LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 24: Didier Drogba and Chelsea players and staffs celebrate winning the Premier League title after the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 24, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Your EPL Championship Sunday Roundup

Well well, the EPL Season has concluded. While we knew the fates of many of the teams, there were still many things left to be decided and still included a lot of drama.

Relegation Battle

Newcastle United 2-0 West Ham United

Newcastle just needed to win or keep even with Hull City’s result against Manchester United to secure EPL safety. They were in the drivers seat and Newcastle made sure they stayed in the EPL. Even with the ineptitude of Mike Ashley and the incompetence of John Carver, Newcastle was able to win 2-0 thanks to Moussa Sissoko and cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez scoring goals. While fans are still upset at the ownership, they’re still happy that the team is still in the Premier League.

 

Hull City 0-0 Manchester United

Hull City was on the outside, looking in when it came to relegation today. They needed to win and have Newcastle draw or lose or draw and Newcastle lose. Sadly for Hull City fans, Newcastle won and it really didn’t matter how Hull City performed. Just like Newcastle, Hull City fans are upset at their owners but they still backed their team and the players by singing until the very end.

 

Europa League Qualification Battle

Stoke City 6-1 Liverpool

Liverpool needed to win to remain in 5th and gain a Europa League Group Stage berth. If they lost, they risked either getting into the 3rd Qualifying Round or the 1st Qualifying Round due to the Fair Play Award and would then have to start their season in early July.  It looked like none of the Liverpool players got that message because they got embarrassed by Stoke 6-1.  Even manager Brendan Rodgers felt that it was embarrassing and said, “If the owners want me to go, I go but I still feel I have a lot to offer here.” The way it looks, if the fans had their way, Rodgers would be gone.

 

Everton 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Despite the horrible loss, Liverpool could still luck into 5th if Tottenham lost to Everton. Spurs took care of business and grabbed the 5th spot as well as the Europa League Group Stage berth. They also seemed as if they didn’t want the game to linger because Harry Kane scored early in the first half and they kept Everton from scoring.

 

Manchester City 2-0 Southampton

Southampton was the longshot to get a Europa League spot. Chances are Southampton will still get a Europa League spot because they will get one if Arsenal win the FA Cup. Regardless, if they didn’t want to stress for a week imagining if they’re in or out, they needed to win today. Alas, Manchester City wanted to end their season on a high note and did so with Frank Lampard scoring his final goal as an EPL player. He and Steven Gerrard are both leaving to go to the United States and play in Major League Soccer. Both scored today.

 

Other Games

Chelsea 3-1 Sunderland

Chelsea already clinched the EPL title about a month ago, they still hadn’t celebrated with the Premier League trophy. They still wanted to play for pride and for the fans and after beating Sunderland 3-1, they finally got to get their hands on the trophy as well as some winners medals.

 

Arsenal 4-1 West Bromwich Albion

Arsenal was rather comfortably in 3rd place but they weren’t about to let anything to chance. After scoring three goals in 17 minutes and a fourth in the 37th minute, Arsenal really wanted to cap the season off with a win and remain in 3rd to get a Group Stage berth in the UEFA Champions League.

 

Crystal Palace 1-0 Swansea City

The improbable run of Crystal Palace and Alan Pardew ended with a top 10 finish for Palace. The transformation of the team was night and day once Alan Pardew came into the team on New Years Day. They moved up from the relegation zone and up to the top 10 by the end of the season. They capped off this season by beating Swansea (who were having a great season themselves) at Selhurst Park and will enter next season with high expectations.

 

Leicester City 5-1 Queens Park Rangers

Leicester City closed out their great escape by destroying QPR 5-1 today. Leicester wound up finishing an improbable 14th place after being in last back in mid April. Their opponent QPR would wind up finishing last based on this game. They were tied with Burnley for the last spot but was on the losing end of the tiebreaker. The loss sealed their fate as being the worst team of the year.

 

Aston Villa 0-1 Burnley

Speaking of Burnley, they were able to win over the FA Cup Finalist Aston Villa and move into sole possession of 19th place. Like QPR, Burnley knew they were getting relegated but they gave Burnley fans a lasting memory as they try to get back to the promised land of the top division.

 

Final EPL Table

Champions League Qualification
1) Chelsea
2) Manchester City
3) Arsenal
4) Manchester United

Europa League Qualification
5) Tottenham Hotspur
6) Liverpool

Possible Europa League Qualification if Arsenal wins FA Cup
7) Southampton

Midtable
8) Swansea City
9) Stoke City
10) Crystal Palace
11) Everton
12) West Ham United
13) West Bromwich Albion
14) Leicester City
15) Newcastle United
16) Sunderland
17) Aston Villa

Relegated
18) Hull City
19) Burnley
20) Queens Park Rangers

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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