Liverpool seal fourth spot, as Manchester City make history

Updated On May 14, 2018 by David Nugent

The last day of the Premier League season produced a surprising amount of talking points, with vital wins for Liverpool and Manchester City. Here is what happened in the English top-flight on the last day of season 2017/18:

Liverpool clinches fourth spot

One of the few remaining issues heading into the final day of the Premier League season was who would finish fourth place in the top-flight and clinch a Champions League spot.

In the end, it was relatively straightforward, as Liverpool who started the day in fourth, recorded a 4-0 win over Brighton to seal the final Champions League spot for next season.

The Reds took the lead on 26 minutes, as Dominic Solanke found Mohamed Salah, who fired past Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal. The strike was the Egyptian’s 32nd league goal of the season, the most scored in a 38-game season in the history of the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp’s side doubled their lead late in the second half, as Dejan Lovren headed home from an Andy Robertson cross.  Solanke added a superb third goal on 53 minutes after good play involving Roberto Firmino and Salah. Robertson completed the rout with a powerful effort with five minutes to remaining. The goal was the Scot’s first in a Liverpool shirt.

The victory meant that Chelsea losing 3-0 at Newcastle in their game meant very little in the end. The Reds will feature in the Champions League next season. Whether they will go straight into the draw for the group stage will depend on whether Klopp’s side wins the competition at the end of the month.

Salah’s opening goal meant that he also claimed the Premier League Golden Boot, finishing two goals ahead of two-time winner Harry Kane. Both Liverpool and Salah will be expected to have strong campaigns next season. In fact, Liverpool are already seen by many people as one of the favourites to win the title next season.

Manchester City record breakers

Salah was not the only record breakers on the last day of the campaign, as Manchester City record a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Southampton at St Marys. The victory meant that Pep Guardiola’s team became the first team in the Premier League era to make it the 100-point mark. The points tally was also the best of Guardiola’s managerial career, beating his previous total of 98 points doing his time with Barcelona.

However, it was nearly such a different story, as the Saints frustrated the Citizens for the majority of the game. In fact, the champions needed a 94th-minute strike from Gabriel Jesus to record the victory. The Brazilian forward did well to bring down a Kevin De Bruyne pass before lobbing the past Alex McCarthy in the Southampton goal brilliantly.

The Premier League’s other results:

Burnley 1-2 Bournemouth

Crystal Palace 2-0 West Brom

Huddersfield 0-1 Arsenal

Manchester United 1-0 Watford

Newcastle 3-0 Chelsea

Swansea 1-2 Stoke

Tottenham 5-4 Leicester

West Ham 3-1 Everton

Can Mohamed Salah repeat his goalscoring exploits next season?

David Nugent Author

First off, I want to say hi and wish a warm welcome to all gambling aficionados out there! My name is David Nugent and I am editor-in-chief of LegalGamblingAndTheLaw.com. I have always enjoyed various sports, primarily soccer, as I am a die-hard Everton fan.

Over time, I learned more about sports betting and discovered the fascinating online gambling industry. Eventually,...

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