How the race for Champions League football played out on final day

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By Josh Barker

Published: May 23, 2021 5:54 pm

Last Updated: May 23, 2021 9:21 pm

Table of Contents

Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Chelsea’s final Premier League clash of the season pitted them against Aston Villa.

The game had little meaning for Villa, who began the day in 11^th with no chance of securing any form of European football for next term.

Chelsea, on the other hand, were well aware of what a huge evening lay ahead at Villa Park.

Thomas Tuchel’s side began the day sitting 3^rd in the Premier League table, on 67 points.

However, their spot in the top-four and, in turn, next season’s Champions League, was by no means secure.

This was because both Liverpool and Leicester were in with a shot of overtaking them on Sunday.

The former opened the day in 4^th, just one point off Chelsea, and with a superior goal difference.

Leicester, meanwhile, were 6^th, and also one point off the Blues, but with a worse goal difference.

So, if Chelsea fell to defeat on Sunday, accompanied by a Leicester win and Liverpool either drawing or winning, then the Blues would have dropped out of the top-4.

Chelsea & Liverpool secure Champions League spots

Chelsea, as is often the case under Tuchel, began Sunday’s game by dominating possession, with Villa limited to the odd counter-attack.

And, with 20 minutes gone, the Pensioners had managed to carve out a number of chances, with Dean Smith’s side only saved by some top goalkeeping from Emiliano Martinez.

Mason Mount, on 23 minutes, directed an excellent opening well off target.

Mateo Kovacic then nearly cost Chelsea a goal when he was dispossessed in midfield, allowing John McGinn to burst forward and get a shot off. The Scotsman’s effort went wide, though.

Villa then took the lead after 43 minutes thanks to a clever set-piece, which saw Bertrand Traore left free in the Chelsea box to dink an effort beyond the reach of Edouard Mendy.

🗣 “Aston Villa have the lead! They’ve given Chelsea a problem of Champions League proportions!”#AVFC‘s Traore gives his side the lead against his former club 👀

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When the teams went in at half-time, Chelsea were still sitting 4^th, due to Leicester being locked at a goal apiece with Tottenham.

However, Tuchel and co. will have been well aware that their spot in the top-four was hanging by a knife-edge.

And, with around 50 minutes gone in Sunday’s game, Leicester once again took the lead against Spurs, meaning Chelsea indeed dropped out of the Champions League spots.

🔝 HUGE GOAL FOR LEICESTER CITY!

Jamie Vardy’s second penalty of the day fires Leicester City back in to the top 4!

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The visitors’ evening then took another turn for the worse when Jorginho brought down Traore in the box.

Jack Grealish stepped up to convert the ensuing spot-kick, leaving Chelsea to rely on a Spurs comeback to secure their place in the top-four.

Timo Werner did appear to have pulled one back just before the hour-mark, but Cesar Azpilicueta was offside in the build-up.

Ben Chilwell did eventually net for Chelsea 69 minutes in. But with Liverpool and Leicester having still been leading, Tuchel’s men needed either an equaliser, or a Leicester defeat.

And, when all was said and done, the latter of those two scenarios played out. Chelsea were handed a lifeline when Kasper Schmeichel scored an own goal vs Spurs, meaning the Foxes dropped down to 5th.

😰 NIGHTMARE FOR LEICESTER!

Kasper Schmeichel punches the ball in to his own net, which sends Leicester City out of the top 4!

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— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 23, 2021

Gareth Bale then netted a brace to earn Spurs a 4-2 win. In turn, despite Chelsea having failed to beat Villa, they were still able to secure a top-four finish thanks to Leicester’s defeat.

Elsewhere, Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to secure 3rd place, with Chelsea 4th and Leicester condemned to another season in the Europa League.

Chelsea to renew their pursuit of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice

This article was edited by
Conor Laird.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City FC	38	51	86
2	Manchester United FC	38	29	74
3	Liverpool FC	38	26	69
4	Chelsea FC	38	22	67
5	Leicester City FC	38	18	66
6	West Ham United FC	38	15	65
7	Tottenham Hotspur FC	38	23	62
8	Arsenal FC	38	16	61
9	Leeds United	38	8	59
10	Everton FC	38	-1	59
11	Aston Villa FC	38	9	55
12	Newcastle United FC	38	-16	45
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	38	-16	45
14	Crystal Palace FC	38	-25	44
15	Southampton FC	38	-21	43
16	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	38	-6	41
17	Burnley FC	38	-22	39
18	Fulham FC	38	-26	28
19	West Bromwich Albion	38	-41	26
20	Sheffield United FC	38	-43	23

Player	Team	Goals
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	23
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	17
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	17
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	17
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic	Everton FC	16
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	15
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa FC	14
Gundogan, Ilkay	Manchester City FC	13
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	13
Wilson, Callum	Newcastle United FC	12
Ings, Danny	Southampton FC	12
Wood, Chris	Burnley FC	12
Iheanacho, Kelechi	Leicester City FC	12
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	11
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	11
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	11
Bale, Gareth	Tottenham Hotspur FC	11
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace FC	11
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
McGinn, John	Aston Villa FC	0	12
Gallagher, Conor	West Bromwich Albion	0	11
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United FC	0	11
Phillips, Kalvin	Leeds United	0	10
Hojbjerg, Pierre	Tottenham Hotspur FC	0	9
Milivojevic, Luka	Crystal Palace FC	1	8
Lundstram, John	Sheffield United FC	1	8
Luiz, Douglas	Aston Villa FC	0	8
Holgate, Mason	Everton FC	0	9
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	1	8
Soucek, Tomas	West Ham United FC	1	7
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United FC	0	8
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	7
Bellerin, Hector	Arsenal FC	0	8
Andersen, Joachim	Fulham FC	1	7
Egan, John	Sheffield United FC	1	7
Hayden, Isaac	Newcastle United FC	0	8
Dallas, Stuart	Leeds United	0	7
McGoldrick, David	Sheffield United FC	0	7
Reid, Bobby	Fulham FC	0	7

Player	Team	Assists
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	14
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	12
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City FC	11
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	10
Grealish, Jack	Aston Villa FC	10
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	9
Raphinha	Leeds United	9
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	8
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	8
Harrison, Jack	Leeds United	8
Werner, Timo	Chelsea FC	8
Gross, Pascal	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	8
Cresswell, Aaron	West Ham United FC	8
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	7
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	7
Firmino, Roberto	Liverpool FC	7
Ward-Prowse, James	Southampton FC	7
Eze, Eberechi	Crystal Palace FC	7
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	7
Robertson, Andrew	Liverpool FC	7