Nathan Hartley
The Premier League is now over. Over 38 game weeks, a winner, qualifications for European competitions and relegation has now been determined. Lets see how all 20 Premier League teams got on in the final game of the season.
Arsenal 5-0 Wolves
Arsenal would host Wolves for the final game of the season at the Emirates, capping off a disappointing end to the season. As for Wolves, they had nothing to play for confirming their stay in the Premier League for next season.
Xhaka would start his last game for the Gunners as the Swiss looks to be set to join Bayer Leverkusen next season. The Swiss international would score the opening goal of the game on the 11th minute mark, before scoring yet again two minutes later to make it 2-0.
Bukayo Saka would carry on his fine form, scoring yet another goal this season on the 27th minute mark. Arsenal would have the game done before halftime, leading the game three goals to nil.
However, the Gunners were not done there, Gabriel Jesus would score on the 58th minute before Jakub Kiwior would score on the 78th minute to cap off a five star performance.
Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton
Aston Villa would go into the final game fighting with Tottenham for the final spot of European competitions for the UEFA Conference League by finishing seventh. Brighton, on the other hand, had already confirmed their spot in the Europa League after an impressive 1-1 draw with league champions Manchester City.
The game would be end-to-end with fast-paced football. It would not take long for the first goal of the game to take place, as Douglas Luiz would score the opening goal of the game with the Brazilian scoring in the eighth minute of the game.
It would not take too long for Aston Villa to score their second goal of the game as Ollie Watkins would calmly finish to make it 2-0 to Aston Villa at the 26 minute mark.
However, Brighton would pull one back through striker Deniz Undav on the 38th minute. A VAR check was needed. However, the goal would still stand for the Seagulls.
Villa managed to hold on to their 2-1 lead for the remainder of the game, capping off an amazing season since Unai Emery became the manager of Villa, going from a relegation battle to going on a European tour.
Brentford 1-0 Manchester City
League champions Manchester City would be hosted by Brentford, who themselves had a fine season. The reverse fixture saw the Bees win 1-0 through Ivan Toney.
Manchester City had a much changed side, protecting key players for their hunt for the treble by winning the FA Cup and Champions League finals.
Despite dominating the possession, Brentford managed to compete with Manchester City and were rewarded with an 85th minute winner through centre back Ethan Pinnock calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net from Bryan Mbuemo's headed cutback.
The Bees would manage to hold on to win the game 1-0. However, they would just miss out on European qualification. Despite the disappointment, Brentford fans can be happy with how their team has done this season.
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
Chelsea would host Newcastle for the final game of their disappointing 2022/23 campaign, as the Blues finished in 12th place, missing out on any European competitions. Newcastle, on the other hand, had managed to use their financial backing wisely to propel them up into the Champions League positions and play Champions League football next season.
Anthony Gordon managed to get his first goal for Newcastle by sliding the ball past Kepa from Elliott Anderson's low-driven cross to open the score and make it 1-0.
However, the Magpies would soon concede due to an unfortunate own goal from right back Kieran Trippier. The English right back would be on the end of Raheem Sterling's attempted cross to direct it into his own net.
Newcastle almost scored another own goal through centre back Sven Botman from Lewis Hall's cross. However, Nick Pope was able to make a fine save to keep it out with the final score staying at 1-1.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Both teams were in the relegation mix during the middle point of the season. This lead to Crystal Palace sacking Patrick Vieira with Roy Hodgson returning to the club, saving the Eagles from relegation. Nottingham Forest confirmed their place in the Premier League next season after managing to beat Arsenal 1-0 at home in the penultimate game of the season. They stuck with manager Steve Cooper, which paid off.
It would take 31 minutes for the first goal of the game. Inform striker Taiwo Awoniyi would receive a great outside the boot pass from Morgan Gibbs-White to go through on goal. However, the Nigerian striker still had a lot to do, beating the Crystal Palace defenders and slotting it past Sam Johnstone to make it 1-0.
However, Crystal Palace midfielder Will Hughes would equalise for the Eagles on the 66th minute mark, scoring a deflected header after a fine cross from Michael Olise to make it 1-1. The two teams would then settle for a draw with both teams being in the Premier League next season.
