We all saw Liverpool’s title win coming, and they clinched it with a 5-1 smashing of Tottenham in front of a jubilant Anfield crowd. However, lots of other interesting things happened around England, in both the Premier League and the FA Cup semifinals. Here’s all the action.
Premier League Winners
Liverpool
That’s it, then. Their win over Spurs was as drama-free as their march to the title as a whole. Well done to their players and to Coach Arne Slot for keeping everything on course. The new manager saw that Jürgen Klopp’s system only needed a few minor tweaks and put them in place, and now their fans will be singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” long into the Liverpool night.
Burnley and Leeds
The Premier League’s next season will be more claret and white, as the Championship’s co-leaders secured their promotion on the same day. The storied Yorkshire club did it with a 6-0 hammering of Stoke, while the Lancashire team edged out third-place Sheffield United to grab the other automatic promotion place and leave everybody else angling for a spot in the playoffs to determine the third team that goes up. Welcome, guys. Hope you fare better than the promoted teams from last season.
Carlos Baleba
This guy’s a central defender? His strike in the last minute of stoppage time completed a delirious comeback for Brighton against West Ham, as he collected a clearance and hit a glorious shot that dipped under the crossbar and past a statuesque Alphonse Aréola for a 3-2 win after the Seagulls had gone down 2-1 at home. West Ham coach Graham Potter could only watch as the Cameroonian and his former team added to the gloom at his current club.
Matheus Cunha
Scored one and assisted on the other two in Wolves’ clinical 3-0 win over Leicester. Wolverhampton’s six straight wins have done more than put the kibosh on the relegation race, they’ve taken the team up to 13th place past Manchester United and Spurs. The Wolves attacker has contributed 15 goals this season and six assists this season, and Brazil should probably be giving him more playing time. We’ll have to keep an eye during the transfer window to see if a bigger team makes Wolverhampton an offer for him.
FA Cup Winners
The frame of the goal
It was the best defender for Manchester City in their 2-0 semifinal win over Nottingham Forest. Three of Forest’s shots hit the woodwork (that’s what they say in soccer, even though it’s been decades since those goalposts were actually made of wood), including a Morgan Gibbs-White shot on an empty net after a steal. It made for a City win on the fine margins.
Premier League Losers
Unai Emery
The look on the Aston Villa coach’s face said it all. It was the look of every 49ers fan at the end of Super Bowl LVIII, as Matheus Nunes smashed in Jérémy Doku’s cross in stoppage time to win it for Manchester City. The manager brought it on himself, coaching too conservatively and playing for the draw in the latter stages when City might have been taken down. Villa were scarcely recognizable from the team that had thumped Newcastle a few days before. Instead of being brave, the visitors at the Etihad invited the winning attack, and now it may have cost them dearly. The week got worse for Emery, too, with a decisive loss in the FA Cup to Crystal Palace.
William Saliba
Somebody slip this guy an Adderall in the last minutes of games. After his late blunder in the first leg against Real Madrid, the Arsenal defender repeated the trick by turning the ball over near his own goal, leading to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s beautiful chip that went off the crossbar and in for Crystal Palace’s equalizer. It meant that Liverpool only needed a draw in their weekend match to win the title. Mon ami, it’s okay to hit the ball up the pitch when you’re protecting a lead.
Ipswich Town
That’s all of the relegated teams, then. Ben Johnson’s red card did much to hand Newcastle the victory at St. James’ Park, but for the Blues, it only confirmed a drop that was coming a mile down the road. The next Premier League season won’t have any teams with the word “Town” in their name. Too bad for the little guys.
Southampton
The Saints are playing to keep their name out of the record books for the worst Premier League season ever, and it seemed like they had it when Jack Stephens headed home a free kick in the 14th minute. Alas, Fulham came roaring back after a bad first half and claimed two goals for the comeback win. It’s four more chances for Southampton to get the one more point that will avoid making the bad kind of history. Next week at Leicester looks like the best opportunity.
Everton
The Toffees did very little to create any sustained pressure in their 1-0 loss to a Chelsea team that didn’t offer much. The Stamford Bridge fans will take the three points in Chelsea’s pursuit of Champions League play, but any Evertonians who traveled to London and paid money for their tickets will feel cheated. Oh, and their cross-town rivals just won their 20th league title. That stings, too.