New Delhi: Fallen champions Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United qualified for next season’s Champions League on a dramatic final day of the English Premier League as last-day defeats meant Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest settled for Europa Leagues and Conference League spots, respectively.
Champions Liverpool and runner-up Arsenal had already bagged the top two spots.
Levi Colwill scored as Chelsea defeated Forest 1-o to get the Champions League, leaving Forest to rue a missed opportunity to play in the top-flight European club competition.
Chelsea had gone into their match with a one-point advantage over Forest and needed three points to confirm a top-five finish while ending their hosts’ hopes.
The win helped Chelsea finish fourth in the table with 69 points from 38 matches, four points ahead of Forest, who bagged the seventh spot and qualification to the Conference League.
In a failed title defence campaign, Manch City finished third with a 2-0 win over Fulham to confirm Champions League next season as Ilkay Gundogan’s stunning bicycle kick in the 27th minute as Erling Haaland’s 72nd penalty gave them three points.
Coming soon to the Champions League…
🔴 Liverpool
🔴 Arsenal
🩵 Man City
🔵 Chelsea
⚫️ Newcastle
⚪️ Spurs pic.twitter.com/eqfyBCWyhR— Premier League (@premierleague) May 25, 2025
Newcastle booked the final Champions League spot despite falling to a 0-1 home loss to Everton after Aston Villa went down 0-2 to Manchester United.
It meant Villa will play in the Europa League after a sixth-place finish with 66 points, settling for a spot inferior to Newcastle on goal difference.
Brighton miss out on Europe spot
Brighton defeated Tottenham 4-1 away but still couldn’t make it to Europe. The Seagulls finished eighth but other results didn’t go in their way.
Dominic Solanke had out Spurs ahead from the penalty spot after Mathys Tel was fouled inside the box by Mats Wieffer.
This season’s final standings 🤝 pic.twitter.com/lRWyvmvkXQ
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 25, 2025
Brighton responded after the break, through Jack Hinshelwood’s close-range equaliser and then he scored again 25 minutes from time with a cheeky backheel.
Matt O’Riley added their third from the spot following once Yves Bissouma fouled Diego Gomez inside the area. Gomez then produced a superb injury time goal, his first for Brighton.
Spurs slumped to their 22nd defeat of the campaign, ans finished at their worst-ever 17th position in the EPL.
On a dramatic final day of the season, Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle gained Champions League spots while Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest had to settle for Europa Leagues and Conference League spots, respectively. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