Everton 1-0 Bournemouth
This game would be a massive game for Everton, as for the second season in a row, they find themselves in a relegation fight. The Toffees simply had to win to ensure survival for next season, continuing their 69 consecutive streak in top flight football.
The game would be shaky with both teams not producing much quality in attack with the half ending with James Garner's fine attempt on goal with Mark Travers making a fine save.
Goodison Park would go silent as Leicester scored, meaning the Toffees needed to win to ensure Premier League safety. The moment would happen as Abdoulaye Doucoure would volley the ball from the edge of the area to make Goodison Park erupt.
The game would be very nervy for the rest of the time, especially with 10 minutes added on. However, the Toffees managed to hold on and spend their 70th consecutive top flight season next year in their final season at Goodison Park.
Leeds 1-4 Tottenham
Leeds went into the final game of the season needing a miracle in order to stay up. They needed both Leicester and Everton to lose along with winning by 3 or more goals to help with their goal difference against the Toffees.
However, disaster would strike straightaway as Harry Kane would score within two minutes to make it 1-0. More disaster would happen for the home side as Pedro Porro would produce a fine finish after some individual brilliance from Kane to make it 2-0.
Jack Harrison would pull one back for Leeds, but for nothing as Tottenham would respond quickly through Kane scoring his second on the 69th minute. Tottenham would round off the game through a brilliant solo goal by Lucas Moura on his final appearance for the club.
The loss would see Leeds relegated after spending three years in the top flight. Sam Allardyce was brought in to try and save Leeds, but it was a little bit too much of a task to succeed.
Leicester 2-1 West Ham
Leicester was another team that was in the relegation scrap on the final day of the season with it being out of their own hands if the foxes won the game.
The Foxes would be on the front foot for the opening stages of the game, being rewarded through Harvey Barnes playing a brilliant one-two with Ihaenacho and slotting it past Fabianski to make it 1-0 and put the pressure on Everton to score.
Leicester would double the lead through a fine header by Wout Faes. However, the Leicester fans were deflated as Everton had scored to send them out of the Premier League.
West Ham would pull one back through Pablo Fornals, but Leicester would hold on to win the game. However, the Foxes were still relegated through Everton's win against Bournemouth, ending their nine consecutive seasons in the Premier League.
Manchester United 2-1 Fulham
Manchester United went into the final game of the season already securing Champions League football for next season. Fulham themselves have had a fine season themselves, comfortably avoiding the drop zone.
Fulham would take the lead through Tete in the 19th minute of the game. The Fulham fullback scored a near post header from Willian's corner to make it 1-0.
However, Sancho would equalise for the Red Devils through some fortune but managing to sot the ball past Bernd Leno to make the game all square at 1-1.
Manchester United would score the winner of the game through Bruno Fernandes in the 55th minute. Fred played a sublime through ball to Fernandes, who calmly finished it past Leno to secure third place in the league for Manchester United.
Southampton 4-4 Liverpool
Already relegated Southampton would host Liverpool, who could not qualify for the Champions League. The two teams would produce an entertaining game.
It would not take long for Liverpool to score the opening goal of the game through Diogo Jota in the 10th minute of the game after a big mistake from the Southampton defence. The Reds would double their lead not soon after through Roberto Firmino on his final appearance for Liverpool. Fabinho fired the ball into Firmino, who did the rest, smashing the ball through Alex McCarthy's legs.
However, Southampton would answer back through James Ward-Prowse's first time finish on the 19th minute. The Saints would go level through Sulemana on the 29th minute, capitalising on Firmino's mistake.
The second half would start with Southampton taking the lead on the 48th minute through a brilliant solo goal by Sulemana for his second goal of the game.
It would get worse for Liverpool as Southampton would score a fourth through Adam Armstrong scoring on the 64th minute. However, Liverpool would answer back with two goals of their own by Jota and Gakpo to level the game and end a captivating contest between the pair.
How did your team do in the final game of the season and how happy are you with your team's performance throughout the entire 2022/23 season?
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