Chelsea and Newcastle mop up UCL places as Liverpool crowned champions

Premier League ends with Liverpool crowned, City and Newcastle seal UCL spots, while Villa and Forest miss out in dramatic final day action.

Arne Slot lifts the trophy aloft as Liverpool are crowned Premier League champions for 2024/2025 season. (Photo credit: Sky news)

And that's it! The English Premier League has come to an end, with winners rolling in the beers and losers licking their open wounds. This is the heritage of the game.

The race for the top five was the biggest story in town, with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest all fighting for a spot in next season's Champions League, but in the end, it's Villa and Forest who miss out.

It was always going to be tough for Forest and Villa. Despite playing at home, the mentality involved in games like this would always be beyond Nuno Espírito Santo's Nottingham Forest, and they didn't surprise anyone; they struggled all game against Chelsea.

For Aston Villa, their goalkeeper is likely the reason they failed to secure the result they needed at Old Trafford. They played against a battered and broken United, but, despite impressing early on, Emiliano Martinez's indiscretion ruined their script.

Martinez clattered into Rasmus Hojlund with a few minutes left on the clock in the first half, and he was rightly sent off, leaving Villa fighting for Champions League qualification with ten men.

Despite that, Unai Emery was left furious as Villa put the ball in the net but was denied by VAR, who adjudged Ollie Watkins to have infringed on Altay Bayindir in the process, but several replays showed otherwise.

United scored twice, including a penalty handed to Christian Eriksen by a generous Bruno Fernandes as the Dane plays his final game for United, leaving Villa in pain, and the club has threatened to take the matter to court.

Elsewhere, Everton beat Newcastle in front of the St. James's Park crowd, but it didn't hurt the Magpies as other results went in their favour. Chelsea's win away at Forest and United's 2-0 win over Villa meant Newcastle qualified for the UCL on goal difference.

Brighton could qualify for the Conference League, having beaten Spurs silly at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It didn't matter that the Europa Winners were still celebrating their triumph; Brighton fought back to beat them 4-1 to finish in 8th.

Manchester City finished strongly with a 2-0 win over Fulham, a result that earned them the third spot and a return to the Champions League; Pep Guardiola would hope for a big summer which could return them to the top after enduring their worst season under the Spaniard.

Mikel Arteta finished above Guardiola for the first time in his career, but it wasn't enough to hand him the title; Arsenal also needs a huge summer for depth and quality reinforcement.

It's all over now, and Liverpool can go celebrate. They must be on their way to the streets of Merseyside as you read this, and why not? They deserve the celebration after which they would prepare for their title defense.