Chelsea announced themselves as worthy winners of the title after their humiliation of Wigan.
League glory for Chelsea while Arsenal tie up third spot
Chelsea announced themselves as worthy winners of the Premier League title after their eight-goal humiliation of Wigan Athletic capped a marvellous 2009/10 season.
The Blues' victory rendered Manchester United's win over Stoke City in vain, while elsewhere Arsenal held onto third place after they saw off Fulham as Tottenham Hotspur were on the receiving end of a fine Burnley turnaround.
Chelsea needed just a win against
Wigan on Sunday, so an 8-0 success was the icing on the cake. After a fairly bright start from the Latics, Carlo Ancelotti's team went in front through Nicolas Anelka, although Florent Malouda did look just offside when he passed to his French compatriot. Then came a cringe-worthy tiff as Didier Drogba argued with Frank Lampard that he should take a spot-kick awarded after Gary Caldwell was sent off. Lampard nestled the penalty while news of Chelsea's second goal coupled with Wigan being down to 10 men reached Old Trafford and effectively ended all hope of a slip-up. Salomon Kalou grabbed his team's third following some fine combination play with Lampard before Anelka netted his second of the clash with a fine volley. Drogba then got the goal he craved so dear as he headed in at the back post. Ashley Cole was then felled in the box, meaning Drogba was allowed to take up penalty taking duty as he converted to set himself on the way to the golden boot. The Ivorian proceeded to seal his hat-trick while Ashley Cole also got in on the scoring act. With 103 goals scored in the top flight this season and six wins out of six against their 'big four' rivals, there can be no debating that Ancelotti's men are
worthy winners of the title.
So
Manchester United's quest for a fourth straight league crown was brought to an end by Chelsea, who finished a point above them in the table. The Red Devils did at least do their bit against
Stoke City. Darren Fletcher got his team up and running with a close-range finish before Ryan Giggs doubled their lead. Danny Higginbotham then put into his net while Park Ji-Sung rounded off a 4-0 triumph which proved not enough to claim glory. Two main talking points emerged from the encounter: first, strong anti-Glazer protests throughout the afternoon and second, a groin injury suffered by Wayne Rooney. But for manager Sir Alex Ferguson, this was about not winning the prize. The Scot congratulated Chelsea post the final whistle but then vowed next season the title would be back at the
"best place in the world".
The winner of third place was also to be decided with Tottenham looking to pounce on a stumble from
Arsenal. But the Gunners ran out clear 4-0 winners against
Fulham to ensure they held onto the third berth, meaning they automatically qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Andrey Arshavin set the ball rolling for Arsenal when he capitalised on a
rare mistake from Mark Schwarzer, whose first touch from a backpass let him down. Robin van Persie - just how much have the Gunners missed him? - made it 2-0 before a Chris Baird own goal killed off the encounter. The Gunners' fourth goal came in the 84th minute when forgotten man Carlos Vela executed what has become a trademark finish from the Mexican, despite making few appearances in an Arsenal shirt, chipping over Schwarzer. Arsenal trophyless again, but Champions League football secured for a 13th season running. For Fulham, next up are Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final.
Burnley comeback
Arsenal's win meant
Tottenham could do nothing to usurp their North London rivals, but they were not to know that until the final whistle as they
threw away a two-goal lead at
Burnley. Arguably Spurs' player of the season Gareth Bale broke the deadlock as he hammered in. The Welshman then passed to Luka Modric who executed a magical goal, with a step-over, dropping a shoulder then lashing into the top corner. But Burnley clawed a goal back before half-time, Wade Elliott striking. And then Jack Cork equalised for the Clarets to help reward the home fans for their support this season. The comeback was complete in the 71st minute when Martin Paterson scored before Steven Thompson made it 4-2 in a fine farewell from Brian Laws' men. Harry Redknapp was understandably frustrated to see his team relinquish their advantage, but will take consolation in his achievements this season.
Manchester City held onto fifth spot thanks to a 1-1 draw at
West Ham United. Luis Boa Morte put the Hammers in front after he latched onto Alessandro Diamanti's superb assist to chip past Marton Fulop. But Shaun Wright-Phillips made it 1-1 four minutes later, with a header of all things. There the scoreline stayed until the final whistle with both managers' futures the subject of conjecture. Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Mancini
shared a touching moment during a post-match interview with the former, with each Italian praising the other's 'achievements' this campaign. City finished 17 points higher than their haul last term while West Ham have instead gone backwards, ending the campaign 16 points worse off than the 2008/09 season.
Aston Villa finished their campaign in sixth despite losing their final game against
Blackburn Rovers. Paul Robinson enjoyed a fine performance for the visitors at Villa Park as he kept the home team at bay before Richard Dunne turned into his own net with six minutes left on the clock. So Villa end the term having suffered back-to-back losses while boss Martin O'Neill will now hold talks with owner Randy Lerner over plans for next season. For Sam Allardyce's Blackburn, their top-half finish is an impressive achievement, with the club having now done so four times in the past five terms.
Liverpool's stalemate at
Hull City meant they remained in seventh spot. Both sides huffed and puffed at the KC Stadium but neither could find that killer touch to break the deadlock. Again, the two managers' futures are uncertain. For Hull, boss Phil Brown remains on gardening leave while football management consultant Iain Dowie has made no secret of his wishes to carry on. Rafa Benitez, meanwhile, will continue to hold
talks with chairman Martin Broughton amid reports that he could be set to join Serie A side Juventus this summer. The clash was also marred by an incident which saw Reds captain Steven Gerrard push a fan who had come onto the pitch post the final whistle.
Slow start
Everton finished their campaign
just two points behind Merseyside rivals Liverpool after they left it late to beat bottom-of-the-table
Portsmouth on the final day. At Goodison Park, Pompey bafflingly had a goal disallowed for an apparent offside when Anthony Vanden Borre tapped home before Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's brilliant strike in injury time landed the Toffees all three points. Had Everton not endured such a poor start to the season then it would have been intriguing to see where they would have ended up. For Pompey, an FA Cup final now awaits and then a decision for Avram Grant to make over his future.
Bolton Wanderers rounded off their season with a 2-1 victory over
Birmingham City. Kevin Davies opened the scoring with a header before Ivan Klasnic added a second goal at the Reebok Stadium. James McFadden did pull a goal back for the Blues after Christian Benitez saw a penalty saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen, but it was too little, too late. So
Owen Coyle achieved his mandate of grabbing survival, something he did with nine points to spare, while the loan captures of exciting young pair Jack Wilshere and Vladimir Weiss caught the eye. Birmingham, meanwhile, notched their highest league finish for 51 years.
Lastly, quite literally for the weekend review for another season,
Wolverhampton Wanderers ended a successful campaign on a high as they inflicted a 2-1 defeat on
Sunderland. Kenwyne Jones handed Sunderland the lead at Molineux only for Kevin Doyle to hit back from the penalty spot. And then Adlene Guedioura's sweet second-half strike handed Mick McCarthy's men a three-point haul. Michael Turner was dismissed in the encounter while Jack Colback was also handed his marching orders. For McCarthy, whose team lie 15th, it is now a well-earned rest after landing the club their highest finish since 1980. Steve Bruce, meanwhile, was left with a
sour taste in his mouth as the curtain fell on the 2009/10 season.
