday claimed their first Championship home win of the season in front of their new owner, David Storch, as they beat West Brom 2-1 to finally wipe out their 18-point deduction. Arise Capital Partners, which is led by Storch, has completed the acquisition of the Owls and the American was on the pitch before kick-off to address the fans of his new club. He confirmed that the Owls would be starting life in League One without a points deduction, much to the delight of the sold-out home crowd.
Southampton made it 19 Championship matches without defeat as they finished the season fourth with a 3-1 win against Preston at Deepdale. Taylor Harwood-Bellis’s superb 12th-minute header opened the scoring and Ross Stewart doubled the lead with a well-taken second after 47 minutes. Lewis Dobbin capitalised on a Daniel Peretz howler to halve the arrears on the hour, but substitute Cyle Larin tapped home to seal the win in stoppage time.
Stephy Mavididi gave League One-bound Leicester something to cheer about at the end of a miserable campaign as his late goal secured a 1-0 win at Blackburn. Afterwards, Gary Rowett made clear he wants to stay on as Leicester’s manager next season, saying: “I think there’s going to be some big decisions and it’s going to need someone, in my opinion, brave enough to make those decisions. The team needs to look very different. The culture needs to look very different. But it’s a great opportunity so of course I’d like that opportunity.”
An Ellis Simms hat-trick and a Viktor Torp piledriver ensured Coventry signed off on their Championship title-winning season in style with a one-sided 4-0 victory over a sorry Watford side at Vicarage Road. Cheered on by around 2,000 fans, Frank Lampard’s side ended a memorable season with 95 points and 97 goals. Afterwards, the manager told fans to “stay excited” about the summer plans for squad building: “The club has to do the hard work and the owner has said that he wants to talk about that from next week. It’s a special story this year and this is right up there in the amount of pleasure I have had in football.”
Adam Idah came off the bench to score twice as Swansea ended their season with a 3-1 win at home to Charlton.
Sheffield United staged a second half comeback to win 2-1 at Pride Park and end Derby Championship playoff hopes. Derby were in control at the break through Sam Szmodics early goal but the visitors came back strongly to dash the home side’s dream of a top-six finish. A mistake by Joe Ward allowed Tom Cannon to level before a strike from Sydie Peck turned the game on its head.
Adrian Segecic’s excellent end-of-season form continued as Portsmouth played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Birmingham at Fratton Park.
Goals from Delano Burgzorg and substitute Sam Bell saw Roy Hodgson end his short spell as Bristol City interim head coach with a 2-0 victory over Stoke at Ashton Gate. Hodgson said later it could have been his last game as a manager – but didn’t rule anything out: “If someone says ‘we need you to do a job’ and I think I can then maybe, but it’s a long shot. I am certainly not going to be putting my name out there because there are lots of managers and coaches needing jobs. The game has been very kind to me and I don’t need the work anymore. It’s nice to go out on a win.”
In the Championship, Ipswich Town sealed promotion back to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over QPR at Portman Road. They will join Coventry City in the top division next season.
One of Millwall, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull will also earn promotion through the play-offs.
As for the teams relegated, Oxford United, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday will drop to League One.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 46 | 52 | 95 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 46 | 33 | 84 |
| 3 | Millwall | 46 | 15 | 83 |
| 4 | Southampton | 46 | 26 | 80 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 25 | 80 |
| 6 | Hull | 46 | 4 | 73 |
| 7 | Wrexham | 46 | 4 | 71 |
| 8 | Derby | 46 | 8 | 69 |
| 9 | Norwich | 46 | 7 | 65 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 46 | 1 | 64 |
| 11 | Swansea | 46 | -2 | 64 |
| 12 | Bristol City | 46 | 0 | 62 |
| 13 | Sheff Utd | 46 | 0 | 60 |
| 14 | Preston North End | 46 | -7 | 60 |
| 15 | QPR | 46 | -12 | 58 |
| 16 | Watford | 46 | -12 | 57 |
| 17 | Stoke | 46 | -5 | 55 |
| 18 | Portsmouth | 46 | -15 | 55 |
| 19 | Charlton | 46 | -14 | 53 |
| 20 | Blackburn | 46 | -14 | 52 |
| 21 | West Brom | 46 | -10 | 51 |
| 22 | Oxford Utd | 46 | -14 | 47 |
| 23 | Leicester | 46 | -10 | 46 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 46 | -60 | 0 |
Now, it’s time to talk about the drama that took place across the Championship and EFL yesterday…
Following Arsenal’s semi-final defeat, head coach Renée Slegers admitted: “Lyon raised their levels today. They came out really strong. They had Selma Bacha and Melchie Dumornay back in the side, who are world class players. They were really effective in certain moments. It was a very tight game, small margins, it’s a semi-final in the Champions League. It was tight, very disappointing for us of course. They were the better team.”
Yesterday was one to forget for Arsenal Women, who suffered a Champions League semi-final second-leg defeat to Lyon. The Gunners went into the match leading 2-1 but lost out following a 4-3 loss on aggregate.
Lyon will now face either Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the final later this month.
Question of the day – which direction do we think this title race will go?
Can Arsenal see it out? Or will they struggle under pressure and allow City to take it?
And finally, Sunderland were held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves at Molineux…
The main talking point was Dan Ballard’s red card for a hair pull on Tolu Arokodare.
Elsewhere, Newcastle managed a 3-1 win against Brighton thanks to goals from Will Osula, Dan Burn and Harvey Barnes to ease the pressure on Eddie Howe.
How things stand at the bottom of the table…
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -4 | 39 |
| 17 | West Ham | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | -10 | 34 |
| 19 | Burnley | 35 | -36 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 35 | -38 | 18 |
A huge performance is needed from Spurs today. They need to capitalise on that West Ham stumble.
At the other end of the table, West Ham lost ground in the race for survival following a 3-0 loss to Brentford. The Hammers will find themselves in the relegation zone by the end of the day if Tottenham beat Aston Villa this evening.
How the top of the Premier League table looks following Arsenal’s huge win against Fulham…
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 35 | 41 | 76 |
| 2 | Man City | 33 | 37 | 70 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 34 | 14 | 61 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 34 | 13 | 58 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 34 | 5 | 58 |
Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal team had played some of their best football of the season in Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Fulham and demanded that they take the positive feelings into the return leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday.
He said: “It says to us and toward our dressing room that we keep the dream alive. hat what these guys have done, not now, but throughout the season to win that many games is remarkable. Because I think it’s going to help on Tuesday. What we want now is to use that momentum, energy and belief towards Tuesday.
“This was a critical game. We know the importance of the win and the manner that we’ve done it and the goal difference in the Premier League and because this game was going to carry a lot of energy towards the next game, which is one of the biggest in the history of this stadium. We’re going to try to make it happen.”
Asked if the first-half performance against Fulham was Arsenal’s best of the season, Arteta responded: “It certainly was one of the best. We talked about hunger, about having the ability to focus and be so determined on what we had to do.”
Arsenal cruised past Fulham yesterday to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners had not won a game by more than a two-goal margin since their 2-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen on March 17. However, a double from Viktor Gyökeres and a strike from Bukayo Saka eased any nerves.
Manchester City, who have two games in hand, must now beat Everton away tomorrow to keep pace with their title rivals.
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! We have three Premier League fixtures to look forward to this afternoon, including a huge meeting between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool and a must-win match for Tottenham against Aston Villa. Bournemouth also play host to Crystal Palace at the Vitality Stadium.
We also have plenty to recap from yesterday as the Championship, League One and League Two reached a conclusion.
All that and more will be covered this morning and throughout the day – so join us!
